The Office of Research Development (ORD) at UMass Lowell (UML) 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.

Community-engaged research is a process that incorporates input from people who the research outcomes will impact and involves such people or groups as equal partners throughout the research process. This involvement may include co-designing research questions to solve problems, making decisions, influencing policies, and creating programs and interventions that affect their own lives. Community engagement “often involves partnerships and coalitions that help mobilize resources and influence systems, change relationships among partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies, programs, and practices.” (Centers for Disease Control 1997)

Objectives

  • Capacity Building: Projects must strengthen community capacity and relationships between the university and community partners.
    • Proposals may also include interdisciplinary approaches and/or foster student engagement experiences.
  • Collaborative Approach: Projects must involve significant collaboration between UMass Lowell faculty and community partners. Projects must provide mutual benefit to each collaborative institution and their constituents. All stages of the project including design, implementation, and evaluation must be driven by community input and need.
    • Partnerships may be new, developing, or existing.
  • Knowledge Making: Projects must contribute to the creation or discovery of new knowledge, approaches, practices, or applications for future research and education.
  • Community Impact: Projects must address urgent or overlooked social, economic, environmental, or cultural issues. Projects must produce tangible, measurable outcomes.
  • Sustainability: Project must include plans to maintain relationships with partners and identify long-term goals and potential support for the collaboration after the award period.

Anticipated Funding Amount

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.

Proposal Deadline

The deadline for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) is Monday, November 2, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.

Submit a Proposal

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.

Eligibility

  • Only UMass Lowell tenured and tenure-track faculty are eligible to serve as lead principal investigator (PI). Non-tenure track faculty, such as adjunct faculty, are only eligible to participate as Co-PI.
  • Proposals must include at least one community partner, including non-profits, governmental agencies, schools, or other community-based entities. 
  • Proposals are encouraged to address issues related to the greater Lowell region. 
  • Lead principal investigators (PIs) can only hold one award sponsored by the Office of Research Development at a time. PIs may only apply for awards with project periods that do not overlap with the project period of their current award, including any extensions.
  • Applicants may only submit as lead PI on one application per academic semester to any of the Office of Research Development’s internal funding opportunities. In fall 2026, applicants may submit as lead PI to either the CERS Fund or the Researchers and Scholars Investment (RSI) Fund, but may not submit as lead PI to both programs. If multiple applications are received from the same lead PI applicant in the same semester, only the first submission will be considered for funding.

Guidelines

  • Review the guidelines for all ORD-sponsored funding.
  • Funds are awarded for an 18-month period (usually Jan. 1 – June 30 the following year).
  • Applicants may not request more than $10,000 for their project.
  • Funds must not be used for summer salary or other additional compensation for faculty.
  • Funds must not be used for salary for external co-PIs. Funds may be used to hire a consultant whose expertise is required to perform an element of the project.
  • Funds must not be used to fund Research Assistants/tuition waivers (funds may support student hourly wages).
  • Funds may be used for research staff salaries. However, funds must not be used for additional compensation for full-time staff (research or administrative). Budgeted staff must not exceed 1.0 FTE.
  • ORD internal funding is not intended to support and sustain annual programming over time. Applicants should consider long-term sustainability plans as appropriate.

Timeline

  • September – Announcement of call for proposals 
  • November 2, 2026 – Proposal deadline 
  • November – Proposal review 
  • December 14, 2026 – Notification of decision to applicants 
  • January 1, 2027 – Disbursement of funds (18-month award period)

Deliverables

  • Awardees are required to submit a final report outlining activities and outcomes no later than 12 months after the project end date. Instructions for the report will be provided near the end of the award period. 
  • Awardees must serve as a reviewer for at least one future cycle of ORD applications, if asked. 
  • Awardees must present at a university-wide forum, such as at the annual Faculty Symposium, or another designated community-engaged event.

Public Service Endowment Fund

The Public Service Endowments are held by the UMass Foundation and disbursed to UMass system campuses each year in perpetuity. The grants are intended to enhance the public service mission of UMass Lowell by bringing the skills and knowledge of faculty and staff to bear on a problem or project identified with community groups, schools, non-profit businesses, health and human service organizations, and more.