Office of Research Services

Tips For Writing ORS Proposal

ORS has discretionary funding to encourage and support creative activities on the downtown campus. We are committed to awarding such funds to increase faculty productivity and to enhance CU Denver’s reputation. (See links below)

Proposals are evaluated by a standing committee that consists of ORS personnel as well as some outsiders, all of whom have broad experience in evaluating proposals, but whose backgrounds vary widely. It is critical, given these broad backgrounds, that you address your proposal to that group in understandable terms for a lay audience. We will not fund proposals that are not broadly understood.

• ORS General Funding Announcement (rev July 2020)
• ORS Large Grant Funding Application (rev July 2020)
• ORS Small Grant Funding Application (rev July 2020)
• ORS New Faculty Grant Funding Application (rev July 2020)
• ORS Travel Grant Funding Application (rev July 2020)
• ORS Publication Grant Funding Application (rev July 2020)​
• ORS Interdisciplinary-Collaborative Grant Funding Application (rev July 2020)

Small Grants are due January 20, April 15, August 15

Large Grants are due at the end of  June and December

New Faculty Grants are due at the end of February

Interdisciplinary-Collaborative Grants are due April 15

Faculty have other funding needs that may not be met by our grant programs (e.g., matching commitments, infrastructural needs (equipment, etc.)).

We will try to help meet such needs when:

1. a clear connection between a request and the development of your scholarly/creative activities warrants and
2. if ORS can identify funds to help.

Contact Bob Damrauer to arrange a time to meet.

Individual Meetings

All of us in ORS are happy to meet with you in an individual meeting. Just let any of us know to schedule a time to meet. 

The Creative Research Collaborative (CRC) is a campus wide initiative to foster innovative and interdisciplinary research activities to strengthen collaboration across academic units on the downtown campus. It provides support for various forums to discuss, deliberate, and investigate avenues that cultivate a broader understanding and appreciation of how new forms of research and community outreach within the creative arts can emerge to support the university’s mission of becoming “a leading public research university with a global reputation for excellence in learning, research and creativity, community engagement, and clinical care”. Central to this goal is the exploration of questions involving what constitutes “research” within the arts, humanities, and social sciences, and how existing conventions can be transformed to better enrich the campus academic environment. These types of activities will provide the foundation for a strong interdisciplinary research on campus while simultaneously creating beneficial partnerships that positively engage our local, national, and global communities.

Are you interested in interdisciplinary opportunities?

​The following are examples of successfully funded Small, Large, and New Faculty proposals as part of the ORS internal grants program.

Small Grants:

• Small Grant Example 1
• Small Grant Example 2

Large Grants:

• Large Grant Example 1
• Large Grant Example 2
• Large Grant Example 3

New Faculty Grants:

• New Faculty Grant Example

Small Grants Awarded:

Large Grants Awarded:

• Benjamin Greenwood, CLAS
• Meng Li, CLAS
• Jessica McGaugh, CAM
• Marc Swackhamer, CAP

New Faculty Grants Awarded:​

Collaborative/Interdisciplinary Grants Awarded:

Travel Grants Awarded:

• Candice Shelby, CLAS

Publication Grants Awarded:

Discretionary Funds Awarded:

• Hamilton Bean, CLAS
• Julien Langou, CLAS
• Chris Miller, CLAS
• Gregory Ragland, CLAS