Helping to grow research capacity, collaboration, and competitiveness
Research Development partners with faculty to support research readiness, competitiveness, and impact. We provide resources, training, and support to help faculty identify funding opportunities, build collaborations, and develop competitive proposals.
Funding Opportunities
Identify external and internal funding opportunities, monitor curated opportunity lists, and understand UCF processes for opportunities that require institutional coordination.
Funding Search Tools
Use Pivot and other search resources to identify funding opportunities and recurring sponsor deadlines. Pivot guidance is grouped below, followed by supplemental tools that can support broader funding discovery.
Pivot
Pivot is a funding opportunity database available to UCF faculty, staff, and students. Researchers can search opportunities from a wide range of sponsors, save customized searches, and receive automatic alerts when new opportunities become available.
Searches can be refined by keywords, topics, sponsors, eligibility, funding type, and other criteria. Opportunity records provide details such as links, summary information, funding amount, eligibility, and deadlines.
Research Development can help faculty run a funding search or troubleshoot a search they have already created.
Other Funding Search Resources
- Grant calendars: Identify recurring opportunities and common sponsor deadlines.
- Grants.gov: Explore federal grant opportunities.
- SAM.gov: Explore federal contract and assistance opportunities.
- Web of Science / Knowledge: Review funder acknowledgements in scholarship.
- Grantmakers.io: Find organizations that previously received private foundation funding.
Saved Searches and Targeted Alerts
Research Development maintains saved searches and shares Targeted Alerts. View current saved search results below and sign up to receive the Targeted Alerts Digest.
Targeted Alerts
Saved Searches
(UCF Single Sign On required)
- Arts and Humanities
- Early Career Investigators
- Entertainment and Immersive Experiences
- Equipment/Infrastructure
- Energy and Sustainability
- Health and Human Performance
- Honorific Awards (Prestigious)
- Hospitality and Tourism
- HSI / MSI Opportunities
- Large, Multi/Inter/Transdisciplinary Research
- Non-Federal STEM
- Private Foundation Funding
- Space Technologies and Systems
- State of Florida Funding
- Transformative Technologies and National Security
- Transportation Science
Internal Funding Opportunities
UCF internal and partnership funding opportunities vary throughout the year. Available programs, eligibility requirements, application requirements, and deadlines are listed with each opportunity. Opportunities are typically announced by email and managed through InfoReady.
Research Development may also be able to provide coordination assistance with internal programs from other UCF units.
Limited Submission
Limited Submissions are funding opportunities from federal, state, and private organizations that restrict how many applications an institution may submit. The Office of Research administers the internal selection process for UCF.
Identified Limited Submission opportunities are posted in InfoReady with internal deadlines and application requirements. Internal deadlines are set in advance of sponsor deadlines to allow time for submission, review, selection, and post selection revisions. Internal notices of intent and white papers must be submitted through InfoReady to be included in an internal competition. Please add limitedsub@ucf.edu and support@inforeadyreview.com to your safe senders list.
- Limited Submission Policy
- Limited Submission Application Process for Applicants
- Limited Submission Process for Reviewers
- View current limited submission opportunities in InfoReady
If you do not see an active Limited Submission opportunity posted in InfoReady, or if you do not receive the weekly Limited Submission Alert email, notify our team as soon as possible.
Events and Programs
Participate in workshops, programs, and special events designed to help you navigate the research lifecycle, develop competitive proposals, build research connections, and engage with UCF’s research community.
New & Early Career Faculty Resources
New Faculty Orientation is an annual Office of Research session that introduces the research lifecycle and available services, from funding opportunity identification through project closeout. OR onboarding resources help new and early career faculty connect with research support services, funding resources, proposal support, and research infrastructure at UCF.
Workshops and Special Events
Research Development offers workshops, programs, and special events that help faculty find funding, develop competitive proposals, navigate research resources, and build research connections. Topics include funding opportunities, limited submissions, grant writing, SciENcv, and Office of Research services. We also host agency-focused sessions, symposia, lab tours, uKnight activities, and other faculty engagement opportunities.
Faculty Programs
Research Development offers structured programs that support faculty through mentoring, proposal training, CAREER preparation, industry engagement, and proposal concept development.
- OR Pitch Program: Structured feedback on proposal concepts, program manager engagement, or proposal resubmission strategies.
- NSF CAREER Program: Cohort based preparation for NSF CAREER submission, including workshops, pitch sessions, and mock review.
- Grant Writing Academy: Guided learning, proposal development resources, and mock review support for federal proposal submission.
- Industry Readiness Program: Cohort based support for industry aligned research, partnerships, and funding opportunities.
- uKnight: A Connector’s Program: Connect with potential research collaborators through matchmaking and facilitated introductions.
- Open Lab Tours: Explore UCF research labs, discover campus expertise, and build new connections through faculty-hosted lab visits.
- REU Site Award Support: Centralized information and support for NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates Sites.
Proposal Support
Strengthen proposal competitiveness through strategic support, proposal development resources, and expert feedback throughout the proposal preparation process.
Preparation Assistance (Individualized)
Research Development offers a variety of services and resources to plan, develop, review, and strengthen competitive research proposals.
- Helping align with sponsor priorities
- Finding potential collaborators
- Proposal resources, templates, and sample funded proposals
- Institutional information and boilerplates
- Developmental feedback (early-stage and mid-stage proposals) to help strengthen alignment
- Personnel documents and systems
- Graphics and non-technical document assistance
- Internal and external peer review (mid-stage proposals)
- Copyediting review (late-stage proposals)
EARLIER (Large, Complex Proposals)
EARLIER (Expanded Assistance and Resources for Large, Interdisciplinary, and Emerging Research) represents UCF’s coordinated approach to advancing large-scale, interdisciplinary proposals with broad institutional impact. The program brings together expertise across units to reduce administrative burden and support strong, competitive submissions. Support is tailored to each project and can range from targeted services—such as proposal review, competitive intelligence, or graphic design—to full project management, including team facilitation, writing support, and coordination of internal and external partners.
Questions? EARLIER@ucf.edu
Resources
Access proposal tools and reference materials.
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Grant Fundamental webcourse: Learn foundational concepts in grant seeking and proposal development.
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Mentoring Programs: Explore mentoring opportunities that support research and career growth.
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Proposal Library: Review successful proposal examples to inform proposal strategy.
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SciENcv: Create sponsor-compliant biosketches and support documents.
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Proposal Toolkits: Access templates, guides, checklists, and proposal resources.
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Broader Impacts: Develop stronger broader impacts plans and activities.
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Data Management: Create data management and sharing plans for sponsor compliance.