Community Engaged Research (CEnR) Pilot Grant

Information Session: Monday, October 5, 2026, 12:30-1:30 pm (EST). Register for this information session.

Intent to Apply Deadline: Friday, October 16, 2026, 5:00 pm (EST). 

Application Deadline: Friday, November 6, 2026, 5:00 pm (EST).

Any faculty member with >50% appointment at the level of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor from the UMB Schools of Dentistry, Graduate Studies, Law, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, or Social Work; and UMBC or UMCP is eligible to apply as a Lead Principal Investigator (PI) for an ICTR CEnR Pilot Grant. UMBC or UMCP Lead Principal Investigators (PIs) must name a UMB Co-PI.

Research Associates, Instructors, Adjunct or visiting faculty are not eligible to apply. 

• Multi-PI applications are allowed – limit to 1 Lead PI (the applicant) and 1 Co-PI. A Multiple PI Leadership Plan describing the respective roles must be included with the application. The Lead PI will serve as the point of contact for communications.
• In addition to including a community partner, eligible submissions are encouraged to include collaborations between faculty from a UMB School, UMBC or UMCP. Eligible community partners include non-profits such as community service organizations, advocacy groups, neighborhood associations, faith-based organizations, or coalitions, public agencies, and private organizations.
• A Lead PI or Co-PI (if applicable) responding to this 2027-2028 CEnR grant opportunity cannot serve as a Lead or Co-PI on another application in this round or the 2027-2028 ATIP pilot grant opportunity. However, the Lead PI and Co-PI (if applicable) may serve as a non-PI collaborator on other proposals as long as there is no scientific overlap. Research Associates/Instructors, undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows cannot be listed as Co-PIs or Co-Investigators. However, they may be listed in other roles in the proposal.
• Eligible submissions must include a timeline of one or more milestones for each Specific Aim with clear outcome endpoints. The timeline must be feasible within the strict funding period and approved budget.
• Regulatory submissions/approvals and preparation of manuscript/grant application should NOT be included in the timeline since they cannot be considered a milestone. Regulatory approval must be obtained before the project is allowed to start and receive funds.
• A proposal that is ancillary to an existing grant that adds new specific aims that could successfully leverage a new award or renewal are eligible. However, proposals to supplement existing grants are not eligible. The project must have an Institutional Review Board (IRB) submission independent of the parent protocol with a title that matches this submission.
• Lead PIs and Co-PIs with a previously funded ICTR pilot grant award (ATIP or CEnR) may apply as a Lead PI or Co-PI if the previous project has been completed and there is no scientific overlap with this application.
• Applications must demonstrate alignment with broadly accepted public research goals and be responsive to evolving state and federal focus areas, including compliance with current funding landscapes and policy expectations.
• Applicants resubmitting a previous proposal that was not selected for an award must submit an accompanying cover letter describing how the current proposal differs from the original and how the reviewers’ comments are addressed.
• Anyone holding a faculty-level position who receives an ICTR CEnR Pilot Grant award agrees to serve as a reviewer for at least one future Pilot Grant cycle.

Projects receiving a notice of award should plan to have ALL required regulatory approvals and other supporting documents prior to May 1, 2027. The IRB submission time-burden may be significant, so applicants are strongly encouraged to begin this process early. If the required regulatory approvals are not obtained by October 31, 2027, the project will be considered ineligible to remain in the current cohort and will be automatically deferred to the following year’s cohort— pending fulfillment of all regulatory requirements.

• The IRB designation/approval letter must match the CEnR proposal, and the IRB PI must match the Lead PI’s or Co-PI’s name.
• The application and IRB team list must match.
• Review the UMB IRB website for required training of UMB and non-UMB team members engaged in research. UMBC and UMCP applicants should contact their respective IRBs for information on other training requirements for research conducted at UMBC, UMCP, and/or UMB. If research activities are split across sites, consider the need for an IRB reliance letter. A Data Use Agreement (DUA) or Data Transfer Agreement (DTA) may be required as well as data storage in the UMB Secure Research Environment (SRE). For projects planning to use University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) data, email UMMS Research Informatics Core due to strict data use requirements. The DUA or DTA approval process can be lengthy, and your proposal may not be feasible for this funding opportunity given the strict funding timeline.
• If the Human Subjects Research (HSR) project is a clinical trial, the protocol must also be registered in ClinicalTrials.gov. Visit UMB’s IRB website for information about registration requirements for UMB researchers.
• If your proposal requires other supporting documents, such as FDA approval, Biosafety registrations, Clinical Engineering clearance of devices, Radiation Safety registration, etc., these must be obtained prior to initiating any research activities for which the certification/registration/approval is required.

At the time of application, review process, before funds are awarded, and throughout the project period, it is the responsibility of the awardee and all members of the study team to report any financial or fiduciary interests that might appear to present a conflict of interest (COI). These interests must be reported to the ICTR and the COI Officer, Institution’s Research Integrity Office. The presence of a COI does not automatically disqualify investigators from receiving this award but will require the review and management of this conflict by the COI Officer. The failure of any member of the study team to disclose all outside interests could result in the termination of the award and may require repayment of study expenditures.

Information about UMB’s COI Policy, including examples of what constitutes an outside interest, is available on the UMB Office of Accountability and Compliance, Conflict of Interest webpage;

Information about UMBC’s COI Policy is available on the UMBC Office of Research Protections and Compliance webpage; 

Information about UMCP’s COI Policy is available on the University of Maryland Policy on Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment webpage.

Projects may cover a wide range of topics, including but not limited to the representative topics below. Proposals should consider alignment with the current administration’s science and innovation goals as outlined in federal research initiatives and public funding frameworks.

• Development of clinically relevant applications
• Develop apps and devices that improve delivery and exchange of health information
• Comparative effectiveness of research studies
• Knowledge transfer to providers or community
• Novel approaches to partnering with communities to enhance research
• Community-based research focused on areas of health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease/hypertension, mental health, cancer, and kidney disease
• Tests of innovative implementation strategies to optimize uptake of solutions at the community level

Examples of UMB ICTR-supported community-engaged type projects in the past:

• Adapting a Parent-Child Group Intervention for Mothers with Substance Use Disorder
• Exploring recovery-oriented capital support factors to sustain opioid addiction recovery
• Psychosocial Screening Methods for Dental Settings
• Evaluating relationships between interventions and hospital readmissions in a community
• Policies to Prevent Spread of COVID-19 among Maryland Families of Preschool and School-Age Children
• Eliminating Asthma and Obesity among Children in Baltimore City
• Identification of barriers to recovery following traumatic brain injury in older adults

• Funding will be for May 1, 2027 – April 30, 2028.
• Requests must be no more than $50,000 in direct costs. Budget requests must be realistic and well-justified in the budget The award may be reduced if budget items are not well-justified.
• Routing through the research administration office is NOT Required.
• Required regulatory approvals and agreements, as well as other supporting documents, must be obtained prior to disbursement of funds. Refer to Institutional Regulatory Requirements/Approvals and Training section above. 
• Funds will be distributed in two disbursements, with the second disbursement contingent upon submission of a satisfactory progress report and appropriate spending at 6 months.
• Multi-Institutional Budgets (UMB, UMBC, UMCP):
  • With multi-institutional budgets, a PI at each institution is required and a Multiple PI Leadership Plan ;
  • Each participating institution will contribute funds as allocated within the approved budget. Once awarded, these funds are not transferrable and cannot be used to cover expenses for the other institution;
  • The budget must be allocated across both institutions such that each institution contributes a minimum of one-third of the total budget.
  • See Comprehensive Budget/Detailed Budget Justification under Application Process

• Allowable expenses include:
  • No more than $5,000 of the total budget can be allocated towards faculty salary and fringe support. Faculty-level team members on more than one application cannot exceed the $5,000 salary limit across all projects;
  • Research supplies;
  • Equipment (total equipment costs should be no more than 20% of the budget);
  • Recruitment and compensation of study participant costs;
  • Community partner stipends and compensation for community partners serving as co-educators/ co-researchers;
  • Payments to an outside partnering organization, where appropriate, may be considered as a “service provider” expense (not as a sub-award). This expense must be justified and itemized under “Equipment/Supplies/Services” in the budget template form. However, funding for faculty from other University System of Maryland (USM) institutions must be included in the $5,000 total faculty salary funding limit as noted above;
  • Project-related travel for community partners;
  • Funds up to $1,000 may be used for travel for the conduct of the research. Funds CANNOT be used for travel to present results at meetings or conferences. 
  • Official quotes from service providers/vendors, supplies, and/or equipment must be included;
  • External Vendors: For UMB expenses, strong justification is required for choosing external vendors over UMB campus cores of services. Expenses for external vendors cannot exceed $10,000;
  • The Budget template must detail expenses per institution and include the Budget Justification for each expense, including salary.

• Unallowable Expenses:
  • Indirect costs cannot be included in the budget;
  • Funds cannot be used for International expenses;
  • Administrative support;
  • Alterations or renovations of laboratory space;
  • Laboratory or office furniture;
  • Periodicals and books;
  • Tuition;
  • Refreshments;
  • Phone services;
  • Professional societies membership dues;
  • Publication fees;
  • Editorial services;
  • Travel to present research results at meetings or conferences.
  • We understand that expenses may vary with community partnerships and, therefore, will consider allowing expenses with strong justification.                           

For questions or concerns about funding restrictions, please reach out directly to the ICTR Navigator.

• Lead PIs and Co-PIs (if applicable) of all funded projects must provide a milestone update at three, six, and nine months from the May 1, 2027, start date. The six-month meeting will be conducted virtually. Depending on the project's progress, the three and nine-month meeting may also be virtual or replaced by a request for a brief, written update at the discretion of the ICTR Navigators.
• A written report on the progress of the milestones and budget expenditures will be required at the sixth-month time period and a final, written progress report will be due within 30 days of the end of the award period. Failure to attend milestone updates and submit progress reports in a timely manner can have significant implications for the project and may result in termination of the award.
• Following completion of the project, awardees will be invited to present their project outcomes to the ICTR leadership and pilot grant cohort.
• Post Project Semi-annual Reporting - Please note that the ICTR will also send a semi-annual request for updates on subsequent grant applications/awards, publications, and intellectual property disclosures resulting from the project. Understanding that it may take some time for a project to reach its full potential, these semi-annual updates will be requested for several years. Publications resulting from ICTR supported pilot grants and reported in the semi-annual report will be considered for ICTR annual publication awards towards future publication costs. 

The Cover Letter is limited to one page and must include the following:

• Title of Project: The project title must match the title of the IRB or IACUC approval letter.
• Investigators: List the names, academic ranks, and appointments of the designated primary (Lead) PI and one Co-PI (if applicable) and any faculty member to receive financial support. Lead PI name must match the PI on the IRB letter.
• Faculty Salary Support: Specify the salary and fringe support amounts requested for each faculty-level team member listed on the grant. The combined faculty salary and fringe support requested across all faculty-level team members cannot exceed $5,000.
• Required Signatures: Include the signature of Lead PI, Co-PI (if applicable), and any faculty member to receive financial support. For each individual, include the signature of the appropriate institutional signing official:
  • UMB: Department Chair or School Dean, if appropriate
  • UMBC: Associate Dean for Research;
  • UMCP: Associate Vice President, Research Development or College Chair.

The required Cover Letter template will be included in the email with application link.

The abstract is limited to one page and should include:

• A brief background of the project;
• The significance of the proposed research;
• The unique features, new collaborations, and innovation of the project;
• The methodology (action steps) to be used;
• Expected results;
• Relevance to the translational nature of the ICTR CEnR Pilot Grant Program;
• Potential for improving the health of patients within the next 3-5 years.

The abstract is not included in the 5-page Research Plan. The abstract should not contain proprietary confidential information.

Specific aims, objectives, or hypotheses limited to one page.

The research plan is limited to five pages and should include the following sections:

• Brief Introduction: This section is intended to help orient the reviewers to better understand the scientific basis for the project, why the work is being proposed as well as the suitability of the research for CEnR Pilot Grant funding. Any new collaborations or highly innovative aspects should be succinctly noted. Relevance to the translational nature of the CEnR program should also be indicated.
• Project Milestones and Timeline: Submissions must include a timeline of one or more milestones for each Specific Aim with clear outcome endpoints. The timeline must be feasible within the funding period May 1, 2027– April 30, 2028, and the approved final budget. This summary may be presented as a chart, a paragraph, or incorporated throughout the experimental design. Milestones should highlight specific goals to be attained relative to the specific aims and, when appropriate, hypotheses to be tested. Milestones must include both the scientific objectives of the application and the procedural issues involved in executing them in a realistic and achievable way. If new techniques, new populations, or new collaborations are utilized to reach these milestones, they should be emphasized. All grants must be organized towards the completion of project- and/or time- dependent NOTE: In addition to the milestone/timeline summary presented in the research plan, you must include a Project Milestone Timeline document (see Project Milestone Timeline). Regulatory submissions are not considered part of the project and cannot be included in the Project Milestone Timeline.
• Background (including Preliminary Results, if available), and Significance: In addition to scientific background and significance, this section may indicate how success of the pilot grant will affect subsequent research and how it enhances translation. Please describe the community health concern that will be addressed through the academic-community partnership. The material on Significance should indicate relevance to the overall target of clinical translation. It should also clarify how the research will advance the field and should also discuss the project’s potential for improving the health of communities within the next 3-5 years.
• Research Design: Method description should be sufficiently detailed to convince reviewers of feasibility and validity. Details should focus on the novel aspects of the project rather than published or standard techniques.

• For Studies Including Human Participants, Data, and/or Samples/Specimens
  • Where appropriate, provide inclusion/exclusion criteria for each study group(s) and each control group(s) (if planned), and briefly outline recruitment, retention, recruitment/study site(s), consenting, and compensation plan for each.
  • A power calculation and statistical plan must be included to support the study hypothesis and/or specific aims. For human subjects’ research, specify the number of subjects/controls you expect to enroll or include in your analysis, the expected effect size, the power, and the statistical methods you will use with respect to each outcome measure. You must show that your methods for sample size and data analysis are appropriate given your plans for assignment of participants and delivery of intervention. If using animals, a power calculation must be included to justify the number of animals that will be used.
  • Quantifiable goals for the completion of each milestone should be delineated.
  • For trials that randomize groups or deliver interventions to groups, special methods are required.
  • Additional information is available at the NIH Research Methods Resources webpage. If you are unsure about a statistical plan, we encourage you to request a consultation with the ICTR Biostatistical Core

• Statement of Collaborative Effort: Include a specific statement as to how the collaboration between investigators from each school and community partner(s) is necessary to further the proposal’s goals. Include processes for maintaining communication and interactions between the school(s), between UMB, UMBC, and/or UMCP and community partners and monitoring equitable distribution of intellectual involvement. Describe what the roles of each partner will be during project implementation and what are the expected contributions/benefits of the partnership for the academic and community partners.
• Anticipated Problems and Possible Solutions: Any anticipated experimental or interpretive problems should be addressed, with alternative approaches described when possible. The feasibility of using alternative approaches to complete the project within the constraints of the presented ICTR CEnR budget as well as the strict funding period of this grant must be assured in the application. All risks and drawbacks from using any proposed alternative approach must be addressed, especially if human subjects are involved.
• External Funding Plan: Provide a description of how the results of this pilot project will inform or support subsequent applications for extramural funding. Identify future funding sources that will be applied for. Specifically, identify NIH, PCORI, AHRQ, or other external funding opportunities that the team will be prepared to apply for within 18 months of the award’s start date.

The abstract, specific aims, and references are separate from the research plan.

• Applicants must use the Excel budget template provided in the email with the link to the electronic application. 
• The school affiliation of team members must be noted on the budget template, including the school affiliation of the “to-be-determined” team members.
• Cross institutional applications must specify which institution will incur each expense listed on the budget.
• Where possible, each line item on the budget should be itemized down to the smallest unit cost. For example, if an item costs $300 and you need 10, enter the unit cost and then the number of units instead of just $3,000.
• A detailed budget justification is required for each line item listed under each of the categories: Personnel/Consultant/Partners, Equipment/Supplies/Services Costs, Travel Costs, Participant Costs required to complete the For individuals receiving salary support, provide a brief paragraph in the budget justification about their role and qualifications.
• Recent, official quotes for budgeted services, supplies, and equipment must be included.
• The budget MUST include an explanation of other funding sources that will be used to cover costs not covered by ICTR pilot grant funds.
• Once awarded, ALL changes to the budget must be submitted BEFORE IMPLEMENTATION for review and final approval by the ICTR Leadership Council.

Team members include all individuals with a role in the project regardless of whether they will receive salary support, including the PI(s).

A biographical sketch using the most recent NIH template version must be provided for the PI(s) and other faculty-level study team members. Resumes (5-page limit each) may be used for non-faculty team members.

Applicants must use the Word document template provided in the email with the link to the electronic application.

The project timeline must include one or more milestones for each Specific Aim described in the research plan and the time required for each activity.

Please note that IRB submissions/approvals or subsequent grant applications/planned publications should not be included in this milestones’ timeline.

Reference list may have up to 30 references. Reference list is not counted in the page limit of the research plan.

Applicants are required to provide the contact information of two external reviewers in the electronic application. Please note that faculty members at UMB, UMCP, and UMBC cannot be considered as external reviewers. Additionally, please do not designate external reviewers that are outside the U.S.

Please ensure that no conflict of interest (COI) exists between the reviewers and you, the Co-PI, and Co-Investigator(s) (if applicable), or any other person with a major professional role in your application. The peer-review system relies on the applicant's professionalism and reviewers to identify any COI that may affect the integrity of the peer-review process (see Conflicts of Interest (COI) ).

Examples of a reviewer COI:

• The reviewer is planning a collaboration with anyone with a major professional role on your application or another application in this round.
• Within the past three years, the reviewer has published with, has collaborated with, or has been in a mentoring relationship with any person on the application who has a major professional role.
• The application includes a letter of support or reference letter from the reviewer.
• The reviewer is an advisor for the proposal under review or for a grant held by anyone playing a major professional role on the application.
• The reviewer has an indirect financial interest: The reviewer will have received more than $10,000 (in the form of honoraria, stocks, or fees) from you over the period from one year ago through the end of the proposed project.

 Not considered a COI:

• The reviewer has an indirect financial interest of less than $10,000.
• The reviewer freely donates reagents or other materials to the proposed project, and these reagents or materials would also be available to other researchers.
• The reviewer, you, and a person with a significant role on the proposed project, contribute data, reagents, specimens, etc., to the same repository or database.
• The reviewer is a member of a research network that involves a person with a significant role in the proposed project.
• The reviewer is a co-author of a non-research publication (e.g., review, commentary) or a mega multi-authored publication with a person with a significant role in the proposed project.

Applicants are required to complete the CEnR Key Personnel Information form in the electronic application for each person on your proposal’s team. In addition, the Lead PI and Co-PI (if applicable), their 16-digit ORCiD author ID. Information about the 16-digit ORCiD author ID is available on the UMB Health Science and Human Services Library (HSHSL) website. If you believe you have an ORCiD, but cannot recall, type your name in the search field on the ORCiD home page or submit a request via ORCID support page. 

Key Personnel Information includes:

• Name
• Role on the project
• Rank, if applicable
• Degree, if applicable
• School, if applicable
• Department, if applicable
• Email
• Phone
• Requested salary support or consultant fee (non-faculty), if any
• eRA Commons Username, if applicable
• UMGCCC membership, if applicable
• Lead and Co-PI grants manager contact information

Applicants can upload any available regulatory approval documents that are specific to the proposed project. Do not upload regulatory documents that are not specific to this proposal. Regulatory document titles must match the title of the project. The Lead or Co-PI must be noted as the PI on the IRB protocol. See Institutional Regulatory Requirements/Approvals and Training

Only for multi-PI applications ­[limit to 1 Lead PI (the applicant) and 1 Co-PI]. A Multiple PI Leadership Plan describing the respective roles must be included with the application. The Lead PI will serve as the point of contact for communications; however, the Co-PI is expected to attend all milestones update calls with the UMB ICTR Pilot Grant Navigator.

Applicants must follow the formatting requirements below for all submitted documents:

• Font Size: Use a font size 11 points or larger. Smaller text in figures, graphs, diagrams, and charts is acceptable, if it is legible when the page is viewed at 100%. If you are converting it to PDF, applicants should verify that the final PDF maintains the required font size;
• Font Types: Arial, Georgia, or Helvetica;
• Type Density: Text must be no more than 15 characters per linear inch, including spaces;
• Line Spacing: Must be no more than six lines per vertical inch;
• Text Color: Use black text;
• Page Header: The Name of the applicant (Last name, First name) should appear in the top right-hand corner of each page;
• Page Numbers: Page numbers should appear on the bottom right-hand corner of each page;
• Paper Size and Margins:
  • Standard letter paper size (8 ½" x 11”);

Provide at least one-half inch margins (½”) - top, bottom, left, and right - for all pages

ICTR Navigators will provide guidance and answer questions related to the application and review process, the scope of work that is suitable for funding, and post-award activities. They will assist research teams in identifying resources needed for successful completion of research projects, including the referral of researchers to appropriate services, university cores and additional sources of support for translational research. They will review applications to ensure compliance with submission guidelines and may contact investigators to provide additional information. Throughout the award, research navigators serve as project managers, monitoring the progress of the projects, and may provide guidance, resources, and feedback to ensure the proposed translational milestones are met.

1. Relevance to translation: Are there plans to move the project through to the next step along the research pathway?
2. Scientific impact, novelty, and merit, including experimental design;
3. Feasibility of project completion within defined budget period;
4. The creation or potential for creation of collaborations between investigators, schools, institutions, and academic-community partnerships
5. The PI’s career stage and potential for investigator development, including support for junior investigators and/or the advancement of junior or senior investigators into new areas of translational research;
6. The plans for submitting a grant application for external funding.