
Internal Funding Programs
The Research Development Office manages the following NC State-sponsored opportunities for seed funding, research equipment, interdisciplinary research and other research infrastructure.
Open Opportunities
Research and Innovation Seed Funding (RISF) Program
Consistent with pre-pandemic RISF guidelines, FY23-24 proposals may encompass research focused on any topic area. Projects are particularly encouraged that align with NC State’s strategic research areas (Designing Healthy and Resilient Societies, Harnessing Data for Decision Making, Enriching the Human Experience, Creating Safe, Secure and Intelligent Systems, and Driving Food, Water and Energy Solutions). Many, if not all, of NC State’s strategic research areas are well-aligned with federal research funding priorities that have been highlighted in recent documents released by the White House (e.g., critical and emerging technologies, multi-agency research and development priorities, sustainable advanced manufacturing).
Upcoming Opportunities
Faculty Research and Professional Development Program (FRPD)
The FRPD program is a funding partnership between the Office of Research and Innovation and the 10 academic colleges. The primary objective of this program is to provide seed funding to individual investigators to jump-start larger awards and grants from outside agencies.
Closed Opportunities
Non-laboratory Scholarship/Research Support Program (NSRP)
NSRP is aimed at supporting research/scholarship not driven by instrument-dependent research. The Office of Research and Innovation and the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost have set aside $100,000 has been set aside to support the acquisition of resources for scholarly and research needs.
Laboratory Research Equipment Program (LREP)
LREP is designed to support the acquisition, repair and/or replacement of shared equipment that may be located and maintained in NC State service centers, departments, colleges, or centers and institutes.
METRIC Pilot Project Program (MPPP)
The Molecular Education, Technology, and Research Innovation Center (METRIC) is an NC State Shared Core Research Facility that provides access to state-of-the-art equipment capable of addressing a diverse range of scientific questions. The Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science provides matching funds for this internal seed-funding program to enable NC State researchers to access METRIC platform technologies.
Game-Changing Research Incentive Program (GRIP)
GRIP was a large-scale seed-funding program and partnership among the Office of Research and Innovation, the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science, and RTI, allocating $2.3 million over three years to fund exceptional research teams and projects that spanned NC State’s colleges. GRIP was intended to incentivize and support visionary research ideas that would result in large-scale extramural funding, award-winning research impacts, and first-class interdisciplinary graduate education and training.
To date, this program has resulted in over $56 million in extramural funding.
Game-Changing Research Incentive Program for the Plant Sciences Initiative (GRIP4PSI)
GRIP4PSI is a large-scale, inter-disciplinary seed-funding program that supports the NC Plant Science Initiative (PSI). This program was funded with generous commitments from the Office of the Provost, the Office of Research and Innovation, the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science, and the NC State Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), Engineering (COE), Natural Resources (CNR), Sciences (COS), Management (PCOM) and Textiles (WCOT). Collectively, $2.3 million in seed funding was allocated among four teams, who will be funded from 2020-2023.