Eligibility & Guidelines
Who is Eligible to Apply?
| Role | Can be PI or Co-PI | Can receive salary support |
| Professorial Faculty Full-Time |
Yes | Yes, if PI or Co-PI |
| Professional Staff Full-Time With PI Status |
Yes | Yes |
- Applicants must hold an eligible rank that is active in Workday at the time of submission.
- Proposals from senior faculty are funded only when they a) support a genuinely new direction in the applicant’s research and/or career development, b) provide a unique opportunity (competing for subsequent one-time or infrequently-offered funding, undertaking research that is inherently time-sensitive/time-limited), or c) originate in a discipline for which external funding opportunities are minimal.
- If a UW faculty member holds an eligible rank but is based at another institution (e.g., Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center or VA Puget Sound), all of their extramural grants must be run through the UW in order to be eligible for an RRF award.
Who is Not Eligible to Apply?
| Role | Can be PI or Co-PI | Can receive salary support |
| Faculty with any of the following appointments: non-professorial, part-time, temporary, acting, clinical (annual term), affiliate, visiting, emeritus | No | No |
| Professional Staff Without PI Status or Part-Time |
No | Yes |
| Postdoctoral Scholars | No | Yes |
| Graduate Students | No | Yes |
- Those with postdoctoral appointments are ineligible to serve as PI or Co-PI but may be included in the budget for the project team.
- This fund does not support independent research projects undertaken by graduate students or postdoctoral scholars.
Other Guidelines
Duplication: A PI or Co-PI may submit one proposal per round. Our policy precludes PIs and Co-PIs from having multiple funded proposals within the same period. There are no restrictions on participating faculty or staff who are not PIs or Co-PIs.
Matching: The RRF may not be proposed as matching funds for another grant. (See the Office of Research Matching Funds Request page for information and to make a request.)
Overlap: Applications can be made for external support of the same project, but an RRF award will not be given if an external award has been made. Support will not be provided merely to supplement or extend an ongoing funded research project.
Startup or Bridge Funding: The RRF is not intended to provide or supplement start-up funds for new faculty. RRF awards are not intended to serve as bridge funding when external sources of research support have been lost. The University program that supports faculty bridge funds is the Bridge Funding Program. Acceptance of an RRF award of $30,000 or more will make an individual ineligible for a Bridge Fund award. Applicants who apply to both programs simultaneously may receive one or the other award. If an individual holds a Bridge Fund award and subsequently accepts an RRF award of $30,000 or more, any remaining Bridge Fund monies must be returned.
2 Year Waiting Period: If you have already received an RRF award, you may apply again two years after the previous RRF award was formally terminated and the final report received.