FAQ & Application Tips

SBSRI Small Grant Funding Competitions

All applicants to SBSRI competitions must use SBS's Arizona Cultivate microsite to access and submit applications. Use your NetID to log into the system.

The applicant is the awardee/PI. SBSRI awards are made to individuals NOT research teams.

See application guidelines for eligibility requirements.

Students: Please note that if you are a Graduate Interdisciplinary Program (GIDP) student, your primary advisor must be a faculty member homed in the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences. GIDP students should contact Beth Stahmer, Director SBSRI, to determine eligibility before proposal development and submission.

No, budgets and budget justifications should only reflect expenses and line items related to this particular competition. If you need assistance with building a compliant budget/budget justification, please contact your unit's business manager or personnel in SBSRI for guidance.

No, applicants must use the budget and budget justification template provided within the Arizona Cultivate application.

  • Travel and related expenses associated with fieldwork
  •  Expenses (copying, access to archive, etc.) related to archival research
  •  Human subjects payment
  •  Laboratory fees related to analysis
  •  Acquisition of software and/or databases
  •  Salary/wage support for UArizona graduate research assistants or undergraduate student workers
  •  Acquisition of research supplies and small equipment (audio recorders, transcription equipment, etc.)
  •  Acquisition of computer(s) and related equipment (please see competition guidelines for specific instructions)

  • Salary support for the PI
  •  Living expenses
  •  Expenses related to coordinating and administering a conference
  •  Travel or other expenses related to the attendance or participation in conferences
  •  Large equipment
  •  Salary/wage support for non-UArizona graduate research assistants or undergraduate student workers
  •  Publication/subvention expenses

If your research requires institutional approvals (e.g., human or animal subjects), you must acquire these before you can engage in your research. However, such documentation is not required at time of application submission.

Decision letters go out approximately six to eight weeks after the close of the competition.

Tips for SBSRI Proposals

When in doubt, reach out. SBSRI personnel are happy to answer any questions that you have regarding the competition or your application. Also consult with personnel in your unit's business office if you have budget-related questions and/or concerns.

  • Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on the deadline date. It is strongly suggested that applicants complete and submit their application much earlier than 5:00 p.m. as there have been instances of application failure when submitting minutes prior to the posted deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted.
  • Contact your reference letter writer or head/director for unit-level approval letter early. Consider sending the letter request as soon as you start your application.
  • Your application cannot be submitted until all required components are uploaded/filled out including reference or approval letter submission.

  • Know the review criteria and use them to your advantage. "Pitch" your project in a manner that is comprehensible to an interdisciplinary panel of faculty reviewers.
  • For the proposal narrative and other uploaded documents use single spacing, 12-point font, and one-inch margins all around. Please note that these formatting requirements DO NOT apply to the CV.
  • Your proposal will not be reviewed if your proposal narrative exceeds three pages. 
  • Total requested from SBSRI: do not go over the maximum amount listed for the award type – your proposal will not be reviewed if you go over the max amount.
  • Remember that the applicant is the Principal Investigator and is, therefore, responsible for the proposal (and submitting it on time) and the research to be done as described in the proposal.

  • Your proposal should address a research problem, have over-arching goals or objectives, include research questions, discuss methods for data collection AND analysis, highlight hypotheses or potential outcomes, and underscore the project’s impact or significance.
  • Answer all questions and answer them in a comprehensive manner (this includes the budget justification). When writing the narrative use the allotted three pages to your advantage!
  • Consider and incorporate review criteria into your responses.
  • Do not use discipline-specific jargon. If you must use it, define it.
  • Think of your research in terms of feasibility. Ask yourself, can I accomplish the research activities described, within the funding period, and with the budget requested?