Skip to Main Content
ISU 125th Anniversary Logo
Apply
Give

Internal Grants

ISU Internal Grants

Internal grants are a vital tool for university researchers, acting as essential stepping stones toward long-term scholarly success. They provide critical "seed" funding that lets faculty develop preliminary data, hone their ideas, or buy the resources and training needed to make their work competitive nationally. By investing in its faculty through internal grants, ISU lowers the initial barriers to research, fosters a culture of innovation, and ultimately increases the likelihood that its researchers will secure larger, highly competitive external funding awards.

Here is a summary of the three internal grant opportunities provided by the Idaho State University Office for Research:

1. Proposal Readiness and Enhancement Program (PREP)

Purpose: PREP is designed to help Principal Investigators (PIs) develop highly competitive external research proposals. Because it is often difficult to find funding to cover the costs of putting an application together, PREP provides financial support specifically for pre-award proposal development.

  • What it covers: Pre-award expenses such as graphic design support for your proposal, classes or workshops to improve your grantsmanship, hiring external peer reviewers, or addressing previous reviewer comments.

  • Key Dates: Proposals are typically due March 1st.

2. Support Program for Advancing Research and Creativity (SPARC)

Purpose: SPARC provides funding to full-time ISU faculty to help them push their current research or creative activities to the "next level." The goal is for this funding to either lead directly to external funding applications or provide significant scholarly/artistic benefits (like new publications, presentations, or performances).

  • Funding Amount: $1,000 to $8,000 for project-related expenses.

  • Important Notes: This is not meant to supplement projects that are already externally funded. Collaborative proposals are highly encouraged as long as they clearly map out each participant's distinct contribution.

  • Key Dates: Proposals are typically due November 1st.

3. Proposal Assistance Toward High-impact funding (PATH) Award

Purpose: PATH is a new internal grant aimed at supporting PIs who are on track to submit large-scale external funding proposals of $1 million or more. Projects must align with ISU's priority topics (health, energy, environmental stewardship and security, or community connection) and drive innovation or build research capacity.

  • Funding Amount: Up to $50,000 per award (ISU anticipates awarding 2-3 of these per year).

  • Important Notes: This is not for early-stage or pilot studies. Your project should already have preliminary data and be close to the submission stage, as you are expected to submit your external proposal within 1 to 2 years of receiving the PATH award.

  • Key Dates: Proposals are typically due May 1st.