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University of Wisconsin–Madison

Grant Matching Programs

An important goal of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) is to support faculty and Permanent PI efforts to garner extramural support to enhance the research infrastructure at UW-Madison, to build larger scale research and research training programs, and to invigorate their scholarship through off-campus faculty fellowships. In support of this goal, OVCR provides matching funds for the following types of extramural grants.

Research Instrumentation and Infrastructure

We intend to support the campus research enterprise by collaborating with other units on campus to provide institutional support for the purchase of expensive pieces of equipment or the establishment of other infrastructure that will facilitate the research efforts of multiple investigators or groups of faculty researchers. The instrumentation and infrastructure matching program includes extramural applications to all federal agencies and private foundations. We will provide up to 20% of the total cost of the instrumentation/infrastructure to a limit of $750,000. We expect that additional matching funds will be provided by other campus units, ideally at a level in aggregate that equals or exceeds the funding provided by the OVCR.

Research Training Grants

UW-Madison has excelled at training the next generation of researchers, and many of our graduate students or postdoctoral fellows go on to achieve prominence for their research in academic institutions, government agencies, or the private sector. One reflection of this success is that our campus is the recipient of a large number of training grants from NIH and some similar training awards from other agencies. Because these awards do not typically provide the full cost of tuition and fringe benefits for the trainees, we have provided funds to support those residual costs. Requests for these shortfall funds are coordinated through RSP during the annual account/project close out process.  In addition, OVCR provides flexible funding for training related costs of 2.5% of the first year direct costs for each year of new NIH T32 awards or equivalent pre- and post-doctoral training grants from NIH and other agencies. To request this flexible funding use this form.

Research Center Grants

Multi-disciplinary research centers bring together researchers from across the campus to pursue common goals related to a particular research problem or area of investigation. Such centers foster novel collaborative opportunities and are the source of some of the most innovative research on campus. Many of these centers obtain support from core or center grants, such as NIH P30, P50, U19, or U54 grants, or NSF grants for Science and Technology Centers-Integrative Partnerships. To better support our multi-disciplinary research centers and increase their competitiveness for extramural support, OVCR will provide flexible funds up to 10% of the first year direct costs (not inclusive of subawards), to a limit of $250,000, for each year of a new center grant award. These funds must be used to support the research activities within the center.

Multi-investigator Research Projects

Synergies of faculty expertise and interest can lead to groundbreaking advances through collaborative research. These collaborations may be supported by multi-investigator research awards, such as NIH P01 grants, that bring significant resources to campus. In order to encourage the development of large, multi-investigator research programs, OVCR will provide matching funds equivalent to 10% of the first year direct costs (not inclusive of subawards), up to a limit of $100,000, for each year of new P01 or equivalent grants. Funds provided by OVCR should, in general, be equally matched by other campus units. Note that the intent is to match grants with a broad scope that engage multiple research groups.

Faculty Fellowships

Highly competitive faculty fellowships provide an important source of funding for many areas of scholarship on campus and success in obtaining those awards greatly enhances the reputation and standing of UW-Madison. We have partnered with the schools and colleges to support our faculty who compete for such fellowships as described here.

Process for Requesting Matching Funds

 Deadline to Apply:  June 13, 2025 (the application system will be off-line for improvements June 14-June 30, 2025)

OVCR has limited funds available for matching extramural grants, making it necessary for us to prioritize requests and make strategic decisions that have the greatest impact on the campus research enterprise.

If you are requesting supplementation of faculty fellowships, please consult the webpage instructions located here

For other types of matching support, the PI for the proposal should complete the online form located at https://vcr-uwmadison.smapply.io/ two months prior to the due date for the extramural application to request matching funds. OVCR leadership will review the request and provide, if appropriate, a letter of support with details of the matching funds no less than three weeks before the application due date.

Application Instructions:

Please apply electronically at https://vcr-uwmadison.smapply.io/  . You may log-in using your UW–Madison NET-ID and password.  Select the “Special Research Funding Requests 2” program tile.  Click “Apply” to start a new application.

Some Key Tips:

  1. The Lead PI must initiate and submit the complete application.
  2. You can also invite additional collaborators to fill out the application form. However, the PI who starts an application must also be the person that ultimately submits the application.
  3. The on-line cover sheet requests information about the PI.  The on-line matching grant request form will ask you to supply information on the lead investigators, provide details on the extramural grant and matching funds, upload a budget and supporting documentation, and upload a draft letter of support from OVCR.
  4. In preparing your budget, please upload a draft or finalized budget (in both Excel and PDF formats). A template is here: Budget Template for Match Requests for use if needed. Please be sure to upload a yearly and cumulative budget that includes at least the following categories: senior personnel salary and fringe, other personnel salary and fringe, equipment, travel, other direct costs, subcontracts/subawards, and UW-Madison indirect costs.
  5. Remember to scroll down to select “mark as complete” at the bottom of each completed page.
  6. You will be able to select “review and submit” before final submission.
  7. You will also have the option of downloading the entire application document.

Technical questions should be sent to:  competitions@research.wisc.edu

General questions about the matching grant request should be sent to the appropriate divisional associate vice chancellor.