09/04/2025
By Kim Holloway

The Office of Research Development (ORD) is pleased to announce the return of the Community-Engaged Research and Scholarship (CERS) Fund for fiscal year 2026. The proposal deadline is Monday, October 27 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

ORD is committed to strengthening the university’s role in public service by supporting projects that create new knowledge, approaches, and practices that address regional challenges through collaborative efforts. Funded by the Public Service Endowment, the Community-Engaged Research and Scholarship Fund supports the creation and sustenance of strong, mutually beneficial relationships by supporting work that addresses an urgent problem, need, or opportunity identified and agreed upon by the community, community partners, and UMass Lowell researchers and scholars.

The Office of Research Development has allocated $20,000 per fiscal year for this program and plans to fund 2-3 projects of up to $10,000 each.

Proposals must be submitted through InfoReady. In the competition, you may download the full solicitation under “Supporting Documents.” Please review the solicitation thoroughly for eligibility, guidelines, and proposal requirements. Please also review the guidelines for all ORD-sponsored funding.

In addition to CERS, ORD is also currently accepting applications for the Researchers and Scholars Investment (RSI) Fund on a rolling basis. Funds are still available for Fiscal Year 2026.

ORD will be hosting a virtual information session on Thursday, October 2 from 2 – 3 p.m. to review the CERS and RSI Funds. ORD will cover eligibility and requirements for these funding mechanisms, the guidelines regarding all ORD-sponsored funding, and tips for submitting a competitive proposal. Registration for the session will open up soon; it will be posted on the ORD professional development webpage.

Please email RD@uml.edu for any questions. Thank you.