IHP Research & Engagement Fund Large Grants

Applications closed in October 2025 for this year’s funding cycle for large grants.

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The IHP operates as a hub for a range of activities and partnerships related to its mission to produce and share an inclusive and wide-ranging history of the University of Michigan. We therefore provide funding for compelling research and engagement projects that originate outside of the IHP and advance the creation and dissemination of knowledge about the university’s inclusive past. Such projects may inform future reparative actions recommended by the IHP.

The IHP Research & Engagement Fund is designed to catalyze projects that will engage our campuses and local communities in learning about the university’s history of inclusion and exclusion. Large grants are available both to support the design and implementation of these new research and engagement projects and to fund the expansion and completion of existing projects. The IHP is interested in proposals for a wide range of projects that include research on the university’s history and engagement in some form, which may include more traditional research projects, exhibits, walking tours, performances, workshops, etc.

Successful projects that are supported by the IHP Fund may be eligible for additional funding in the future, through scaling up as affiliate project sites that operate in direct partnership with the IHP.

Faculty, staff, and units are invited to apply for large grants, and may apply as individuals or collaborative teams. The IHP is especially interested in projects that involve multigenerational teams, promote collaboration across departments and units, and facilitate engagement with multiple audiences.

As a tri-campus project, the IHP highly encourages collaboration across campuses.

Please note that, for smaller-scale and student-led projects, the IHP offers mini grants through the Research & Engagement Fund, with proposals accepted on a rolling basis.

IHP Large Grant Program Details & How to Apply

Who Can Apply

• Large grants are available for projects proposed and led by faculty and/or staff only. Proposals are accepted from faculty members (including tenure track faculty, lecturers, librarians, archivists, curators, and clinical faculty) and staff members on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses and at Michigan Medicine. While at least one project lead must have an active appointment at U-M, community partners are welcome both to lead and participate in project teams.
• Multigenerational teams composed of faculty, staff, graduate students, and/or undergraduate students are strongly encouraged to apply, as are teams that draw from multiple departments or schools or colleges. Cross-campus collaborations are particularly welcome.

Timeline

• Awards for proposals submitted in October 2025 will be announced in January 2026.

Funding Guidelines

• Funding period: 12 months or 18 months, with a start date of January 2026
• Budget items may include, but are not limited to:
  • Personnel costs, including:
    • Project leadership
      • Compensation up to a summer ninth (capped at $9,000, not including fringe benefits) for tenure-track and clinical faculty members leading projects
      • Compensation for lecturers leading projects, through a small temporary research appointment over the life of the grant (funded at the lecturer’s base salary rate and capped at $9,000, not including fringe benefits)
        • Note that a letter of authorization and support from the lecturer’s unit is required with the application.
      • Additional pay or salary offset for staff members, librarians, archivists, and curators leading projects, calculated as a percentage of effort/salary and capped at $9,000, not including fringe benefits
        • Note that a letter of authorization and support from the supervisor is required with the application. An additional letter of support from the unit’s director stating how the proposed project advances unit priorities and objectives is welcome.
    • Project team members
      • Personnel costs may include compensation for additional faculty and staff collaborators at U-M as well as for community partners and alumni who are part of the project team. Compensation should be based on percentage of effort/salary over the course of the grant.
      • Costs may include hourly pay for graduate and undergraduate students as research assistants or project interns.
    • No more than $12,000 in total compensation, not including fringe benefits, is allowed for the project team, both leader(s) and members. Compensation for student workers does not count toward this cap.  
  • Research expenses (travel to research sites, materials, etc.)
  • Supplies related to project activities
  • Equipment (please note that, according to university policy, equipment is the property of the university)
  • Costs related to hosting events that are directly related to project activities
  • Fees or honoraria for external consultants or speakers and other contract personnel
  • Costs related to disseminating results, including web design, publication costs, etc.
• Funds administration
  • In most cases, funds will be transferred to the project leader’s department or unit. IHP project staff at UM-Dearborn are available to provide central support for grant administration.
  • All funds must be expended in accordance with policies and procedures in the project leader’s department/unit, school/college, and the university more broadly.

Additional Guidelines

• Applicants who receive funding must submit a final report at the end of the funding period (a template will be provided). Any grant funds that are unused by the end of the grant period must be returned to the IHP.
• Participation in some form of IHP programming to share the project’s work near the end of the grant period is required. Examples of IHP programming include the annual IHP Summit, collaborative workshops with other grantees, and other opportunities.
• All IHP Research & Engagement Fund applications undergo a review process carried out by the IHP team. Proposals will be evaluated through the following criteria:
  • A clear and significant focus on some aspect of the University of Michigan’s 200+ year history. Note that the project must be historical in its conceptualization and methodology.
    • For projects focused on the 2025-26 Campus Voices and Democratic Participation theme, a clear and substantial connection to that theme
  • The centering of questions of inclusion
  • The feasibility of the project, as evidenced by detailed and concrete plans for how project activities will be executed
  • The potential to engage multiple audiences, especially through the production of public-facing deliverables
  • The potential for the project to advance the IHP’s mission in the areas of research, engagement, and repair

Questions?

The IHP project team is available to provide individual consultations and answer questions. Email [email protected] to get in touch.

How to Apply

When the next call for applications launches, applicants will submit the following through an application portal that will be linked below:

• Project abstract (150 words maximum)
  • A brief overview or summary of your proposed project. This may be made public through IHP communications if your proposal is funded.
• Project description (4 pages maximum, not including references)
  • A detailed description of the proposed project that:
    • articulates the central research question and/or the central problem or opportunity the project is seeking to address
    • addresses significance and context/background
    • details the project’s approach and methods
    • explains anticipated outputs (publications, websites, exhibits, walking tours, events, conferences, etc.) and desired impacts
    • briefly outlines a plan for evaluating the success of the project
    • If an existing project, addresses progress to date and what activities and additional work this funding will support
  • A project rationale that addresses the proposed project’s alignment with the research, engagement, and reparative goals of the IHP and, if applicable, how it aligns with the 2025-26 Campus Voices and Democratic Participation theme
  • Plans for campus and/or community engagement, including primary or intended audiences, plans for sharing deliverables and findings, and more.
• Project leadership and project team (2 pages maximum)
  • A statement that provides bios and the anticipated roles of the project leader(s) and addresses how past work prepares the project leader(s) for the proposed project.
  • Brief bios of the project team that outline each member’s role (if applicable)
  • If community partners are involved, please specifically address their role as co-creators of the project.
• Timeline/schedule for the proposed project (1 page)
• Budget and budget justification (template provided)
  • Please supply a list of budget items, and for each item provide:
    • The expense category (i.e., compensation for project lead, student research assistants, supplies, etc.)
    • Specific expenses within that category
    • The amount
    • A brief explanation of the expense and its amount
      • Please note that all compensation should include a rationale for the amount that includes the anticipated effort and rate of compensation.
  • More detailed guidance is provided in the budget template.
• Brief letter(s) of endorsement or authorization, required for the projects identified in the bulleted list below. For all projects, letters of support that speak to the potential contributions of the project are welcome but not required.  Letters should be requested through the InfoReady application system by entering the email addresses of referees. Letters can be requested before the application is submitted or at the time of submission.
  • For projects involving the effort of staff, archivists, curators, and librarians, a letter of authorization and support from their supervisor. An additional letter of support from the unit’s director stating how the proposed project advances unit priorities and objectives is welcome.
  • For projects involving lecturers, a letter from their department or program supporting and authorizing a temporary research appointment
  • For projects with community partners as leaders, team members, and/or consultants, a letter of support from the partnering organization

FAQs for IHP Research & Engagement Fund Large Grants

Find questions to commonly-asked questions below.

1. What are the differences between large grants and mini grants?
Both seek to advance the study of U-M’s history through an inclusive lens through a variety of research and engagement activities. The different funds exist to support projects of different sizes and durations, and to involve different members of our university community. Each grant has different specifications in terms of who can apply and the level of funding, so check out the detailed information on each grant for that information. Briefly:

• If you have a small project that will cost $3,000 or less that focuses on some kind of research or engagement activity, apply for a mini grant.
• If your project is bigger in scope, will cost more than $3,000, and may take more than 12 months to complete, apply for a large grant.
• If you are an undergraduate or graduate student and want to submit a proposal for a project you will lead, apply for a mini grant. You can also join teams with staff or faculty members who apply for large grants.
• If you are an instructional faculty member and your project is related to a course, the IHP Teaching Fund is there to support your work.

2. The large grant project I have in mind doesn’t fit the 2025-26 Campus Voices and Democratic Participation theme. Can I still apply?
Yes! We welcome proposals on topics on the university’s inclusive history that are not related to this year’s theme.

3. How can I find historical sources for the project I have in mind?
This is a great question. Many campus libraries and institutions hold materials about the University of Michigan’s history, and we highly recommend getting started on identifying resources and materials to begin your research there. Find more information on campus libraries and collections on the History of U-M website’s Explore Further page, or identify additional resources to explore by searching or browsing that site.

4. How do I apply for a Research & Engagement large grant?
We use a system called InfoReady to collect applications. See the “How to Apply” section above for detailed information on the application components. When the application is live, there will be a link at the end of that section that takes you to the InfoReady application. Note that you’ll need to log in with your U-M credentials.

5. I am part of a collaborative team applying for a grant. How do we submit an application?
The team should select someone to submit the application and to serve as the main point of contact for the project. You’ll have the opportunity to designate other project leads who should be contacted with regard to the application, and to provide brief bios for each team member and their role as part of the application.

6. How much funding can be requested?
Large grants have a maximum funding amount of $25,000, and funds can be requested up to that amount. However, your project may not require the maximum amount, and you are more than welcome to request a smaller amount.

7. Does the IHP select proposals for partial funding, so at a lower amount than requested?
Yes, this is possible, especially in funding cycles when we receive a high number of quality proposals. If this happens, your award letter will indicate the partial funding amount.

8. When do funded large grant projects need to be completed?
For large grants, the grant period is 12 or 18 months.

9. When is the application due? Is the deadline flexible?
We’ll update this section when the next deadline is announced. Please note that the application deadline is not flexible, as our evaluation of applications begins soon after the deadline.

9. How will large grant proposals be evaluated?
Proposals are evaluated by the IHP team with the following criteria in mind:

• A clear and significant focus on some aspect of the University of Michigan’s 200+ year history. Note that the project must be historical in its conceptualization and methodology.
  • For projects focused on the 2025-26 Campus Voices and Democratic Participation theme, a clear and substantial connection to that theme
• The centering of questions of inclusion
• The feasibility of the project, as evidenced by detailed and concrete plans for how project activities will be executed
• The potential to engage multiple audiences, especially through the production of public-facing deliverables
• The potential for the project to advance the IHP’s mission in the areas of research, engagement, and repair

10. When and how will I know if my application has been awarded funding?
All applicants will be notified whether their proposal has been funded by email. We plan to notify applicants who submit proposals in Fall 2025 in January 2026.

11. If my proposal is funded, do I need to complete a grant report?
Yes. Applicants who receive funding must submit a final report at the end of the funding period (a template will be provided). We are also eager for project leads and teams to share their findings and their experiences with each other and with the IHP team, and will provide opportunities to do so.

12. What happens if I do not use all of the grant funds?
Any grant funds that are unused by the end of the grant period must be returned to the IHP.

13. How does the IHP issue grant funding?
The IHP will send award letters via email to those receiving grant funding, and in most cases that letter will include a funds transfer form that you will fill out with the help of a financial administrator from your department or program and then send back to us. Once we receive the form, we will transfer grant funds to your department and program. Note that, on the Dearborn campus, IHP project staff are available to provide central support for grant administration if needed.

14. I have more questions about IHP Research & Engagement Fund large grants. How do I get in touch?
Please email us at [email protected]!