Pilot Funding

The goal of the Research Pilot Program is to increase the number of externally funded research grants held by faculty and research staff members within the Department of Medicine. The program funds pilot projects to generate data, publications and/or research collaborations used to support external grant applications by DOM faculty and research staff members. DOM will measure the effectiveness of this program by how successfully awarded pilot grants lead to external funding.

The DOM provides a variety of pilot funding opportunities for innovative basic, translational, clinical and health services research that moves new discoveries along the research continuum to humans and the community. Grant proposals that include multidisciplinary research teams, have matching college/department/division funding, and stand to have a substantial impact on the medical field will receive priority. 

Budget Considerations

Applicants may budget typical project costs except for faculty salary and travel related to meetings, conferences, and/or training. Travel directly associated with conducting the project is allowable (e.g., conducting assessments or experiments at another facility or field work). Student, postdoctoral, research associate, and staff salaries are also allowable. However, DOM expects that divisions/centers/units allow faculty release time to conduct the research.  

Application Deadlines

Proposals must be submitted as a single PDF file within the DOM Research Pilot Program Application by the following deadlines:  

• Spring deadlines: April 1st for a July 1st start date.  
• Fall deadlines: October 1st for a January 1st start date.

Applicants for Career Development Supplemental Pilots must adhere to the spring or fall deadlines. However, when submitting their pilot applications, they must specify start and end dates that align with the funding dates in the Notice of Award (NOA) for their career development grants.

When deadlines fall on a weekend or federal holiday, DOM automatically extends application deadlines to the next business day. The DOM Research Pilot Program Application opens approximately two months before the submission deadline.

Review of Applications

The DOM Study Section reviews General Pilot proposals and provides funding recommendations to the DOM Research Council for final funding decisions. Up to two members of the DOM Research Council initially review all other pilot application categories and make funding recommendations to the additional members of the council for a final funding decision.  

Reviewers have backgrounds representative of the different divisions within the DOM. Therefore, applicants should write grants for a general scientific audience. Review criteria include:   

• Quality and feasibility of the research  
• Research expertise or potential of the applicant(s)  
• Potential for external funding  
• Impact, significance, and innovation  
• Presence of matching funds from other sources (applicant, division, SMPH, etc.)  
• Feasibility of mentoring plan (if applicable)  

The DOM Office of Research Services will notify applicants of funding determinations by June 1st or December 1st depending on the pilot cycle.  

Conditions of Award

DOM will not release funds until the awardee provides documentation of IACUC or IRB approval, if applicable.

Awardees are expected to expend funds within the approved budget period. However, they may request a budget extension from the DOM Research Council. Requests should be sent to ResearchServices@medicine.wisc.edu at least 30 days before the end of the budget period. Extension requests must include:

• Progress on the research to date
• An explanation of the remaining research to be completed
• A requested end date
• A justification for the extension

For Career Development Supplemental Pilot extensions, a copy of the No-Cost Extension (NCE) request for the career development grant is also required. 

Post-Award Requirements

Once DOM allocates a pilot grant, successful awardees will:  

1. Notify the DOM Office of Research Services if their pilot project receives external funding.  
2. Acknowledge funding in all scientific posters, publications, and presentations resulting from pilot funding. Investigators should use the following specific language, “This research was supported by a pilot award from the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and from a grant sponsored by Sponsor (insert grant #)."  
3. Present a seminar at the weekly Grand Rounds lecture series or other appropriate venue, if invited.  
4. Submit an abstract to present results of the pilot work in a poster (or talk format, if invited) at the DOM Research Day event that follows the award’s end date. This is applicable to awardees of the Trainee, Career Development Supplemental, and General Research Pilots only.  
5. Submit a final summary report 30 days after the closing of the project period to ResearchServices@medicine.wisc.edu. The 1-2-page report needs to contain a synopsis of scientific progress, a list of resulting collaborations, publications, and grants, and a description of the relationship of the project to DOM. Failure to do so will disqualify the PI from all future DOM pilot funding mechanisms.  
6. Channel all subsequent applications for external funding that result from the pilot award through the DOM ORS. This is crucial to guarantee that SMPH reimburses DOM with the correct amount of indirect costs which are vital for supporting various activities, including this pilot program.

For more information, contact the DOM Office of Research Services at ResearchServices@medicine.wisc.edu.