Revised: March 31, 2025
Initial Implementation: July 1, 2025
Programs included:
- Limited Submission
- Research Excellence Fund (Research Seed (RS) and Scholarship & Creativity Grants (SCG))
- Century II Campaign Endowed Equipment Fund (C2E2)
- Bhakta Rath Award
- Michigan Tech Research Award
- Faculty Fellow Program
Internal VPR Review Committee:
In each year, the internal VPR Review Committee will be made up of at least five individuals (typically unit or program leaders) from within the office of the Vice President for Research. Positions will be rotated to spread workload (e.g., the Research Excellence Fund receives significantly more proposals than other programs so service in that program will rotate more quickly). A minimum of three Review Committee members will constitute a quorum for decision recommendations.
Review Process:
To inform the internal selection process, at least two peer reviews from researchers/scholars outside the VPR unit will be solicited for each proposal or nomination submitted to the following programs: Research Excellence Fund, Bhakta Rath, C2E2, and Research Award. Verbatim, anonymous feedback will be provided to the proposal writer or nominator based on these peer reviews.
For speed, limited submission proposal decisions will be recommended directly by the VPR Review Committee.
The VPR Review Committee will factor in the individual peer reviews (if applicable), submitted materials, dean/director rankings (if applicable) in their decision-making and provide recommendations to the VPR for final decisions.
The funding and/or award decisions will be distributed to the deans, associate deans, and the PI/nominator/nominee. For programs other than limited submission, decisions will also be announced in Tech Today.
Letters of Support:
If researchers/scholars in the same college or independent research center submit multiple proposals to the same program, the respective dean(s), center director, (or alternate, as chosen by the dean/director) will be asked to prioritize (rank) the proposals or nomination based on merit, need, and benefit. These rankings will be confidential recommendations to the Review Committee and will not be shared with the nominator/nominee (for awards) or PI (for proposals) but will be used as a factor in decision-making.
Final Decision:
For each program, the VPR Review Committee will make a recommendation to the Vice President for Research, who will make the final decision. If the final decision on any competitive program differs from the recommendation(s) of the committee, a written rationale will be provided to the committee and shared confidentially with the deans along with the decision determinations.