The first step to external funding success is learning about funding opportunities. There are a number of ways to do this:

• Contact your College's Associate Dean for Research
• Visit Grants.gov
• Subscribe to Federal Agency funding alerts and notices. These include:
  • National Science Foundation
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Endowment for the Humanities
  • Department of Energy
  • Department of Defense
• Connect with the Office of Foundation Relations or search the Foundation Directory Online (link will land on the university's library website, click on 'go' and you will be redirected to the Foundation Directory Online)
• Contact the University's Office of Corporate Relations
• Request assistance from Lewis Burke Associates (to do so, contact Melanie Loots in the OVCR)
• Subscribe to the OVCR Research Funding and Opportunities Email List
   

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign supports innovative research in a number of ways. Campus funding helps faculty and research staff advance new ideas, complete important preliminary studies to attract external support, and supplement resources available from other sources. View a list of campus seed funding opportunities.

The U of I has a limited submission selection process because government agencies, private foundations, and corporate sponsors often accept only a limited number of proposals, applications, or nominations from a single institution (thus the term "Limited Submissions"). See a detailed explanation of the Limited Submissions Process or subscribe to the OVCR Research Funding and Opportunities Email List.