Research Development

Helping grow research capacity, collaboration, and competitiveness

Funding Opportunities

Find external and internal opportunities to help support your research.

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 an existing search.

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

Receive weekly email updates featuring curated funding opportunities aligned with strategic research areas, special topics, and faculty interests.

Sign up to receive weekly updates

Saved Searches (via Pivot database)

(UCF Single Sign On required)

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.

View current opportunities in InfoReady

Research Development may also be able to provide coordination assistance with internal programs from other UCF units.

Submit an internal coordination support request

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.

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 events that support research success.

New and 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.

Grant Fundamentals webcourse (self-guided) – Learn concepts in grant seeking and proposal 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, resources, and peer feedback.
Grant Writing Academy – Guided learning, 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

Access proposal development services and resources to strengthen submissions.

Competitive Intelligence and Strategy

Research Development provides data, insights, and strategic guidance to help researchers understand funding and research landscapes, identify expertise and collaborators, position proposals for sponsor priorities, and support research planning.

Services

Exploring sponsor interests, funding patterns, and research trends
Helping align proposals with sponsor priorities
Identifying research expertise across UCF
Finding potential collaborators
Connecting researchers with institutional information and data resources
Benchmarking peer institutions and research activity
Supporting research planning and research growth initiatives

Resources

Funder Toolkits – sponsor specific guidance, resources, and strategic insights for selected funding agencies
Scholar Expertise Portal – find potential collaborators and research expertise across UCF
UCF Facts – access information about UCF enrollment and broad characteristics, activities, and impacts
UCF Interactive Facts Dashboards – explore searchable institutional data on students, programs, and university performance
UCF Rankings Information – view national rankings for UCF programs and areas

Preparation and Review Support

Research Development offers individualized guidance, resources, and support to help researchers develop, review, prepare, and strengthen competitive proposals.

Services

Developmental feedback for early-stage and mid-stage proposals to help strengthen alignment
Institutional information and boilerplates
Personnel documents and systems
Internal and external peer review for mid-stage proposals
Graphics and nontechnical document assistance
Copyediting review for late-stage proposals

Resources

Templates and Samples (available upon request) – examples and guidance to support proposal development
Data Management and Sharing – resources for creating data management and sharing plans
Broader Impacts – guidance for developing stronger broader impacts plans and activities
SciENcv – prepare biosketch, Current and Pending (Other Support), and Common Forms documents for federal grant submissions
Research Cyberinfrastructure – UCF support for planning and budgeting for data costs
PreAward Shared Services (PASS) – UCF shared services model for proposal preparation and research administration assistance
PI Handbook – research administration guidance, forms, contacts, and resources organized by the research lifecycle

EARLIER Support (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

EARLIER support request

EARLIER is proud to have supported the following funded projects:

About Research Development

Our Pillars

Research Development supports UCF’s research mission through four pillars of focus.

Research Strategies

Building research capacity – Supporting strategic initiatives, institutional priorities, and capacity-building efforts that position researchers for future funding success.

Faculty Engagement and Outreach

Connecting the research community – Building relationships through programs, events, networking opportunities, and activities that strengthen UCF’s research ecosystem.

Proposal Development

Strengthening proposal competitiveness – Providing resources, guidance, reviews, and specialized support to help researchers develop competitive proposals.

Competitive Intelligence

Informing strategic decisions – Delivering funding insights, research analytics, and strategic intelligence to support planning and opportunity identification.