With Fall 2017 Cycle, UCSF’s Resource Allocation Program (RAP) Celebrates 10 Years of Funding

UC San Francisco’s Resource Allocation Program (RAP), in partnership with many on-campus sources of research funding, facilitates the dissemination, submission, review and award of intramural research funding opportunities on campus. RAP offers a single online application process for a wide variety of intramural funding opportunities and is now inviting applications for the Fall 2017 Cycle.

The electronic submission deadline for applications is Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, at 2 p.m. (PST).

With this Fall Cycle, the RAP program will celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Paul Volberding, MD; Kathy Giacomini, PhD; Daniel Lowenstein, MD; and Frederic Waldman, MD, PhD, developed RAP within the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). The program was later centralized and placed under the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost in spring 2011. In spring 2012, the Research Development Office (RDO) led by Gretchen Kiser, PhD, was formed, and RAP has been a part of it since. The program has retained its continuity thanks to the long and extensive involvement of these campus leaders and to the strong partnership with the funders.

Emanuela Volpe, who in 2007 was charged with the ambitious task to make the extraordinary vision of these faculty leaders a reality on campus by building RAP under their guidance, is still involved in the leadership of the program. As a senior manager, she works closely with Chairman Volberding and RDO Executive Director Kiser in continuing to grow the success of the program.

Being in a central office has institutionalized this transformative program and optimized the synergy RAP provides for the intramural funding agencies. Through RAP, funding agencies share best practices and adopt successful models for publicizing their request for applications (RFAs). 

As with each funding cycle, the RAP website provides helpful information and guidance on the application process. Be sure to review the Submissions Rules and the Eligibility Summary Matrix before developing and submitting your proposal.

The success rate for getting funded remains high (e.g., 43 percent generally, in Spring 2017) because most RAP proposals are considered by multiple funding agencies. For more details on the success rate for each grant mechanism, you can view the Statistics webpage available under ‘Resources’ on the RAP website. Under ‘Resources’ you can also find the names of past awardees and read about their success stories. We hope that this feature will enable you to network with colleagues who are working in the same field as you.

Drop-in Q&A Sessions

In an effort to support the applicants, especially junior investigators and researchers new to UCSF, RAP will continue to offer drop-in Q&A sessions. The one-on-one interaction with RAP staff enables applicants to gain a better understanding of the submission process.

Sessions will be offered at both Parnassus and Mission Bay campuses:

• Parnassus - Wed., Aug. 30, Noon – 2 p.m. 513 (Medical Sciences Building Entrance)
• Mission Bay - Thur., Sept. 7, Noon – 2 p.m. (Genentech Hall, Suite 116)
• Mission Bay - Thur., Sept. 14, Noon – 2 p.m. (Genentech Hall, Suite 116)

Fall 2017 Cycle Highlights

The UCSF Academic Senate is now sponsoring the “Family Support Award,” which has been a vital resource for many faculty facing challenges in their academic careers: from dealing with a new baby to assisting a sick family member.

With the similar intent of supporting faculty in need, RAP is lifting the “Cycle Break Rule” for the following grant mechanisms: Hardship, Independence Support, and Family Support. Thanks to this change, a faculty recently awarded in one of these mechanisms or, in any other mechanism, no longer needs to wait a cycle when facing an emergency situation, and is eligible for any of these three grants just mentioned.

Finally, the “Shared Instrument” grant mechanism has changed its name and it is now called “Shared Technology Awards.” The name change reflects the broadening of scope for this mechanism’s funds. Applicants can now request funds for a large single piece of equipment shared by multiple investigators or two pieces of equipment if the two pieces are part of a system. Funds may also be utilized to support data hardware needs. Both software and hardware are to be considered shared technology. The “Eligibility” for this grant has expanded to also include appointees in the Librarian Series.

For more campus news and resources, visit Pulse of UCSF.