Purpose:  A limited submission (LS) opportunity is a program or funding announcement in which at least one of the following circumstances applies: 1) the sponsor limits the number of applications or proposals an institution is allowed to submit; 2) the sponsor requires the institution to nominate applicants; 3) the sponsor’s guidelines place the responsibility for review and selection on the institution.

Example:  NSF Major Research Instrumentation

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: Three (3) as described below.

No more than two submissions are permitted in a newly-defined Track 1 (Track 1 proposals are those requesting from NSF $100,000^[1] to less than $1 million) and no more than one submission is permitted in a newly defined Track 2 (Track 2 proposals are those requesting from NSF $1 million up to and including $4 million). Proposal submissions within the two tracks may be either for acquisition or development of a research instrument. NSF strongly values MRI proposals that seek to develop next-generation research instruments that open new frontiers of research. As a result the MRI program seeks to support development proposals in numbers (i.e., up to 1/3 of awards) consistent with recent competitions, depending on the numbers and quality of the proposals.

To ensure a balanced instrumentation award portfolio at diverse organizations, across varied research topics, and in support of a broadly inclusive science and engineering workforce across the entire Nation, the MRI program requires that an MRI-eligible organization may, as a performing organization, submit or be included as a significantly funded subawardee in no more than three MRI proposals. To promote instrumentation development, the program requires that if an organization submits or is included as a significantly funded subawardee in three MRI proposals, at least one of the three proposals must be for instrument development.

Example: NEH Summer Stipends

The Summer Stipends program accepts applications from researchers, teachers, and writers, whether they have an institutional affiliation or not. Applicants with college or university affiliations must, however, be nominated by their institutions.

Identification of Limited Submissions Opportunities

PIs should carefully read the eligibility requirements when considering any submission to a sponsor.  Please contact the Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs as soon as possible, but at least a month before the deadline, to indicate your interest in applying for a LS program.  To the extent possible the Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs will note opportunities that have limited submissions as part of the process of publicizing open RFPs. 

In the event there are more potential applicants than the sponsor allows during that cycle this internal process will be used to determine which proposal(s) will be submitted.  Criteria include institutional needs and priorities, likely competitiveness of proposal and project team, cost-sharing commitments if applicable, and whether other competitions might support some of the projects.  Deans or their designees and the Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Studies will serve on the review panel, with the Director of Grants and Sponsored Programs as a non-voting ex officio member.  Deans or their representatives will recuse themselves from the voting when faculty from their units are part of the applicant pool.

Internal Competition and Candidate Selection

Application materials to be submitted to OGSP by PI

• Cover sheet (see attached)
• Approximately 1 page overview of the project that addresses the sponsor’s focus and also the benefits to UNH, the PI(s), and/or students
• Preliminary budget – You may exclude fringe benefits and IDC at this stage; Please note any cost-sharing or other institutional commitments that are required or needed
• Identification of any non-UNH collaborators or sub-recipients
• Any other documentation that may be relevant