Funding for Excellence Program
OVERVIEW
The Funding for Excellence (FFE) Program is an institutionally funded grants program to support the highest level of research, scholarship, and creative endeavors by UMKC faculty.
The four goals of the FFE program are to provide funding which:
- Enhances the creative, scholarly and research reputation of UMKC, or
- Encourages collaborative research between schools, divisions, departments, or disciplines, or
- Supports highly innovative, high-risk/high-reward projects, or
- Allows preliminary data collection to support significant, new future sponsored research submissions
The program provides two funding Tier options to support research and creative activity with applications being received each Fall for Pool 1 funding (Education, Health Sciences, and STEM) and each Spring for Pool 2 funding (Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences). The total number of awards will depend upon the availability of funds and the budgets of the submissions. If projects can be completed for less than the maximum amount, applications with smaller budgets are encouraged. Awards will be made on a competitive basis, following review and recommendation by the UMKC Research Advisory Council (RAC).
FUNDING APPLICATIONS
Applications are received twice per year:
- Pool 1 funding applications open in the Fall semester and apply to Education, Health Sciences, and STEM.
- Pool 2 funding applications open in the Spring semester and apply to Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (including Management and Law).
FFE Application - Pool 1 - CLOSED
FFE Application - Pool 2 - OPEN (Deadline: March 19, 2026)
PROGRAM PROCEDURES AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Award Administration
The FFE award is granted for a one-year project period and is administered by the Office of Research and Innovation (ORI).
All questions related to FFE awards, reporting requirements, extensions, or budget modifications should be directed to oriawards@umkc.edu.
Award Period and Extensions
The standard FFE award period is one year.
Principal Investigators (PIs) may request a one-year no-cost extension.
Requests for no-cost extensions must be submitted via email to ORI at oriawards@umkc.edu and should include a brief justification.
Budget Modifications
Any significant changes to the approved project budget require prior approval from ORI.
Requests for budget modifications must be submitted via email to oriawards@umkc.edu for review and approval.
Reporting Requirements and Schedule
FFE awardees are required to submit reports at the following intervals after completion of the award period:
- Year 1 Report
- Year 3 Report
- Year 5 Report
Reports will be submitted through an online reporting portal managed by ORI.
Awardees will receive an automated reminder at least 30 days prior to each report deadline.
Report Content
Reports will be completed using an online form with dialog-box fields capturing key elements of the FFE project.
Required components include:
- Executive Summary (maximum 250 words)
- Research Proposals Submitted, including funding agency and current status
- Project Outcomes, such as publications, scholarly or creative works, theses/dissertations, presentations, or other relevant impacts
Compliance and Eligibility
Failure to submit required reports and/or failure to demonstrate evidence of proposal submission to an external funding agency—when required based on the approved FFE tier—will result in the PI and any co-PI(s) being ineligible to apply for future FFE awards for a period of five (5) years.