The Research Development Office (RDO), within the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), helps researchers succeed with their pursuit of external funding. The RDO team coordinates campus-wide initiatives, manages internal funding programs, oversees limited submission opportunities, connects faculty to resources and collaborators, and provides guidance to maximize the impact of research proposals and creative works. 

Growing Campus Connections

Sign up to be added to the RDO mailing list to receive the RDO Monthly Newsletter and other timely information.

Funding Opportunities

Limited Submission Opportunities

The RDO manages the Limited Submission Opportunities process for grant applications to funding agencies that restrict the number of submissions allowed from an institution. An internal selection process has been established to make sure that multiple applications to the limited program do not render each other ineligible by the sponsor.

Arts and Humanities Initiative

The RDO coordinates the Arts & Humanities Initiative (AHI), an internal funding program within the OVPR that encourages leading edge scholarship, creative activities, and interdisciplinary research. Three grant categories are available.

The next application deadline for the Spring 2027 cycle will be Tuesday, March 9, 2027.

OVPR Large Grant Development Opportunity

The OVPR invites applications to the Large Grant Development Opportunity for funding to support development of large disciplinary grant proposals, including: building interdisciplinary research teams, conducting pilot research, and finalizing grant submissions.

The application deadline for the upcoming cycle is January 31, 2027.

Upcoming Events

Guggenheim Fellowship Panel promotional image

Guggenheim Fellowship Panel

Monday, November 9, 2026 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Virtual

Thinking about applying for a Guggenheim Fellowship? Want to learn more about the application process and hear from previous awardees? Then this panel session is for you!

Event Information
This virtual panel session will be held Monday, November 9 from 12:00pm-1:00pm, and provides an opportunity to hear from accomplished University of Iowa and Duke University Guggenheim Fellowship recipients regarding their experience with the application process, need-to-know information, plus much more.

Panelis
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Maximizing Pivot to Find Funding and Collaborators (November 2026) promotional image

Maximizing Pivot to Find Funding and Collaborators (November 2026)

Wednesday, November 11, 2026 10:30am to 11:30am
Hardin Library for Health Sciences

Do you want to maximize your time spent searching for funding opportunities or potential project collaborators? Join us to learn how Pivot can save you time and effort in identifying the right funding opportunities for your research lines as well as identifying collaborators with the relevant expertise.

Register here. The RDO will send a calendar invitation and room location upon registration.

Large Grant Development Opportunity Symposium promotional image

Large Grant Development Opportunity Symposium

Thursday, November 12, 2026 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Iowa Memorial Union (IMU)

The OVPR invites the University of Iowa research community to the inaugural Large Grant Development Opportunity (LGDO) Symposium.

About the Symposium

The symposium highlights the progress of the inaugural cohort of LGDO Phase 1 awardees as they share how institutional investment has enabled them to develop ambitious interdisciplinary research initiatives.

Each research team will deliver a brief lightning presentation describing:

their research vision,

progress achieved during Phase 1,

lessons learned...

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