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Proposals must be submitted via UM's Grants Management System (Cayuse). 

1. Work with your Departmental Research Administrator (DRA) to create a proposal record in Cayuse following the guidance in the UGP and in OSP’s Business Processes document. 
2. Provide a project title in this format: “[PILast]: UM; UGP [ShortTitle]” This is required. The common naming convention is what allows us to identify your proposal as a UGP submission. Without it, your proposal may not be properly identified or reviewed. NOTE: The ShortTitle should be approximately 35 characters; a longer title can be entered in the Cayuse record. 
3. The ÁÔÆæÖØ¿Ú is the sponsor. 
4. Choose a project start date that falls between May 1 and June 30, 2026. Choose a project end date that falls within the range of April 30 to June 29, 2027. The review committee will consider start and end dates outside of these ranges if necessary to complete the proposed work. The applicant must provide a clear justification for the variance. 
5. Attach the proposal components to the Cayuse proposal record. Use the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) naming conventions for all attachments.  
6. Once the proposal record is complete with all required files attached, assign a Task to your OSP pre-award specialist by 11:59 pm (MT) on the deadline date. Late proposals will not be accepted. 
   1. To assign a Task, navigate to the Task tab in your proposal record and click the “+ New Task” button 
   2. In the “Assign To” field, enter your pre-award specialist’s name 
   3. Enter the deadline date in the “Due” field 
   4. In the “Task” field, enter “UGP 2026: ProposalType” (ProposalType will be Small or Seed) 

Attach the following components to the Cayuse proposal record. For all attachments, use a font size of 11 point and margins no smaller than 1”. Documents can be single spaced. 

1. UGP Cover Page. Use the .  
2. Scope of Work. The scope of work may be up to five pages maximum.  Avoid technical jargon and make certain the terminology and concepts are understandable to those who work outside the applicant's specialty field. Address each of the following sections in your proposal: 
   1. Significance and Potential Impact 
   2. Project Plan and Approach
   3. Evaluation/Outcomes (Measures of Success)
   4. Applicant Capacity for Project Success 
   5. Future Plans 
   6. Bibliography (excluded from page limit) 
3. Proposal Budget. Work with your DRA to prepare a line-item budget for the project (UM Cost Estimation Tool/budget excel template). There is no F&A for the UGP. 
   1. Allowable Costs: 
      • materials and supplies 
      • travel (includes per diem and lodging) 
      • student support (directly benefiting the proposed project) 
      • human subject payment 
      • salary (Research assistant salary is an acceptable request. To be considered for funding, faculty salary must have a compelling justification.) 
      • other costs justified by the nature of the project 
   2. Unallowable Costs: 
      • Dissertation research support 
      • Publishing fees 
4. Budget Narrative/Justification. Limited to one page. Include a brief description of each line item included in the budget. Explain the purpose of each line item and how you arrived at the dollar total for each. 
5. Report on Past UGP Support. Applicants must indicate all years they have received UGP support in the past and include the most recent final report. 
6. Letters of Collaboration. Optional. Applicants may include letters from collaborators indicating their commitment to the project. 

Proposals for all UGP grants will be evaluated by ad hoc reviewers who will be appointed by the University Research and Creativity Committee (URCC), as well as by the URCC committee members. The URCC will make funding recommendations to the Vice President for Research and Creative Scholarship. Applicants will be advised of final funding decisions in April 2026. For general questions about proposal review, contact URCC Chair Fernando Sánchez (Fernando.Sanchez@mso.umt.edu). 

The committee will use the following review criteria to assess proposals. 

1. Significance and Potential Impact. The significance and potential impact of the project for the relevant field is clearly demonstrated. The URCC will consider: 
   1. The potential contribution of the proposed project to increased knowledge or understanding within the relevant field. 
   2. The likelihood that the proposed project will result in improvements to teaching, practice, or research. 
2. Project Plan and Approach. The soundness of the project plan, approach, and, if applicable, research methodology is thoroughly addressed. Ideally, your project should not rely on other pending projects. A failure or unexpected result from the other project could negatively impact your ability to complete your UGP project. Requests for major changes to your scope of work under such circumstances are unlikely to be approved.  
   
   Additionally, the extent to which the application includes a workplan that describes the project timeline, milestones, and the proposed strategy for implementing and managing the project. 
   
   
   1. Plans to address weaknesses in the rigor of prior research that serves as the key support for the proposed project 
   2. The extent to which the project is innovative 
   3. Strategies to ensure a robust and unbiased approach, as appropriate for the work proposed 
   4. Feasibility and risk management 
   5. If using human subjects, the protection of human subjects from research risks. 
   6. If using human subjects, inclusion or exclusion of individuals of all ages (including children and older adults), justified in terms of the scientific goals and research strategy proposed 
   7. Plans for the proper, humane care and use of animals in compliance with UM's Animal Use Protocol 
   8. Potential for inclusion of students and/or trainees. 
   9. Plans for future papers, exhibits, performances, presentation, or other similar research and creative outputs. 
   10. Whether the applicant has submitted a proposal to an external sponsor for this project that was not funded, and the likelihood that a UGP grant would support the resubmission of a stronger proposal. Examples include gathering additional preliminary data, adding a collaborator with specific expertise, or piloting a project to assess feasibility. 
3. Evaluation/Outcomes (Measures of Success). The plans to evaluate project results, including deliverables (presentations, performances, publications, etc.), key dependent measures/outcomes, and reach to the community or relevant field, are appropriate, feasible, and clearly described. 
4. Applicant Capacity for Project Success. The URCC will consider: 
   1. Whether qualifications, expertise, and relevant accomplishments of the PI demonstrates capacity to carry out the activities for which support is requested. May include a description of relevant publications, performances, exhibitions, etc. 
   2. The extent to which the bibliography demonstrates the applicant’s familiarity with the literature related to the proposal. 
   3. How closely the proposal adheres to the posted UGP instructions and addresses the review criteria. 
   4. For prior UGP awardees, whether the previous award had the intended results and whether the applicant submitted all required reports. 
5. Future Plans. The URCC will consider 
   1. For all applicants, plans for future papers, exhibits, performances, presentations, or other similar outputs. 
   2. For research-focused Small Grants and all Seed Grants, the proposal includes a timeline, interim milestones, and plans for developing and submitting a subsequent extramural grant application. 
6. Budget. The proposed budget is reasonable in relation to the objectives, the complexity of the proposed activities, and the anticipated results. 

University Grant Program awardees must: 

1. Direct any budget revisions requests that change the approved scope of work to the University Research and Creativity Committee (URCC) chair (Fernando.Sanchez@mso.umt.edu). This includes no cost extensions. 
2. Fully comply with all Research Compliance requirements (e.g., protection of human subjects, radiation safety) 
3. Formally acknowledge the support of the ÁÔÆæÖØ¿Ú in all publications, exhibition, or performances resulting from the UGP funding. 
4. Electronically submit a final written report for all 2026 UGP awards by September 30, 2027, to Katherine Swan (Katherine.Swan@mso.umt.edu) in the Office of Research and Creative Scholarship, and to Dr. Wendy Walker (Wendy.Walker@mso.umt.edu) at the Mansfield Library for inclusion in ScholarWorks.  The report (up to two pages) must summarize results.  Oral presentations (e.g., YouTube, Zoom recordings, etc.) are not acceptable.  Awardees who do not submit a final report may not be eligible for subsequent UGP grants. Note that 2025 reports are due by September 30, 2026.  
5. Understand that all non-expendable materials (items below a purchase price of $5,000 U.S. dollars) purchased with UGP funds are UM property. 
6. Reimburse the University for any personal financial gain (e.g., royalties) received as a direct result of the grant, up to the amount of the grant. 
7. Agree to allow the office of the Vice President for Research and Creative Scholarship to announce the award, including the name of the awardee, title, abstract, and amount awarded. 
8. Agree to serve as a potential future UGP reviewer.