Award Cap: Up to $20,000
Award Period: 9 months from award
Application Cycle: Spark Grants are accepted on a rolling deadline from August 1 until May 15 of the fiscal year.
The Spark Funding mechanism supports collaborative ideation and grant-making for WashU faculty who are engaged in cross-disciplinary, cross-school research with plans to submit competitive external research funding. Spark funds encourage a culture of multidisciplinary, convergent, team-based research by assisting teams in developing collaborative research agendas and preparing and submitting complex, large-scale proposals to external sponsors.
There are two tracks of Spark Funding available to researchers depending on the stage of their team or initiative: the Convening Track for projects in their nascent stages and the Proposal Development Track for teams engaged in advanced planning for complex external grant submissions.
The Convening Track helps teams turn their initial ideas into actionable plans. Within the 9-months award period, teams will hold a convening that produces a conceptual deliverable, such as a white paper, funding roadmap, or concept note, to prepare for a larger research initiative focused on sustainability and targeted external funding. Convening funds are not to be used in support of regular meetings of professional organizations.
Please note: This grant is designed for planning and developing collaboration pathways, rather than functioning as direct research/project or event support; there must be a subsequent pathway for work that eventually leads to external grant submissions.
The Proposal Development Track supports teams in the advanced planning necessary for successful external grant submissions, such as developing a compelling research vision, and securing buy-in from external collaborators and partners to demonstrate a track-record of robust teamwork amongst investigators across multiple disciplines. It also can fund direct proposal development goals like red-team review, grant writing support, graphics development, etc. Teams must submit a proposal by the end of the 9-month award period.
FY 2027 Call for Proposals
The FY2027 portal will be live on August 1, 2026. For active competitions and application guidelines visit the InfoReady site.
Questions? Email researchseedfunding@wustl.edu