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UNC System Research Opportunities Initiative

The Research Opportunities Initiative (ROI) provides targeted funding for innovative and potentially game-changing research projects. Funded by a recurring annual appropriation from the North Carolina General Assembly, ROI represents a significant financial investment in the UNC System’s strategic goals.

Program Information

Priority research areas eligible for ROI funding include:

  • Advanced Manufacturing
  • Marine and Coastal Science
  • Defense, Military, and Security
  • Pharmacoengineering
  • Energy
  • Data Science

ROI accepts proposals from any institution in the UNC System and invites submissions that propose a large‐scale initiative involving multiple strategies designed to deliberately support and increase the research footprint in one of the eligible areas. The initiative should have broad impact and involve multiple researchers and collaborators.

Submitting a Proposal

This is a limited submission program. NC State is limited to submitting one proposal (as the lead institution). The Vice Chancellor’s office is charged with the responsibility of selecting the proposal that will be submitted to the UNC System for each year of the program. NC State’s proposal is selected following an internal competition managed by the Office of Research and Innovation (ORI). The final proposal is submitted by the Vice Chancellor or his designee. Only pre-proposals submitted to ORI via the UNC ROI Submitter Dashboard will be prioritized and considered for submission to the UNC System. Proposals submitted directly to the UNC System will be rejected.

Important dates

Relevant deadlines for the FY2025 cycle of the ROI program are outlined below:

  • November 2, 2023 at 5 p.m.: Pre-proposals due. Submit here: UNC ROI Submitter Dashboard
  • March 11, 2024:  NC State’s proposal submitted to the UNC System by the Vice Chancellor or his designee.

Guidelines for submitting an internal pre-proposal

Internal pre-proposals must be submitted to the Office of Research and Innovation through the UNC ROI Submitter Dashboard. Please use this internal pre-proposal template.

Pre-­proposals may be reviewed by colleagues both inside and outside of the specific discipline(s); therefore, pre-proposals should use language that can be understood by those lacking expertise in the specific research area(s).