Eligibility & Guidelines

Who is Eligible to Apply?

Role Can be PI or Co-I Can receive salary support
Professorial Faculty (Assistant or Associate, including Research, Teaching, Clinical Practice, and WOT)
Full-Time (100%)		 Yes Yes, if PI or Co-I
Professional Staff
Full-Time (100%)
With PI Status		 Yes Yes
  • All PIs and Co-Is must meet all eligibility requirements in the table above on the submission deadline and for the duration of the award period. Eligibility will be verified. 
  • The RRF program views the Co-I (Co-Investigator) role as equal in status to the PI, so all PI requirements must also be met by the Co-I. RRF does not permit Co-Is that are honorary (including simply acknowledging a mentor relationship) or without a measurable role in the project. More than one Co-I must be clearly justified.
  • If a UW faculty member holds an eligible rank but is based at another institution (e.g., Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital, or VA Puget Sound), all of their extramural grants must be administered by their UW department in order to be eligible for an RRF award.

Who is Not Eligible to Apply?

Role Can be PI or Co-I Can receive salary support
Full Professors (see NOTE below) No No
Faculty with any of the following appointments: non-professorial, part-time (less than 100%), temporary, acting, clinical (annual term), affiliate, visiting, emeritus No No
Professional Staff
Part-time (less than 100%), temporary, or without PI Status		 No Yes
Postdoctoral Scholars No Yes
Graduate Students No Yes
  • NOTE: Starting with the autumn round of 2025, no new proposals from full Professors (including Research, Teaching, Clinical Practice, and WOT) will be considered.
  • This fund does not support independent research projects undertaken by graduate students or postdoctoral scholars.

Other Guidelines

Duplication: A PI or Co-I may submit one proposal per round. Our policy precludes PIs and Co-Is from having multiple funded proposals within the same period. There are no restrictions on participating faculty or staff who are not PIs or Co-Is.

Three Submissions Limit: A proposal that is not funded may be resubmitted twice, taking previous review comments into consideration. Any proposal can be submitted a maximum of three times.

Matching: The RRF may not be proposed as matching funds for another grant. (See the Office of Research Matching Funds Request page for information and to make a request.)

Overlap: Applications can be submitted to RRF that have also been submitted to external funders, but an RRF award cannot be used if an external award covers the same budget items. Support will not be provided merely to supplement or extend an ongoing funded research project.

Startup or Bridge Funding: The RRF is not intended to provide or supplement start-up funds for new faculty. RRF awards are not intended to serve as bridge funding when external sources of research support have been lost. The University program that supports faculty bridge funds is the Bridge Funding Program. Acceptance of an RRF award of $30,000 or more will make an individual ineligible for a Bridge Fund award. Applicants who apply to both programs simultaneously may receive one or the other award. If an individual holds a Bridge Fund award and subsequently accepts an RRF award of $30,000 or more, any remaining Bridge Fund monies must be returned.

Two Year Waiting Period: A PI who has received an RRF award is eligible to reapply as PI two years after the previous award budget has ended and the final report has been submitted.