Introducing the Support Program for Advancing Research and Creativity

The Support Program for Advancing Research and Creativity (SPARC) provides monetary support for faculty to advance their research or creative activities at ISU. Full-time ISU faculty may request $1,000 to $8,000 for project-related expenses. 

The purpose of the SPARC is to support the advancement of creative activities and research at ISU. The Office for Research makes funding available for this program and supports all areas, types, and disciplines of research and creative activity by all full-time ISU faculty. Proposals are evaluated in a fair and transparent way by the ISU Research Council, which then makes funding recommendations to the Vice President for Research and Economic Development. Funding for SPARC comes from Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs resulting from external grant and contract funding from across the university.

The Research Council places equal emphasis on recommending faculty projects that either lead to applications for external funding or provide other significant benefits to the researcher, artist, and/or university. The key requirement is that the support helps the applicant advance to the “next level” in their research or creative activity (e.g., publications, presentations, performances). The Research Council also encourages and accepts collaborative proposals that clearly show how they advance research and creative activity at ISU. Collaborative projects must be submitted as a single proposal for all collaborators and should make clear the distinct and different contributions of each participant to the project and the nature of the scholarly or artistic merit underlying the collaboration. In the case of collaborative projects, please make sure each faculty applicant, as well as their department chairs and deans, sign the required internal grant routing form. The Committee does not tend to recommend funding specific projects for which an applicant has already been successful in obtaining external funding or other sources of funding.

SPARC is not intended to provide supplemental funding to existing projects. The submission deadline for full proposals is November 1, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. (MDT). Please note that all required signatures from your department chair and dean must be secured before your proposal can be submitted. Plan ahead to allow adequate time for these approvals. Access the complete application here.