The Provost’s Office will provide bridge funding to support faculty to span the gap in critical research programs.  The University of Washington ranks among the top research institutions in the world and has a budget of over $1 billion in research grants and contracts.  The UW and the region depend on the discoveries that come from our research programs.  Several key issues face us during the next few years: (1) NIH funding, which accounts for about half of our research funding, is flat; (2) starting and more established faculty face increased competition for limited federal and non-federal research funds; (3) investigators who have research staff may face loss of key personnel. 

Eligibility:

1. Faculty with a strong track record of extramural funding who have lost all of their extramural research support at the time of the Bridge application, or who will lose all of their extramural research support within 6 months of the Bridge application deadline. Exceptions will be made for faculty who have lost or will lose 50% or more of their salary support. Such faculty are eligible for Bridge funding even though they have existing funding. (Revised 4/15/08)
2. Junior faculty with a record of productivity, but who have not yet obtained their first extramurally funded grant.
3. A facility providing a key resource to multiple faculty that has lost extramural support.  One faculty member should submit the proposal on behalf of the team.

In all cases, evidence must be provided to demonstrate efforts to establish or re-establish funding. Evidence such as grant reviews with priority scores will be used to evaluate these efforts.

Application contents and submission process

Applications from faculty should be submitted to the applicant’s department chair, who should prioritize requests before forwarding them to the dean of the college/school.  In non-departmentalized colleges/schools, applications should be submitted to the dean or his/her designee.  The dean should prioritize requests before submitting them to the committee for review. Electronic applications are preferred, but for hard copy, please submit only one copy. The following material must be included in the application.

Budget Information:

Maximum award from the Provost: $50,000

Given for one year or until extramural funding is re-established. Can include supplies, equipment, lab personnel (technicians, students, fellows), travel and other research expenses. Salary requests must include benefits. Provost funding cannot be used for the salaries of faculty.

Matching requirement: All funding requests must be matched 1:1 by the applicant’s college/school.

Matching can be in any category that supports the research, including faculty salary, providing it is not currently being supplied. Faculty with 11-month appointments cannot use departmental salary as matching. The match must occur in the same time period that the research is carried out.

Documentation of the match commitment and a budget for the match must be included with the request.

Funding Established or Re-established

At the time funding is established or re-established, unspent funds will be returned to the bridge program so that others can benefit.

Deadline and Notification of Award

Deadline for the proposals will be twice each year, December 1 and May 1. If the due date falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the proposals will be accepted through the following Monday. Proposals will be reviewed by a committee in the Office of Research and recommendations will be made to the Provost.  Notification of award will be made within 1 month of submission.  A total of $500,000 is available for each round of awards.

Contact Information