Call for Proposals: Faculty Seed Grants
ImpactLab for Applied Social Science Research

 Overview

The ImpactLab for Applied Social Science Research invites proposals for faculty seed grants supporting applied research with clear policy relevance and potential public impact. The ImpactLab works with governments, nonprofit organizations, and community partners to produce evidence-based insights that advance solutions for the public good in North Texas and beyond.

These awards are intended to help faculty move promising projects toward a larger external funding application. Projects may be at an early stage, but proposals must explain how the requested support will generate evidence, partnerships, or preliminary results needed to develop a competitive external proposal.

Proposals must speak directly to the project’s policy relevance and broader community impact. Although projects may be grounded in academic research, applications should not focus only on contributions to scholarly literature. They should explain how the work connects to public problems, policy debates, government or nonprofit practice, or community needs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and beyond.

Eligibility

Faculty whose home department is in the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences are eligible to apply. Interdisciplinary teams and projects involving external community collaborators are especially welcome. Graduate and undergraduate students may participate as members of the project team, but an eligible faculty member must serve as the lead investigator.

Award Amount and Allowable Uses

Applicants may request up to $4,000. Award amounts will be based on the needs and merits of the proposed project rather than a fixed amount for every recipient. Funds may support reasonable project expenses, including:

  • New data collection or acquisition
  • Participant incentives or recruitment costs
  • Research assistance
  • Research-related travel or local fieldwork
  • Community or partner engagement
  • Software, supplies, transcription, or other direct research costs
  • Activities that strengthen a larger external grant application

Funds may not be used for faculty summer salary, task payments, or for conference travel. Other proposed expenses will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and must comply with UNT policies.

External Funding Requirement

The purpose of the program is to build a pipeline of externally funded applied research. Each proposal must identify at least one realistic external funding opportunity and explain how the seed grant will position the project for that opportunity. Award recipients will be expected to pursue a larger external grant or comparable funding opportunity at the completion of the seed-funded work.

Application Requirements

Proposals should be no more than 3 single-spaced pages and must include:

  1. Project title and applicant information
  2. Project description, including the research question, partner organization, motivation, and detailed proposed activities
  3. Policy relevance and community impact, including how the project addresses a real-world problem and could inform public decision-making, government or nonprofit practice, or community well-being
  4. Use of funds, including a brief itemized budget and justification
  5. Project timeline, with all proposed activities completed by the end of Summer 2027
  6. Future funding plan (timeline and deadlines), including the external funder, grant program, agency, foundation, or other opportunity the team expects to pursue and how the seed grant will support that application

Please also submit a current CV for each investigator listed on the proposal. CVs are not included in the 3-page proposal maximum.

Review Criteria

The ImpactLab Advisory Committee will evaluate and select proposals for funding based on:

  • The clarity and feasibility of the project
  • The strength of the project’s policy relevance and potential public or community impact
  • The quality and appropriateness of the proposed activities and use of funds
  • The potential for the seed grant to generate useful new data, evidence, or partnerships
  • The specificity and viability of the plan for pursuing larger external funding

Award Conditions and Reporting

  • Award recipients must complete proposed activities by the end of Summer 2027.
  • At the beginning of the 2027-2028 academic year, recipients must submit a brief narrative report summarizing activities completed, preliminary findings, and next steps for external funding.
  • Recipients must acknowledge support from the ImpactLab for Applied Social Science Research in publications, presentations, reports, and other deliverables resulting from the award.
  • Recipients must be willing to have the project featured on the ImpactLab website or in other ImpactLab communications and publicity.
  • Any external proposal developed from the project must be routed through the appropriate UNT research administration process.

Submission Instructions

Submit the proposal and investigator CVs as a single PDF by October 12, 2026 to Brian Hamel, Assistant Director of the ImpactLab, at Brian.Hamel@unt.edu. Questions may also be directed to Brian Hamel.

Applicants will be notified no later than mid-December.