Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Project Grants

Step 1: Develop an initial proposal and project budget.

Step 2: Submit an initial proposal by September 30, 2026, via the online proposal system using your NetID and password. Once logged into the system, click on “Submit a Proposal” in the menu bar and then select “Reilly-Baldwin Initial Project Grant Proposal, 2026-27.”

Initial proposals must be submitted online and include:

• A brief project title
• An abstract
• All required project details

Step 3: Submitted proposals will be routed to your department chair or unit director for approval via the online proposal system. The deadline for approval by the department chair/unit director is October 7, 2026. If an applicant’s unit is not departmentalized (e.g., Law, Nursing, Pharmacy), the proposal will be submitted directly to the dean’s office. The deadline for dean’s office approval is October 14, 2026.

Step 4: Once approved by the department chair or unit director (if applicable), proposals will be routed via the online proposal system to the designated dean for approval. The deadline for approval at the dean level is October 14, 2026.

Applicants are responsible for securing approval from their department chairs, unit directors, and deans, and should check the online system to confirm their proposal’s status.

Step 5: Receive notification of initial proposal status. Target notification date is mid-December 2026.

For questions regarding the submission process, contact reilly-baldwin@provost.wisc.edu).

Proposal Criteria

Your proposal must demonstrate or include the following:

• The project builds on expertise and past experiences developed at UW-Madison.
• Specific goals, methods and objectives of the project.
• Be written clearly and concisely with a general audience in mind.
• An external collaborator is poised to collaborate. Describe the external collaborator’s role in co-creating the project plan.
• Preliminary evaluation results, where available, to support anticipated outcomes.
• A description of the project’s likely impact, and how this impact will be measured and communicated.

IRB Approval

The application system will ask you to identify if your project requires IRB approval or an IRB exemption from the Institutional Review Boards (IRB) Office. If selected for a grant, projects that require IRB approval or an IRB exemption will need to provide a copy of the IRB Notice of Approval or IRB Exemption to Reilly-Baldwin Administrators before funding can be released.

To learn more about IRB approval or IRB exemption, see the IRB Guidance on Defining Human Participant Research and When IRB Review May Not Be Required. For questions about whether your project requires IRB oversight, contact the IRB.

Length

The combined content for the initial project proposal narrative sections should be 2-4 letter-sized PDF pages.

Formatting

Page size: 8.5 x 11

Margins: 1″ margins at the top, bottom, and both sides. Page numbers and an identifier may be within the 1″ margin.

Font: 11 point or larger.

Required Initial Proposal Sections

The narrative portion of your proposal must be structured using the following headings:

1. Program Plan and Objectives
2. Primary Stakeholders of the Project (those served or impacted through the implementation of the project)
3. Collaborator(s)
4. Anticipated Outcomes
5. Time Frame and Location
6. Personnel
7. Budget Narrative

Program plan and objectives

• Describe the problem or opportunity to be addressed.
• Describe the goals and objectives, and explain the methods, techniques and formats.
• Explain how this project facilitates the exchange of knowledge and expertise between you and your community collaborators.
• Include a statement of how this project is a new initiative or is a new dimension to an existing activity.

Primary stakeholders of the project

Describe the stakeholder(s) and how they will be served or impacted by the project. Include how their specific needs have been identified.

Collaborator(s)

• Identify collaborating organizations.
• Explain how collaborators will be involved in the project and their role during the various stages of project development and implementation. Do not include letters of support from collaborators in your initial proposal. Letters of support are only required for final proposals.
• List any on-campus department/unit/collaborators involvement.

Anticipated outcomes

Describe anticipated outcomes and how the impact will be documented.

Time frame and location

• Describe the project time frame.
• Indicate where the activity(s)/program(s) will take place.

Personnel

• List the name, title, affiliation and a one-sentence description of the role of key personnel. (Do not include CVs in the initial proposal. A one-page CV will be required for the final proposal.)
• Include faculty, staff, RA/PA, or student hourly support, as needed.

Budget Narrative

The Reilly-Baldwin Grant Review Committee needs to understand the ‘why’ and the ‘what’ of your itemized budget. Use this section to:

• Explain necessary costs
• Indicate the most mission-critical items of the budget
• Offer additional details that might not be adequately reflected in the required Budget Sheet
• Explain concisely how other funding sources, such as research grants, corporate support, are not available or are limited to support your project
• Include in-kind support and/or financial support to be provided by collaborators and/or co-sponsors, if applicable

Complete the Project Budget Sheet. You may access the budget sheet from this Box folder (NetID required). When you complete the form, save as PDF and upload to the online proposal system.

General tips and advice

• Proposals may include faculty, staff, RA or PA, or student hourly support. Identify personnel by name, title, role in the proposal and percent effort for each year of support requested. (Do not include CVs in initial proposals.)
• Resources should support additional activities that put research into action with and for communities, not to supplant funds that support existing teaching or research.
• Project grants are intended to leverage existing faculty and staff salaries. The Reilly-Baldwin Grant Review Committee looks favorably on contributions of time and effort as a part of a grant’s matching support. Proposals should keep project-funded faculty and staff salary support to a minimum. Student hourly or PA funding may be included. Each budget will be reviewed carefully to ensure that proposed support is both adequate and necessary.

Personnel

The appropriate fringe benefit amount is automatically calculated in the budget sheet, using guidance found on the RSP page. No charge for tuition remission is needed for summer. Consult the Bursar’s Office for more details.

Supplies and Other

Identify and list major supplies and other expenses by item and amount requested for each.

Capital Equipment

Capital equipment includes items costing $5,000 or more. Because the Project grant is intended to support people and projects, capital equipment requests will only be considered if the equipment proposed is essential to the completion of the project. If applicants are making a capital equipment request, they must justify how the equipment is essential for the success of the project. Consult the UW-Madison Policy Library for more details about Capital Equipment.

Matching Funds and Contributing Efforts

While matching funds are not required, reporting any in-kind or fiscal match or contributions may strengthen proposals. Identify collaborator contributions or matching funds or projected program revenue, if appropriate. Applicants should include information on pending grant applications submitted to other funding sources. An extramural transmittal support form is not required for the Project grant proposal process.

For program revenue operations, please describe the nature of the program revenue structure.

A select number of initial proposals will be chosen to advance to the final proposal stage. Applicants should wait for notification before completing a final proposal.

Step 1: Receive invitation to submit final proposal. Target notification date is December 2026.

Step 2: Review and tweak online project abstract, and submit expanded version of proposal, addressing any questions the Reilly-Baldwin Grant Review Committee may have raised. A letter of support from collaborators must be included with the proposal.

Step 3: Review and tweak project budget and address any questions the Reilly-Baldwin Grant Review Committee may have raised.

Step 4: Submit a final proposal by February 1, 2027, via the online proposal system, using your NetID and password. Once logged into the system, click on “Submit Proposal” in the menu bar and then select “Reilly-Baldwin Final Grant Proposal, 2026-27.” All materials must be submitted via the online proposal system.

Step 5: Submitted proposals will be routed to your department chair or unit director for approval via the online proposal system. The deadline for approval by the department chair/unit director is February 8, 2027. If an applicant’s unit is not departmentalized (e.g., Law, Nursing, Pharmacy), the proposal will be submitted directly to the dean’s office. The deadline for dean’s office approval is February 15, 2027.

Step 6: Once approved by the department chair or unit director (if applicable), proposals will be routed via the online proposal system to the designated dean for approval. The deadline for approval at the dean level is February 15, 2027.

Applicants are responsible for securing approval from their department chairs, unit directors, and deans, and should check the online system to confirm their proposal’s status.

Step 7: Receive notification of final proposal status. Target date: late-April 2027.

Proposal Criteria

Your proposal must demonstrate or include the following:

• The project builds on expertise and past experiences developed at UW-Madison.
• Specific goals, methods and objectives of the project.
• Be written clearly and concisely with a general audience in mind.
• Include evidence that an external collaborator is actively involved in co-creating the project plan and committed to collaborating, if the project is funded. This evidence must include a letter from the collaborator detailing their role and level of involvement.
• Preliminary evaluation results, where available, to support anticipated outcomes.
• A description of the project’s likely impact, and how this impact will be measured and communicated.

IRB Approval

The application system will ask you to identify if your project requires IRB approval or an IRB exemption from the Institutional Review Boards (IRB) Office. If selected for a grant, projects that require IRB approval or an IRB exemption will need to provide a copy of the IRB Notice of Approval or IRB Exemption to Reilly-Baldwin Administrators before funding can be released.

To learn more about IRB approval or IRB exemption, see the IRB Guidance on Defining Human Participant Research and When IRB Review May Not Be Required. For questions about whether your project requires IRB oversight, contact the IRB.

Length

The final project proposal narrative sections should be 6-8 letter-sized PDF pages, not including abstract, budget sheets, one-page vita, or letters of support from your collaborators.

Formatting

Page size: 8.5 x 11

Margins: 1″ margins at the top, bottom, and both sides. Page numbers and an identifier may be within the 1″ margin.

Font: 11 point or larger.

Final Proposal Sections

The narrative portion of your proposal must be structured using the following headings:

1. Program Plan and Objectives
2. Primary Stakeholders of the Project (those served or impacted through the implementation of the project)
3. Collaborator(s)
4. Anticipated Outcomes
5. Time Frame and Location
6. Personnel
7. Budget Narrative
8. Evaluation and Future Plans

Program Plan and Objectives

• Describe the need or opportunity to be addressed, and include specific goals and objectives.
• Describe the methods and approaches you will use to achieve the project’s goals and objectives. Include measurable metrics where possible, as continued funding for Years 2 and 3 depends on demonstrating satisfactory progress toward stated objectives
• Describe how this project relates to your unit, and explain how it aligns with and advances its overall mission.
• Explain how this project facilitates the exchange of knowledge and expertise between you and your community collaborators.
• Include a statement of how this project is a new initiative or is a new dimension to an existing activity.

Primary stakeholders of the project

Describe the stakeholder(s) and how they will be served or impacted by the project. Include how their specific needs have been identified.

Collaborator(s)

• Identify formal and informal collaborators. A letter of support from key external collaborating organizations or constituent groups is required.
• List any other participating UW–Madison departments, schools, or units, and briefly describe their role in the project.

Anticipated outcomes

• Describe anticipated outcomes.
• Describe how the impact will be documented.

Time frame and location

• Describe the project time frame. Be specific for each year of your proposed project.
• Indicate where the activity(s)/program(s) will take place.

Personnel

• List the name, title, affiliation and specific roles of key personnel in the proposal. Include faculty, staff, RA/PA, or student hourly support, as needed.
• Include a one-page CV for the key project director(s) and other key project personnel.
• Proposals should clearly state who will be performing the activities for which project grants funds are requested.

Budget Narrative

The Reilly-Baldwin Grant Review Committee needs to understand the ‘why and the ‘what’ of your itemized budget. Use this section to:

• Explain necessary costs
• Indicate the most mission-critical items of the budget
• Offer additional details that might not be adequately reflected in the required Budget Sheet
• Explain concisely how other funding sources, such as research grants, corporate support, are not available or are limited to support your project
• Include in-kind support and/or financial support to be provided by collaborators or co-sponsors, if applicable

Evaluation and Future Plans

• Describe how the specific objectives and project outcomes will be measured and evaluated.
• If appropriate, describe how this project will continue after completion of the grant.

Complete the Project Budget Sheet. You may access the budget sheet from this Box folder (NetID required). When you complete the form, save as PDF and upload to the online proposal system. If there is an increase in the requested budget from the initial proposal, please provide a detailed explanation.

Note: Annual progress and budget reports are required for multiple-year projects before second- or third-year funds are transferred.

General tips and advice

• Proposals may include faculty, staff, RA or PA, or student hourly support. Identify personnel by name, title, role in the proposal and percent effort for each year of support requested.
• Resources should support additional activities that put research into action with and for communities, not to supplant funds that support existing teaching or research.
• Project grants are intended to leverage existing faculty and staff salaries. The Reilly-Baldwin Grant Review Committee looks favorably on contributions of time and effort as a part of a grant’s matching support. Proposals should keep project-funded faculty and staff salary support to a minimum. Student hourly or RA/PA funding may be included. Each budget will be reviewed carefully to ensure that proposed support is both adequate and necessary.

Personnel

The appropriate fringe benefit amount is automatically calculated in the budget sheet, using guidance found on the RSP page. No charge for tuition remission is needed for summer. Consult the Bursar’s Office for more details.

Supplies and Other

Identify and list major supplies and other expenses by item and amount requested for each.

Capital Equipment

Capital equipment includes items costing $5,000 or more. Because the Project grant is intended to support people and projects, capital equipment requests will only be considered if the equipment proposed is essential to the completion of the project. If applicants are making a capital equipment request, they must justify how the equipment is essential for the success of the project. Consult the UW-Madison Policy Library for more details about Capital Equipment.

Matching Funds and Contributing Efforts

While matching funds are not required, reporting any in-kind or fiscal match or contributions may strengthen proposals. Identify collaborator contributions or matching funds or projected program revenue, if appropriate. Applicants should include information on pending grant applications submitted to other funding sources. An extramural transmittal support form is not required for the Project grant proposal process.

For program revenue operations, please describe the nature of the program revenue structure. The budget request detail should include only dollars requested as part of the application submission.