Research Resources
The UC Davis Office of Research has an in-depth faculty toolkit that provides information for all stages of the research pipeline including: finding funding, preparing proposals, how to handle intellectual property and award processing.
Cayuse SP
All new research proposals must be submitted using Cayuse SP.
Cayuse SP is designed to manage research operations and provide a framework to track and report on sponsored program activities. It manages the life cycle of sponsored projects with Cayuse SP, a flexible, user-friendly Web application designed to reduce complexity, improve collaboration, and provide visibility from pre-award through post-award.
Cayuse 424 continues to be available for all Grants.gov submissions.
Training resources:
- Cayuse SP training page
- Cayuse 424 training page
- Recorded trainings from the UC Davis Office of Research
FAQ's - https://research.ucdavis.edu/research-support/proposals/spo-proposal/spo-faqs/
For further assistance, please email ORCayuseHelp@ucdavis.edu
Research Definitions
What is a Research Grant?
Research Grants and contracts are written agreements with external sponsors. UC Davis provides research, training, public service, or non-standardized testing or other services. Research grants and contract agreements contain one or more of the following provisions:
- A research protocol or other statement of work.
- A designated principal investigator(s).
- A designated period of performance.
- A budget.
- An obligation to account for costs incurred and to return unspent funds.
- Disposition of intellectual property rights.
Types of Research Grants
New (unsolicited; solicited)
A formal request to a sponsor for funds to support a new project. A solicited proposal is submitted to a sponsor in response to an RFA, RFP, RFQ or PA. An unsolicited proposal is one that is not in response to a published request.
- Visit the Sponsored Program’s Proposal page for more details.
- All Institutional Information required for proposals is available online.
- Templates for the common proposal elements are also available online.
Renewal
A renewal application or proposal is a competitively reviewed proposal which builds upon the original work performed. It generally extends the scope of the original work, extends the time period, and includes a request for additional funds.
Revision
A revision proposal is a modified and resubmitted request for funding (proposal) for a project that was previously not funded either because it was denied by the sponsor or withdrawn by the principal investigator.
Subaward/Subcontracts
An agreement with a third-party organization performing a portion of a UCD research project or program. The terms of the relationship (subgrant/subcontract) are influenced by the prime agreement, detailing the award to the University. A subrecipient works collaboratively with the prime award recipient to carry out a portion of the prime award’s scope of work.
Supplemental Proposal
A supplemental proposal is a request to the sponsor for additional funds for an ongoing project during the approved performance period. A supplemental proposal may result from increased costs, modifications in design, or a desire to add a closely related component to the ongoing project. Some sponsors also offer supplemental programs which are designed to fund the hiring of minority or undergraduate students.
No-Cost Time Extension
An extension of the period of performance beyond the expiration date to allow the principal investigator to complete a project at no additional cost to the sponsor.
Non-competing continuation grants
Non-competing continuation grants are submitted when a project has been guaranteed funding for multiple years. A continuation application is submitted annually after the first year, for each subsequent year of the project. For the NIH, a non-competing continuation application uses the PHS-2590 application kit. The applicant is required to provide a progress report and note any changes in the personnel budget. The initial Notice of Award received by the PI should state if the NIH Streamlined Non-competing Continuation Procedures (SNAP) can be followed.
Interim or Bridge Funding
Bridge funding is a UC Davis program funded by the Vice Chancellor for Research designed to assist principal investigators who are between grants so as to help maintain continuity in their research programs. Interim funding is authorized to expend funds on a project to a specified limit before the award document has been received from the sponsor.
Modular Grant Applications
Learn more about NIH Modular Research Grant Applications
NIH Data Sharing Policy
The NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing (DMS) became effective January 25, 2023.
- Applicants must submit a Data Management and Sharing plan as part of the funding request. The plan must outline how their scientific data and accompanying documentation will be managed and shared
- Applicant must comply with the approved DMS plan
- Maximize the appropriate sharing of scientific data generated from NIH-funded or conducted research in the plan, with justified limitations or exceptions
- NIH has created an excellent resource on Data Sharing Repositories
- UC Davis also has resources for Data Sharing
For more details about the new data management and data sharing policy, read the NIH Scientific Data Sharing one page guide: The Who, What, Where and When of the NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy (PDF).
Additional information can be found here.
Research Policies and Compliance
All Policies and Regulations that govern the conduct of research at UC Davis are available online.
Download the UC Davis Guide to Research Compliance and the Uniform Guidance Quick Guide.
NIH Policies and Compliance
NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures
Grantsmanship Learning Lab
By Proposal Development Services at Office of Research
We know that there is so much that goes into submitting a grant, so Proposal Development Services has designed a Canvas-based (requires login), self-paced learning lab to help with the "hidden curriculum" that goes into preparing a winning proposal. Through the learning lab, you can learn more about grant readiness, developing a pitch, creating effective graphics, proposal layout, specific proposal components, and more!
Visit the Grantsmanship Learning Lab
Grantsmanship Seminars & Workshops
Workshops and webinars by Proposal Development Services
- Grant writing bootcamps
- Sponsor-specific webinars
- and more!
BioRender
Scientific image and illustration software
- Browse 40,000+ scientifically accurate life science icons
- Create figures for publications, posters, and grant applications up to 50x faster
- Collaborate with your lab and track version history in BioRender’s web-based program
- Available for: Students, Staff, Faculty (TAF affiliates are excluded)
- Training library available
- Simply log in with UC Davis credentials