Small Propel Grants Review Process and Criteria

Applications are reviewed by Research Development Office Staff against the Propel Grants purpose, priorities, and eligibility criteria.

Please consider your audience when crafting the proposal; proposals are evaluated by staff who may or may not have expertise in your specific subject area. It is advised that the proposal avoid jargon and unexplained abbreviations, and that the narrative be accessible to a broad audience.

Successful Small Propel Grant applications should result in the submission of at least one competitive proposal to an external funding agency and answer the following questions:

• How is the project collaborative in nature and “beyond the usual” in scale for their discipline and routine research work?
• Will the proposed activities maximize the competitiveness of an external proposal?
• Is the plan to pursue external funding reasonable, with a high chance of submitting a well-aligned proposal?
• Does the application demonstrate a strong and/or established collaboration and a cohesive team with sufficient expertise to carry out the research?

RDO will award a portfolio of projects that represent the diversity and breadth of scholarly areas. Preference will be given to disciplines or fields that have limited internal grant program support.