4-VA Collaborative Research Grant Program

OVERVIEW: 4-VA is a partnership between eight Virginia institutions (UVA, VT, JMU, ODU, VCU, GMU, W&M, and VMI) with a mission to promote inter-university collaborations that leverage the strengths of each partner university in order to accomplish much more than any individual university could achieve alone. One of the many 4-VA initiatives, Collaborative Research, is intended to improve research competitiveness within the Commonwealth by providing funding for faculty teams to engage in pilot research that could be used as a springboard for subsequent external funding.

ELIGIBILITY: Eligibility to serve as a PI on a 4-VA at UVA Collaborative Research Grant is restricted to UVA faculty. Collaboration with at least one other 4-VA partner institution is required; proposals involving only faculty members at UVA will not be considered. Faculty members are encouraged to include undergraduate and graduate students on their research teams when possible. Projects that would not be capable without collaborative partnerships and leveraged resources are highly valued. Active dissemination of findings, especially to 4-VA partners and other universities within the Commonwealth, is expected. Because 4-VA collaborative research grants are intended to serve as a springboard for subsequent external funding, projects are not eligible for repeat awards over multiple award cycles.

FUNDING: There are two funding streams available in the Collaborative Research Grant program: primary funding and complementary funding. Each UVA Collaborative Research Grant proposal may request up to $30,000 in internal 4-VA at UVA funding (primary funding), which is awarded directly from the 4-VA at UVA program and will be transferred to the PI’s home department at UVA. Primary funding may not be transferred to other institutions. In some cases, PIs may request complementary funding for their Co-PI(s) at select 4-VA partner institutions. Complementary funding awards are capped at $5,000 and awarded directly by the Co-PI’s institution. For the current proposal cycle, complementary funding is only available to request for Co-PIs at VT, JMU, ODU, and GMU.

DEADLINE: LOIs submitted via this form are due by December 5, 2022. Everyone who submits a LOI will be invited to submit a full proposal, which will be due by January 10, 2023. Only those individuals who submit a LOI will be invited to submit a full proposal.