Research, Innovation & Impact

Research Council grants are awarded to support research, scholarship and creative activities at Mizzou.

Which activities or projects receive Research Council awards?

We encourage submissions for funding that are clearly aligned with Mizzou priorities. These priorities include:

• Activities that lead to book contracts with academic publishers.
• Juried theater and music performances.
• Art exhibits.
• Peer-reviewed research articles in AAU-endorsed journals.
• Generation of robust pilot data to bolster proposals for external funding.

How much funding is available?

There are two levels of funding:

• Small grants up to $1,000.
• Large grants greater than $1,000 up to a maximum of $15,000.

Who is eligible for Research Council funding?

An eligible faculty member must be at the level of assistant professor (or above) with tenure, on tenure-track or ranked non-tenure-track with a doctorate (or the discipline’s highest terminal degree, such as an MFA). Faculty with adjunct appointments cannot submit Research Council applications as principal investigators.

• Research team membership is limited to one principal investigator and up to two co-investigators. All names must appear on the application.
• A faculty member’s name (in any role) can only appear on one Research Council application per deadline.
• Faculty members are limited to one active, large Research Council grant at a time. This does not apply to those with small Research Council grants.
• Faculty members are limited to three large Research Council grants in any five-year period. This does not apply to those with small Research Council grants.
• A faculty outcomes report must be submitted in InfoReady (for projects awarded in AY2021) for each person listed on the application.
• Faculty members may receive a summer research salary for two summers in any five-year period.
• Applicants must be MU employees for a minimum of one year following completion of a funded project.
• Emeriti faculty can apply for Research Council funding if they are current MU employees and will continue to be employed for a minimum of one year following the completion of a funded award.
• If the principal investigator’s appointment includes 0% research effort, a letter of support is required from the department chair. This letter must explain how the applicant’s current appointment will be modified to accommodate the proposed research activity, including non-tenure-track faculty with 100% teaching appointments and tenure-track faculty with 100% administrative appointments.

Review list of projects funded with Research Council grants awarded during the last academic year, August 2023 to May 2024.

What is the application process?

• Review the Research Council grant guidelines for information on application format, project description, budget and letters of support.
• See examples of funded projects: 
  • Proposal 1
  • Proposal 2
• All Research Council grant applications are submitted electronically through InfoReady, our electronic proposal system.

Submit Research Council grant application

Post-award requirement

Faculty who receive Research Council grants submit outcome reports through InfoReady. 

Submit an outcome report

Research Council Committee

Committee members are appointed by the vice chancellor for Research, Innovation & Impact. The Research Council Committee is composed of two subcommittees:

• Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
• Arts and Humanities/Social and Behavioral Sciences (AH/SBS)

Members of each committee review Research Council grant applications. The vice chancellor makes awards based on recommendations from the committee.

Because of the potential for a conflict of interest, please do not contact current council members regarding your application before or after their review.