Limited Submissions Process

The Office of Research Development (ORD) manages the limited submissions process for the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Limited submission opportunities are those when a funding agency or sponsor limits the number of proposals that may be submitted by an institution.

Please review the limited submissions document (pdf) which provides additional information and transparency regarding the internal submission, review and selection process. The limited submission process is briefly summarized below.

When preparing a grant proposal, read the solicitation carefully to determine if it is a limited submission opportunity. If you are not sure, email: limitedsubmissions@uml.edu or contact your research administrator for guidance.

ORD curates an institutional list of limited submissions opportunities through GrantForward. ORD will email this list regularly to the limited submissions listserv. To be added to the listserv, please email: limitedsubmissions@uml.edu.

Anyone who wishes to apply for a limited submission opportunity must complete the following steps:

  1. Email a Letter of Intent (LOI) to: limitedsubmissions@uml.edu as soon as possible with the following information:
    1. Subject line: LOI – Sponsor Name and Program Name
    2. Project Title
    3. A brief 3-5 sentence summary of the project
    4. List of potential team members and/or collaborators
  2. If ORD receives more LOIs than the number of proposals the sponsor allows, ORD will conduct an internal competition. ORD will notify all LOI submitters of the internal pre-proposal deadline for the opportunity. To submit your pre-proposal, please visit the UMass Lowell (UML) InfoReady portal.
    • If the number of LOIs received by ORD does not exceed the sponsor limit, the LOI submission(s) will be reviewed by ORD and the submitter's Associate Dean(s) for Research. Submitter(s) will be notified if they have been accepted as the institutional submission(s) shortly after review.

Standard Limited Submission Timeline

  • Letter of intent deadline - usually 90 days prior to the sponsor deadline
  • Internal proposal deadline - usually 1 week after LOI deadline
  • Review and decision - usually 2 weeks after internal proposal deadline, and typically at least two months prior to the sponsor deadline
  • Sponsor Deadline

If ORD staff learn of an opportunity within 45 days of the sponsor deadline, they will transition to an expedited process.

Please email: limitedsubmissions@uml.edu for any questions.