Investments in Forward-Thinking Solutions
The UNC System Research Opportunities Initiative (ROI) is funded by the North Carolina General Assembly to support some of the most innovative and important research projects within the UNC System.
These awards are designed to build capacity in research areas that are strategically important to North Carolina. UNC ROI awards target “game-changing research” taking place in six priority areas: advanced manufacturing; data sciences; defense, military, and security; energy; marine and coastal science; and pharmacoengineering.
Harnessing Energies from Across the System
UNC ROI invests up to $3,000,000 per year in seed funding and programmatic support for potentially groundbreaking research projects.
The criteria for awarding these grants varies year by year. Often the grants support multi-institutional projects, harnessing and amplifying the unique strengths found at each of the UNC System institutions. In some years, UNC ROI specifically prioritizes mature research endeavors that demonstrate clear potential for near-term impact. In other years, the initiative aims to jumpstart promising new projects.
The acronym ROI traditionally stands for “return on investment.” The UNC System’s use of this same acronym for this program is no accident. UNC ROI invests in research that harnesses the expertise of our institutions with the remarkable potential to bring significant value to North Carolina’s economy and well-being.
Proposal Details
The NC General Assembly provided support in the 2014-2015 budget bill (Senate Bill 744) for: “Game-Changing Research (16011) – Funds focused investments in faculty, research and scholarship in six priority areas: advanced manufacturing; data sciences; defense, military, and security; energy; marine and coastal science; and pharmacoengineering. The investment in data sciences shall include data sciences programs at UNC Charlotte. – $3,000,000. Recurring.”
Proposals must:
- Significantly advance UNC System research and scholarship in one or more of the six priority areas
- Demonstrate the potential for near-term and long-term impact
- Develop programs with high potential to leverage significant internal support and external funding from government, corporate, and foundation partners
- Describe a realistic sustainability plan
Proposed activities may include, but are not limited to:
- Support for faculty hires
- Shared equipment, core facilities, and lease/upfit of research space (labs, shops, studios)
- Student (graduate and undergraduate) and postdoctoral support
- Industrial research collaborations
- Proof-of-concept funding for early data collection
- Workshops on emerging multidisciplinary research areas
- High-level seminar series to promote networking for innovative project formation
- Concept development and white papers for large scale efforts
- Travel to establish partnerships and to interact with federal and industry program officers
- Identification and recruitment of partners (industrial, academic or government)
- Support for release time, travel, workshops, and other expenses associated with conceptualization and preparation of large grants
- Creation and support of resources such as websites, research collaboration sites, or other social networking tools to facilitate large scale research projects