Discoveries in Safety Grants

Discoveries in Safety Grants are competitive grants that fund research up to $200,000 USD per year for up to three years. Grant funding is provided through cost-reimbursement. Please reference each grant’s notice of funding opportunity (NoFO) for more specific information on grant structure.

Discoveries in Safety Grants fund research across a number of safety science focus areas, as directed by our Institutes and Offices. These focus areas span chemical safety; digital safety; electrochemical safety; fire safety; materials discovery; and research experiences and education. Specific topic areas are announced through notices of funding opportunity (NoFO) at the beginning of each grant cycle.

Once notices of funding opportunity (NoFO) are released at the beginning of each grant cycle, applicants will be asked to submit a brief letter of intent (LOI) outlining their proposed research. LOIs will then be reviewed, and a selection will be invited to submit a full proposal. Invited applicants will then submit full proposals, which will be reviewed by a committee, and grantees will be selected.

Both LOI and full proposal submissions will be made through the ProposalCentral. Additional submission instructions can be found on the Discoveries in Safety Grants webpage, and any questions or technical issues utilizing the system be directed to ProposalCentral’s support team.

Most Discoveries in Safety Grants are open to a wide range of research-conducting organizations, including institutions of higher education, non-profit, and for-profit organizations. However, please reference each grant’s notice of funding opportunity (NoFO) for more specific information on eligibility requirements.

Letters of intent can be submitted upon announcement of each funding opportunity, prior to the LOI deadline described in the NoFO. Notification of acceptance and advancement to the full proposal stage of the application process will be provided before the beginning date of the full proposal application period. Any applicants who are not invited to submit a full proposal will be notified before the full proposal application period begins. Grantees will be selected and notified within eight weeks following the full proposal deadline. Please see additional details on key dates listed in the funding opportunity.

No, a Principal Investigator (PI) can only submit a response to one funding opportunity (e.g., a ULRI Institute or Office) in a given application cycle.

An applicant cannot edit their application after it has been submitted. If an issue occurs, such as an application component requiring an update, please contact the Office of Partnerships at partnerships@ul.org. A request to withdraw a proposal from consideration can be made at any time through ProposalCentral.

Letters of intent will be reviewed by internal committees of UL Research Institutes researchers, while full proposals will be reviewed by both UL Research Institutes researchers and external reviewers. Acceptance (and invitation to the full application) or rejection of the LOI will be communicated to the PI approximately five weeks after the LOI submission deadline. Decisions on full proposal will be communicated to the PI approximately eight weeks after the full proposal deadline.

Yes, an applicant may request feedback on their submission. To submit a request for feedback please contact the Office of Partnerships at partnerships@ul.org with the subject line “Research Proposal Committee Feedback Request”.

Once grant recipients are announced, the grantee will be provided next steps on the process. All projects are expected to commence on September 1 of the awarded year.

No, UL Research Institutes and its affiliates do not accept any legal obligation.

It is ULRI’s policy to cap the overhead costs charged by such organizations at 25% of modified total direct costs, as described in more detail in this policy. Salaries, benefits, material and supplies, travel, other services, and subawards are direct costs for which overhead may generally be charged. See the complete policy for direct cost eligibility.

Contact information for the Discoveries in Safety Grants Program team can be found in the “Contacts” section of the NoFO. Any questions that are not submitted within the question period will be answered at the discretion of ULRI.

Please join our mailing list to be notified of future funding opportunities when they are announced. All future calls for proposals from ULRI will be posted on the Discoveries in Safety Grants webpage. ULRI will also notify all institutions that have previously applied for a Discoveries in Safety Grants program grant about any future opportunities.

Yes, there is no limit to the amount of times a PI can reapply.