Limited Submissions

Limited submission proposals are funding opportunities in which the sponsor restricts the number of applications that may be submitted from MIT. The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) centrally manages limited submission proposals. Funding opportunities, prize competitions, and award nominations with institutional limits require an internal competition. Research Development, a unit of the OVPR, hosts internal competitions to select which applicants may move forward in the submission process. 

Internal Competition Materials

Required internal competition materials reflect the materials required by the sponsor. They include a cover page with the PI name and key personnel, a project summary, CV/Biosketch, and a budget summary. A budget summary should include enough information for the internal selection committee to understand how the budget will be allocated if funded. In some cases, when there is an underrecovery component or mandatory time release for the faculty, department heads may be asked to provide a brief statement of support.

Internal Process

1. Sponsor announcement: Sponsors publish limited submission opportunities or invite MIT to apply.
2. MIT internal announcement: Announcements for internal competitions are made via the MIT Fund Ops listserv, typically 3-6 weeks before the internal competition deadline. A list of all active and archived internal competitions can be found on the MIT Funding Opportunities portal.
3. Internal competition deadline: Applications for internal competitions are submitted through the MIT Funding Opportunities portal. All applicants will receive confirmation of the receipt of their application.
4. Committee review:
   • If the number of submissions exceeds the institutional limit, application materials are compiled and sent for review within 1-2 days of the internal competition deadline. The Associate Vice President for Research Administration, with input and recommendations from a committee of deans, determines which internal applicants will be selected to apply to the funding opportunity. This review process typically takes 3-6 weeks.
   • If the number of submissions does not exceed the institutional limit, the committee review step is skipped, and applicants are notified within one week.
5. Result notification: All applicants will receive an update regarding their application status at the close of the internal competition, which is typically 4-8 weeks before the sponsor deadline. 
6. Sponsor deadline: Selected applicants work with their administrative and financial teams to finalize submissions to RAS/sponsors before the deadline. Please note: some pre-proposals/LOIs and all full proposals must be submitted to RAS for review 5 business days prior to the sponsor deadline.

Please note: The timeline is for reference only. Actual timelines depend on sponsor deadlines and proposal complexity. Expedited timelines may be used to accommodate short turnarounds set by sponsors, while internal processes for large-scale projects may start earlier to allow sufficient preparation time.

Contact Research Development

If you are interested in submitting an application to a limited submission and no internal competition announcement has been posted in the MIT Funding Opportunities portal, please email researchdev@mit.edu and let us know of your interest in applying as soon as possible. 

For questions, comments or feedback on the limited submission process, please contact the research development team at ResearchDev@mit.edu.