Limited Submissions
What are limited submissions?
Limited submissions are extramural funding opportunities that limit the number of applications UC San Diego is allowed to submit to the sponsor. The RFP or solicitation will contain language like: "An institution may only submit one application” or “An organization can only submit two concept papers per research area.” The Limited Submissions Program manages an equitable and efficient internal review process to both ensure compliance with the sponsor’s institutional limit and select the most competitive proposal(s) to advance to the sponsor.
If you are interested in applying to a limited submission funding opportunity, first check the UC San Diego InfoReady platform to see if there is an active competition posted. If you don’t see it listed, contact Limited Submissions. You can subscribe to campus funding announcement listservs—which also promote limited submission competitions to subscribers—on this webpage.
View Open Limited Submission CallsInformation on the Limited Submission Process
Limited Submission Announcements & Coordination
When the Limited Submissions Program learns of a limited submission opportunity that may be of interest to campus, they post a competition to the campus InfoReady Review platform. Then they announce the competition to the UCSD research community using relevant RD funding listservs. Often they will also send announcements to appropriate associate deans, department chairs, program directors, and contract and grant liaisons. Announcements include important deadlines, a brief description of the opportunity, and a link to the competition page.
If the program’s sponsor is a foundation or corporation, Limited Submissions coordinates with the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations on the competition process. If the program pertains to cancer research, the competition is managed by the Moores Cancer Center. If the program’s applicants need to be graduate students or postdocs, the competition is managed by the Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs.
Researcher Responsibilities
Identifying Limited Submission Opportunities
Researchers are responsible for maintaining knowledge of the limited submission opportunities that are relevant to their research interests, and notifying Limited Submissions if they identify active opportunities that are not listed on the UC San Diego InfoReady Review site. If a researcher identifies a limited submission opportunity that they would like to apply for, and it is not listed on the site, they should contact Limited Submissions as soon as possible.
Stewardship of Claimed Spots
If a researcher is selected by the limited submission process to submit to a sponsor, but finds they are no longer able to apply, they must contact Limited Submissions immediately to allow other interested researchers a chance to submit.Internal Application Requirements
Competitions are conducted through the UC San Diego InfoReady Review platform.
- If Limited Submissions anticipates more submissions than the campus is authorized to submit, it posts an internal competition. Internal competitions can vary in their requirements based on the sponsor’s requirements and the timeline, but they typically require a 2-page project description and a recent CV or Biosketch from the PI.
- If Limited Submissions does not anticipate more submissions than the campus is authorized to submit, it solicits Expressions of Interest (EOIs) through the InfoReady Review platform instead of running a competition. With EOIs, applicants are typically only asked to submit an abstract.
Internal Review Process
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If the number of internal submissions does not exceed the sponsor limit, no internal review is necessary. Any eligible applicants that submitted before the deadline are approved to submit to the sponsor. Any remaining spots become open-until-filled.
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If the number of internal submissions exceeds the sponsor limit, a review process is necessary. If the submission requirement was a pre-application, the review will be based on the pre-application materials. If the submission requirement was an Expression of Interest (EOI), and if time allows, applicants may be asked to submit more information so the reviewers can make an informed recommendation to the VCRI. Applicants will be contacted directly if they need to submit more information.
Pre-applications are reviewed by an internal committee that typically consists of: a standing faculty review committee convened by the Academic Senate; relevant deans or their designees; former campus awardees of the program; and/or non-proposing researchers with particular subject area expertise. Pre-applications are evaluated based on the sponsor’s own review criteria for the funding program.
The review committee makes a recommendation to the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation (VCRI) on which pre-applications have the greatest chance of success with the sponsor. The VCRI decides which projects will proceed to the sponsor, and Limited Submissions notifies all applicants of the decision(s). If time allows, applicants will receive a summary of the review committee’s feedback.
Selected applicants then begin their typical process for submitting an application to a sponsor. Note: The limited submission process does not replace the Office of Contracts and Grants Administration (OCGA) review process. If a sponsor’s application is required to be routed through OCGA, or an equivalent office, before submission to the sponsor—that still needs to happen.Competition Timelines
Competition timelines are determined by how much lead-time a sponsor has provided between the release of their solicitation and their first required deadline. A few limited submission programs have the same timeline every year, and those competitions are run with enough advanced time to allow for an effective and efficient review process and ample proposal development time for the nominee(s). However, most limited submission programs are not quite that predictable. Some sponsors release limited solicitations with 12 weeks lead-time; some sponsors only provide 6 weeks lead-time—or less.
In determining the timeline for a limited submission competition, the Limited Submissions Program must carefully weigh how much time to devote to: promotion and internal application development; the review process; and the nominee’s proposal development.
If LS has between 4-12 weeks lead-time, the competition will be posted in InfoReady as soon as they receive the solicitation. The internal deadline will be approximately 1-2 weeks after the announcement. The review process will be conducted as quickly as possible, to give selected applicants as much time as possible to work on their submission to the sponsor.
If LS hears about a limited submission opportunity with less than 4 weeks lead-time until the first sponsor deadline, the competition may be posted in InfoReady as an Open-Until-Filled opportunity—depending on the competitiveness of the opportunity. If so, Expressions of Interest (EOIs) will be quickly reviewed by administrators for eligibility and project match to sponsor’s program, before being nominated in the order the EOIs were received. If, however, an opportunity is likely to be competitive despite the quick-turnaround, LS will gather EOIs within approximately one week and then conduct a rapid evaluation process over a couple days or so.
FAQs
How do I log in to submit an application via InfoReady?
The UC San Diego InfoReady Review platform is set up for Single Sign On. Campus affiliates should use their Active Directory credentials with the @ucsd.edu form of their email address as the username. Other forms of their address, such as @health.ucsd.edu, @eng.ucsd.edu, or @physics.ucsd.edu, will not work. If you are an incoming faculty member who does not yet have a UCSD email address, but you are eligible to apply to a limited submission competition, you can set up an account as an external user on the login page until you receive your campus credentials. For questions about your campus credentials, please contact your department business office and/or IT Services.
What if the InfoReady website doesn’t list an opportunity that I want to apply to?
While Limited Submissions makes every effort to list all active and relevant limited submission opportunities on InfoReady, there may be some opportunities that are not on our list. If you become aware of a limited submission funding opportunity that is not posted on our site, please notify us immediately by contacting limitedsub@ucsd.edu with the name of the sponsor and funding opportunity. Please include a link to the call-for-proposals, if possible.
Who should submit an internal application on behalf of the research team?
Alignment with sponsor eligibility criteria is among the factors pertinent to assessing an application’s responsiveness to and competitiveness for a given opportunity. While faculty review committees recognize that multiple members of a research team contribute to program development, the InfoReady applicant should be the lead PI, who, if selected, will take responsibility for developing a proposal pursuant to sponsor guidelines. If needed, the InfoReady platform allows proxy submissions on behalf of a team lead.
Who reviews internal pre-applications?
Four standing review committees comprised of Academic Senate-appointed senior faculty members review internal pre-applications and make recommendations to the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation (VCRI) regarding which applications should move forward to the external sponsor. Each standing committee includes faculty representation across a broad range of disciplinary expertise. For a subset of limited submission programs for which the relevant standing committee benefits from additional expertise during the pre-application review process, supplemental ad-hoc reviewers are recruited. Ad-hoc reviewers can be relevant deans or their designees; former campus awardees of the program; and/or non-proposing researchers with particular subject area expertise.
What criteria are used to determine which application(s) will move forward?
The review committees’ overarching goal is to maximize the number of limited submission awards that come to UCSD; thus, the central question is always: “Which application is likely to be the most competitive with the sponsor?” The process begins with a careful reading and evaluation of each internal application by each committee member. Reviewers consider each application's responsiveness to the sponsor’s program goals and guidelines, including merit review criteria if stated. The committee's recommendations to the VCRI are made following extensive discussion in face-to-face or virtual meetings. While committee members are chosen to provide diverse disciplinary expertise, they are not allowed to serve as advocates or representatives for applicants in their respective areas.
Will I receive comments from the committee?
If time allows, each applicant will be provided with a summary of the feedback from the committee. However, the committee cannot provide an extensive review due to the volume of submissions received.
If I miss an internal pre-application deadline, may I submit late or request an extension?
When a listed internal deadline has passed and no applications are received by our office, opportunities become open until filled. If the opportunity still appears as open on the InfoReady web page, please submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to claim the spot. If the campus deadline has passed and the opportunity is in review, late pre-applications cannot be accepted. This policy is to ensure fairness and to enable the review process to proceed swiftly. Expeditious completion of the campus review process allows selected applicants as much time as possible to develop highly competitive proposals.
If my pre-application is not selected, can I reapply in a future cycle?
If you are still eligible in a future cycle to submit, you can usually apply. Note that some opportunities, however, will state that renominations are not allowed, or that renominations need to feature a different research project than the previous cycle. Read the competition page carefully. If you have any questions, contact limitedsub@ucsd.edu.
If my pre-application is selected for one opportunity, does that affect the chances of success in other competitions?
No. Reviews for each limited submission competition are independent. If an applicant is selected as the most competitive applicant for two different competitions, they will be nominated for both competitions.
What if my internal proposal is selected, but I decide not to submit to the sponsor?
Spots for many limited submission programs are in high demand. Selected PIs should plan to move forward immediately with developing a full application pursuant to the sponsor’s guidelines. Applicants who are unable to do so should notify limitedsub@ucsd.edu as soon as possible to allow another investigator time to prepare a competitive application. Failure to submit without timely notification risks underuse of campus slots, and may be taken into consideration in future limited submission cycles.
Do you have any general suggestions for preparing a competitive pre-application?
In addition to following the instructions on the competition page and in the application itself, Limited Submissions strongly recommends that applicants carefully review the call-for-proposals and, if applicable, any additional information on the sponsor’s website that gives insight about the sponsor’s priorities and preferences. A review of previous awards/awardees and reviewers/judges can be particularly informative.
Is there a possibility of collaboration between PIs whose pre-application(s) were selected to move forward to the sponsor and those whose pre-application was not selected?
By policy, information about the selected applicants/applications to limited submission programs is not divulged, in order to preserve the confidentiality of the review process. A PI whose application was not selected to move forward may request that Limited Submissions notify the selected applicants that they are interested in collaboration—but it is up to the selected applicant to decide whether to explore this potential collaboration or not.
What if a Limited Submission program requires cost-sharing or cost-matching?
If the sponsor’s program requires cost-sharing or other large commitments from UC San Diego, the pre-application will likely require a letter of support from appropriate senior administrators. Read the competition page closely for the competition's specific requirements, and email limitedsub@ucsd.edu if you have any questions.