Cal Poly Internal Funding: Proposal Development Program (PDP)
The primary focus of this track is to support faculty in the preparation and submission of external funding proposals.
Proposals are due Thursday, October 8, 2026 @ NOON PDT via InfoReady.
No late submissions will be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their proposals early. (Standard practice is 24 hours ahead of deadline).
Important documents:
1. The PDP Info Sheet (includes rating definitions)
2. The Internal Funding_2027-28 RFP for full details
Background
Cal Poly is committed to the teacher-scholar model in which faculty integrate excellence in teaching with excellence in research, scholarly and creative activities. The teacher-scholar model enables faculty to fulfill Cal Poly’s mission as an institution committed to quality undergraduate and graduate education, to the advancement of knowledge through basic and applied research, to the enrichment of society through creative activities in the arts and humanities, and to serving our community. The Cal Poly Internal Funding Grant Program, supported by funds from the CSU Chancellor’s Office and the Cal Poly Office of the Provost, is intended to help faculty remain engaged in their disciplines beyond the classroom and to contribute new knowledge through robust programs of scholarship focused on strengthening California socially, culturally, and economically. The annual funding from the program is intended to provide internal resources to help faculty pursue a broader array of professional activities.
Synopsis of the Program
Extramural grant funding facilitates faculty engagement in research, scholarly and creative activities by supporting direct project costs, faculty compensation and release time, student research fellowships and other related expenses, while advancing our commitment to the teacher-scholar model. Faculty at primarily undergraduate institutions must balance competing demands with relatively high teaching loads. Faculty consistently report time constraints as a barrier to their ongoing engagement in deep and meaningful scholarly pursuits. The Proposal Development Track is intended to support the teacher-scholar model by providing up to 3 WTUs of assigned time, along with specific proposal revision guidance from the Hanover Research group, to support the revision and resubmission of one externally funded research proposal. Statistics indicate that incorporating feedback from grant consultants increases the odds of success when applying for external funding. If selected for this opportunity, your materials will be shared with Hanover to initiate this process. Upon award notification, in preparation for proposal submission through the relevant Office of Research pre-award office, participants should submit the Pre-Award Proposal Initiation Form in my Cal Poly Research, found in the Cal Poly Portal. Awards made through this program must result in a revised proposal submission to an external sponsor that allows public dissemination of knowledge produced and allows for a minimum of 15% F&A to be included in the sponsor budget with the expectation that Cal Poly's full F&A rate of 38.5% is used whenever allowed by the sponsor. Awardees who fail to meet the expectations of this program jeopardize their eligibility for funding from future internal award programs. Proposal revisions are expected to be re-submitted to the external sponsor by June 30, 2028. If this deadline is not met, individuals will not be eligible for future internal grant funding from the Office of Research. Proposals should be of high intellectual merit, appropriate to the identified funding mechanism, in support of Cal Poly’s teacher scholar approach, and ideally, though not required, include student involvement. It is incumbent upon the applicant to make these elements clear in their application. All funds awarded must be used for specific approved purposes and may not be converted to other uses without authorization by the Office of Research and the Office of the Associate Vice Provost.
Funding Details
Each track of the Internal Funding program has its own budget restrictions. Carefully review the appropriate info sheet and ensure that the budget submitted meets the stated requirements. Failure to submit an appropriate budget will result in your proposal being returned without review.
• Proposal Development: The budget requests may not exceed 3 WTU’s.
• Assigned time must be taken throughout AY 27-28. The WTUs are intended to be awarded only to the applicant. In the case of collaborative projects, awardees may request support to be divided among no more than two applicants.
• Requests to convert WTUs to additional compensation may also be considered if the request directly supports the timeline for submission
Additional Eligibility Requirements
In addition to the eligibility requirements as stated on the Internal Funding Program RFP, the following criteria are applied towards the Proposal Development Track:
• To be eligible to apply, applicants must be faculty (unit 3) employees (i.e. tenure-track, tenured, or lecturer faculty). Non-faculty unit employees (i.e. MPP, staff, etc.) are not eligible.
• Proposal was declined since July 1, 2022
• Proposal was submitted to a federal, state, or nonprofit sponsor
• Proposal was submitted to a sponsor that allows public dissemination of knowledge produced
• Proposal was submitted to a sponsor that allows a minimum of 15% Facilities and Administrative costs (F&A) included in the sponsor budget
• Recognition that, if selected, materials will be shared with the Hanover Research Group to initiate the proposal review/feedback process
Proposal Submission
Proposals are due Thursday, October 8, 2026 @ NOON PDT via InfoReady. No late submissions will be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their proposals early. (Standard practice is 24 hours ahead of deadline).
Note that this program does NOT require any processing through the Office of Research pre-award offices for proposals to external funders.
Applicants will be notified whether their proposals have been awarded by February 2027.
The Office of Research thanks you for your participation! If you need assistance, please e-mail research@calpoly.edu.
Please also see our two other tracks: New Initiatives/ Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activities (RSCA) Grant Program and Continuing Initiatives/ Teacher-Scholar Mini Grant (TSMG).
