Shift Research Fund

Now Accepting Applications
Deadline Nov. 1, 2026

Purpose and Objectives

To provide institutional funding to help UCI investigators strategically redirect research programs impacted by shifts in federal funding priorities. The Shift Research Fund (SRF) program seeks to:

  1. Enable Principal Investigators (PIs) whose research programs have been disrupted by shifts in federal funding priorities to strategically redirect their research. Awards will support a shift in research question, area, approach, or target funder, including the generation of new preliminary data needed to compete in an adjacent area or for a different sponsor.
  2. Help each supported investigator reach a competitive alternative extramural submission within 12 to 24 months, and broaden the base of sponsors supporting the research, including other federal agencies, state programs, foundations, and industry partners.
  3. Sustain research personnel, trainees, and scholarly momentum throughout the transition to a new research direction.

Key Dates

Applications are considered four times per year. They must be received by 5:00pm on the first of November, February, April, and August. If the 1st falls on a weekend or holiday, applications will be accepted on the next business day.

Eligibility

Program overlap. An investigator cannot receive an award from both the Bridge Funding Program and the Shift Research Fund within a single fiscal year; requests must be directed to one program only. In addition, an investigator who holds unspent funds from either program may not apply to or receive new funding from either program until those funds have been fully expended or returned.

Who may apply. Academic Senate faculty (Professor, Professor In Residence, Professor of Clinical X, and Professor of Teaching series). Non-Senate investigators and investigators serving as PI by exception are not eligible.

Qualifying circumstances. Applicants must document at least one of the following two pathways, arising from shifts in federal funding priorities occurring on or after January 1, 2025:

  1. Blocked research area. Your area of research has been demonstrably blocked or materially impaired through de-emphasis or elimination of a program area; withdrawal, rescission, or indefinite suspension of relevant funding opportunity announcements; restructuring of funding mechanisms such that previously supported work is no longer eligible; or documented guidance from program staff that the area is no longer a priority. This pathway does not require a scored application and accommodates agencies that provide little or no written feedback.
  2. Meritorious application not funded due to agency priorities. You served as PI, MPI, or Project Director on a federal application that received a merit review outcome within the range historically funded by the relevant agency, institute, or program, and the application was not funded following a determination that it did not meet current or revised agency priorities. Merit evidence depends on agency context: NIH scores and percentiles evaluated against published paylines or funding data for the five federal fiscal years preceding the qualifying event; NSF panel ratings and reviews in the fundable range; or, for agencies that do not disclose scores or provide written feedback, alternative documentation such as selection notifications or program officer communications.

Documentation may include, but is not limited to:

  • Withdrawn, rescinded, or archived funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) relevant to the applicant's research area;
  • Official agency notices, program restructuring announcements, or policy guidance indicating the de-emphasis or elimination of a program area;
  • Written communications from program officers or agency staff confirming that the research area is no longer a funding priority;
  • NIH summary statements with scores and percentiles, evaluated against published paylines or funding data for the five federal fiscal years preceding the qualifying event;
  • Agency merit review outcomes, panel ratings, or written reviewer feedback demonstrating a score or evaluation in the historically fundable range;
  • For agencies that do not disclose scores or provide written feedback, alternative evidence such as selection notifications or documented program officer communications; and
  • Evidence of a documented elimination, suspension, or material reduction of the program or funding line through which the application would otherwise have been funded.

Availability of other funds. Applicants must lack other funds sufficient to execute the proposed shift, corroborated by a letter from the department chair or dean. Investigators with substantial unspent startup or retention, gift, or discretionary funds will not be prioritized for funding.

Award Amount and Considerations

  • Individual awards will be up to $100,000, commensurate with the scope of the proposed shift. Investigators proposing modest retooling, for example a pilot study to generate preliminary data for a foundation application, should request accordingly; larger requests should reflect substantial redirection with significant personnel or infrastructure needs.
  • The program is a pilot for the 2026-27 academic year.
  • Awards are one-time allocations and do not constitute a commitment of continuing support.
  • Voluntary cost sharing commitment by the School or the Department is encouraged but not required and will not be a consideration for funding.

How to Apply

All applications for the SRF must be submitted by the appropriate Dean’s Office via the UCI Review Application Portal.

  • Step 1

    Applicants complete the application form and gather relevant supporting documents for upload.

  • Step 2

    Applicants should consult with the appropriate Department Chair, Dean, and relevant staff from their home units to request support for their application and to discuss cost-sharing arrangements, if applicable.

  • Step 3

    If supportive, the relevant Chair and Dean should generate a support memo(s) that includes a confirmation that there is a lack of other funds sufficient to execute the proposed shift. Investigators with substantial unspent startup or retention, gift, or discretionary funds will not be prioritized for funding.

  • Step 4

    Applications should be submitted via the PI's Dean’s Office through the UCI Review applications portal.

Criteria for Review

A faculty and administrative review committee will evaluate applications according to the criteria below. The committee makes funding recommendations; final decisions are made by the Vice Chancellor for Research.

  1. Strength of the qualifying disruption, demonstrated by documentation showing that shifts in federal funding priorities have materially impacted your research program.
  2. Quality, specificity, and feasibility of the shift plan, including the scientific rationale for the new direction and its relationship to your existing strengths, preliminary data, and infrastructure.
  3. Likelihood that the proposed activities will produce a competitive extramural application within 12 to 24 months, with identified target opportunities and sponsors.
  4. Appropriateness of the budget to the proposed activities.
  5. Lack of other available funds, corroborated by the chair or dean letter, and the unit's assessment of priority.
  6. Overall strength of the research program is appropriate to rank and field. Early career investigators will receive priority consideration.

Terms of Award and Reporting

  • Funds must be used solely for the purposes described in the approved proposal and expended within the 12-month budget period. Approval for no cost time extensions of up to 12 months may be requested and approved by the Vice Chancellor for Research.  Any unspent or uncommitted balances must be returned to the Office of Research unless a written extension has been approved in advance.
  • Awardees are required to submit 2 reports.  A progress report is due within 60 days of the end of the award period, and a final report is due one year after the end of the award period.
  • Reports must include financial reports; activities completed and preliminary data generated; extramural applications submitted or planned, with sponsor, mechanism, and date; awards received; publications and other products; and personnel supported.
  • Awardees are expected to submit at least one extramural application arising from the shift within 24 months of the award start date.
  • The Office of the VCR may request supporting documentation for any expenditure, and awards are subject to audit.

For additional information, contact

Jill Yonago Kay
Director, Interdisciplinary Research
Phone: (949) 824-1410
E-mail: jill.kay@uci.edu