Resources, Initiatives & Research Support
Social Welfare Research Toolbox
University of Kansas Resources
KU Office of Research (KU Research)
The University of Kansas Office of Research is the university division that advocates for research, implements research integrity requirements, and manages the administration of research grants and contracts. Researchers will interact with the Office of Research as they prepare proposals, apply for human subjects approval, carry out funded work, and compete for internal university funding.
KU Center for Research (KUCR)
The KU Center for Research, a division of the KU Office of Research, is the official grant receiving entity for the university, providing contract and subcontract administration and negotiation for units on campus including the School of Social Welfare. KUCR provides proposal and post-award services & administation.
O’Leary Shared Service Center
The goal of shared service centers (SSCs) is to reorganize some of the transaction-based activities that occur in the units and departments at KU, including many post-award services.
KU Libraries Research Assistance
KU libraries facilitate the flow of scholarly communication at every stage, from discovery to dissemination, through its services, partnerships and information resources. Librarians are readily available for consultation with subject specialists that serve as liaisons for students and faculty in their assigned disciplines. They provide bibliographic instruction and research consultation and select information resources to support teaching and research.
Spencer Research Library
Kenneth Spencer Research Library is a destination for researchers and scholars from around the world. Their mission is to connect scholars in varied disciplines with the information that is critical to their research while providing excellent services in a welcoming and comfortable environment.
KU ScholarWorks
KU ScholarWorks is the digital repository of the University of Kansas. It contains scholarly work created by KU faculty, staff & students, as well as material from the University Archives. KU ScholarWorks makes important research available to a wider audience. KU Libraries are leaders in the Open Access movement.
Internal Funding Opportunities
The General Research Fund (GRF) is a competitive award program that provides funding for the advancement of the university's research program. The Office of Research provides funds to each school or college and assists in the administration of these funds. Each faculty member on the Lawrence campus is eligible to submit one GRF proposal to his or her school or college as the principal investigator. Awards will be made based on the merit of the proposal, which includes the scholarly excellence of the proposal and its benefit to the university and to the individual researcher.
To learn more visit the KU General Research Funding webpage.
The New Faculty General Research Fund Program (NFGRF) has been designed to help new tenure-track faculty members accelerate their individual scholarship and assist in building a sustainable research program. A crucial aspect of this program is mentoring. Each new faculty member who receives funding from this program should work with his or her department chair or dean to select a faculty mentor. The mentor will guide the new faculty member in developing his or her research program and assist in planning and preparing his or her proposal. Funds may be used for supplies, equipment, travel, summer salary, fringe benefits for faculty members, and salaries for graduate and undergraduate student assistants.
To learn more, visit the New Faculty General Research Fund webpage.
Research Development Funds (RDF) are intended to support Social Welfare researchers in moving their projects forward by providing funding for activities in the research development or proposal phases or in the post-project dissemination phase. Uses for these funds could include limited statistics consulting, transcriptions of interviews, student hourly time, funds to attend a methods/stats workshop, payment for expert review of a grant, participant payment, or something similar. Funds need to be fully spent by June 30 of the year they are awarded. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
Faculty/Staff Research Development Travel Fund Off-campus travel for face-to-face meetings with potential funding agency officials can lead to future success in obtaining grants. The Office of Research supports such meetings by providing up to $750 for an annual research development trip by any eligible faculty or staff member. The chief requirement is that the researcher must have a scheduled, focused meeting with one or more program officers to discuss the possibility of funding for a future sponsored project. The funding does not apply to trips to professional meetings that potential sponsoring program officials might attend.
To learn more visit the Faculty/Staff Research Travel Fund webpage.
Major Project Planning Grant
The Major Project Planning Grant (MPPG) award program is open to all Lawrence campus faculty and professional staff in every field of study and provides assistance to investigators to develop proposals for prestigious interdisciplinary research centers or projects. The goals of the program are to generate multi-investigator proposals that will enhance KU's competitiveness and prestige, as well as target new research leadership.
To learn more, visit the Major Project Planning Grant webpage.
Proposal Preparation Fund
The Proposal Preparation Fund (PPF) supports principal investigators (Pis) and other key personnel for whom 100% effort is grant-supported (current funding must be derived in whole or in part from federal funding sources, including federal flowthrough funds) and who do not have other sources of non-grant funding to support proposal preparation. The request should only be for personnel that are involved in the technical or scientific writing of the proposed project.
To learn more, visit the Proposal Preparation Fund webpage.
PEER (Proposal Evaluation and External Review) Program
The goal of the program is to help researchers obtain quality feedback on their grant applications prior to submission to an external funding agency, to strengthen the merits of the proposal, and to improve the likelihood of acceptance for funding. To that end, the Office of Research will provide a payment of $500 to external reviewers to read and assess eligible grant applications prior to their submission to external funding agencies.
To learn more visit the Proposal Evaluation and External Review webpage.
The General Research Fund (GRF) is a competitive award program that provides funding for the advancement of the university's research program. The Office of Research provides funds to each school or college and assists in the administration of these funds. Each faculty member on the Lawrence campus is eligible to submit one GRF proposal to his or her school or college as the principal investigator. Awards will be made based on the merit of the proposal, which includes the scholarly excellence of the proposal and its benefit to the university and to the individual researcher.
To learn more visit the KU General Research Funding webpage.
The New Faculty General Research Fund Program (NFGRF) has been designed to help new tenure-track faculty members accelerate their individual scholarship and assist in building a sustainable research program. A crucial aspect of this program is mentoring. Each new faculty member who receives funding from this program should work with his or her department chair or dean to select a faculty mentor. The mentor will guide the new faculty member in developing his or her research program and assist in planning and preparing his or her proposal. Funds may be used for supplies, equipment, travel, summer salary, fringe benefits for faculty members, and salaries for graduate and undergraduate student assistants.
To learn more, visit the New Faculty General Research Fund webpage.
Research Development Funds (RDF) are intended to support Social Welfare researchers in moving their projects forward by providing funding for activities in the research development or proposal phases or in the post-project dissemination phase. Uses for these funds could include limited statistics consulting, transcriptions of interviews, student hourly time, funds to attend a methods/stats workshop, payment for expert review of a grant, participant payment, or something similar. Funds need to be fully spent by June 30 of the year they are awarded. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
Faculty/Staff Research Development Travel Fund Off-campus travel for face-to-face meetings with potential funding agency officials can lead to future success in obtaining grants. The Office of Research supports such meetings by providing up to $750 for an annual research development trip by any eligible faculty or staff member. The chief requirement is that the researcher must have a scheduled, focused meeting with one or more program officers to discuss the possibility of funding for a future sponsored project. The funding does not apply to trips to professional meetings that potential sponsoring program officials might attend.
To learn more visit the Faculty/Staff Research Travel Fund webpage.
Major Project Planning Grant
The Major Project Planning Grant (MPPG) award program is open to all Lawrence campus faculty and professional staff in every field of study and provides assistance to investigators to develop proposals for prestigious interdisciplinary research centers or projects. The goals of the program are to generate multi-investigator proposals that will enhance KU's competitiveness and prestige, as well as target new research leadership.
To learn more, visit the Major Project Planning Grant webpage.
Proposal Preparation Fund
The Proposal Preparation Fund (PPF) supports principal investigators (Pis) and other key personnel for whom 100% effort is grant-supported (current funding must be derived in whole or in part from federal funding sources, including federal flowthrough funds) and who do not have other sources of non-grant funding to support proposal preparation. The request should only be for personnel that are involved in the technical or scientific writing of the proposed project.
To learn more, visit the Proposal Preparation Fund webpage.
PEER (Proposal Evaluation and External Review) Program
The goal of the program is to help researchers obtain quality feedback on their grant applications prior to submission to an external funding agency, to strengthen the merits of the proposal, and to improve the likelihood of acceptance for funding. To that end, the Office of Research will provide a payment of $500 to external reviewers to read and assess eligible grant applications prior to their submission to external funding agencies.
To learn more visit the Proposal Evaluation and External Review webpage.