Bridge Funding Support Program and Policy
The recent and likely ongoing decline in governmental support for research and the associated elevated levels of competition have prompted the creation of a Bridge Funding program and policy.
Bridge funding provides interim support to continue federally funded research projects with a demonstrated likelihood of continued federal funding pending resubmission. Bridge funding is not intended to substitute for outside research funding, but rather is intended to provide limited, interim funding to an investigator who has applied for, but failed to receive, funding for ongoing well established research.
Eligibility
Any full time faculty members, tenured, tenure track, or research track, who is a PI on a grant funded for at least three consecutive years (on the same grant or project) by a national agency with a bona fide scientific peer-review (e.g. NIH, NSF, American Heart Association) and whose application for continued support from that or another national funding agency has not been funded, shall be eligible for bridge funding. Only grants or contracts that support a research project will be eligible for bridge funding. Grants that are primarily for a demonstration project, a training program, or a postdoctoral fellowship are ineligible.
Having repeatedly applied for funding is one of the major requirements for receiving bridge funding. Normally, the applicant should have submitted a competitive application during the last year of the extramural funding cycle. Eligible requests for review are restricted to proposals with an outstanding chance of obtaining funding by in the next round of submission (For example, an NIH grant proposal must have received a review that places it better than the 20th percentile).
If funding runs out without a renewal application for continued funding having been submitted and scored, then the PI is not eligible for bridge funding. Furthermore, the faculty member must agree to continue reapplying for extramural funding (in the same research area). Awards may not cover budget reductions in existing awards or cost overruns from previous awards.
Project Specifications
- Up to $50,000 from the Office for Research is available to maintain projects over a short duration (one year or less). The total bridge funds cannot exceed the expected total IDC of the submitted grant.
- At least an equal (1:1) amount of matching funds is REQUIRED from the PI's department/college. The calculation of matching funds should include the balance(s) in the PI’s discretionary account(s) and may include the departmental cost of graduate student support. Funds from campus supported research centers and institutes will not be counted as fulfilling this matching requirement but can be included as supplemental support.
- Applications MUST include copies of the most recent review summary statements from the latest agency review of their proposal (for an R01 or equivalent from NIH and/or NSF; the proposal must have received a score).
- Requests should be limited to the minimum funding necessary to maintain a defined project over a short duration and are not expected to cover maintenance of an entire lab.
- Applications should demonstrate a bridge between existing research effort and eventual external support, rather than requesting funding for a project repeatedly denied support and with no existing foundation from which a bridge to eventual external funding could be built.
Repayment
The Bridge Fund is designed to be self-sustaining. Faculty who receive Bridge Fund support will pay back the funds they receive using the indirect costs generated by the newly funded grant. The payback will be in-kind to the Bridge Fund and will be generated from the IDC returned to the College by the new grant, prior to any other commitments. IDC funds remaining after the pay back has been satisfied will be distributed according to the current IDC distribution policy. The time period for the pay back will not exceed the funding period of the grant. The pay back funds will be added to the Bridge Fund to help maintain its size for the funding of other investigators in future years.
The award shall be for a period of one year, beginning on what would have been the normal start date of the interrupted extramural grant or end of grant monies in the case of an application for no-cost extension.
In the event that the investigator’s extramural grant is funded during the period of bridge support, unexpended funds in proportion to the time remaining in the Bridge Award shall be returned upon receipt of the Notification of Award and the accounts have been established.
Awarded funds must be spent according to the budget provided by the investigator. Use of funds for other activities will result in the award termination and the faculty member becoming permanently disqualified for funding support from this program.
Evaluation and continuation of this program is based on the number of individuals who receive bridge funding who are subsequently funded for that specific project.
Application Process
The College’s research dean will submit applications on behalf of faculty. Direct applications from department heads or individual faculty will not be accepted. The College is expected to review the request for strategic importance and for funding necessity.
The number and amount of the awards will depend on the availability of funds and are made at the discretion of the Vice Chancellor as advised by the Chancellor’s Professors. Awards will be competitive and all applications may not be funded. Funding decisions will take into consideration the length of previous funding for the grant under deliberation for bridge funding as well as the productivity of the investigator as indicated by high impact publications.
Application materials should be submitted in a single PDF format in the order listed below to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement.
- Proposal Narrative (not to exceed two pages). The narrative should adhere to the following outline:
- Specific Aims
- Previous work related to this issue (cite references within page limitations)
- Summary plan of work
- Significance of proposed project (in this field, for applicant, and for the University)
- Justification of funding category the proposal was placed in by the sponsor
- Budget Justification (not to exceed one page). A narrative should be attached that fully explains the relationship of costs to the proposed activity and the basis for cost estimates.
- The project director's current curriculum vita (not to exceed two pages).
- Other Support (not to exceed two pages). For the principal investigator and all co-investigators, list all sources of internal and external support available for all research efforts at the current time or within the next six months. Include all department funds (including discretionary and start-up funds). Indicate how you intend to spend these available funds. Please clarify the relationship between the proposed project and all currently funded activities.
- Copy of external review panel summary statements and score from previous applications.
Completed application PDFs should be sent via email to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement at vcresearch@utk.edu.
Contact Information
Brad Fenwick
Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement
535 Andy Holt Tower
Knoxville, TN 37996-0152
Phone: (865) 974-8701
Email: vcresearch@utk.edu