CALL FOR APPLICATIONS OF PILOT/SMALL RESEARCH PROJECTS IN OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
RMCOEH invites applications for pilot research project funding in occupational health and safety for the 2026-2027 academic year. Graduate students, junior investigators, and established investigators with new or innovative interests in occupational health and safety are encouraged to apply. Priority for funding is toward projects with high-impact findings disseminated to the target audience, resulting in pilot data for external funding and/or peer-reviewed publication.
This Pilot/Small Projects Research Program is supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the RMCOEH. These projects are to be completed within 12 to 18 months.
The purpose of this program is to enhance worksite occupational safety and health (OSH). Research projects may also support the NIOSH Mission, NIOSH Research Priorities, or Research to Practice (r2p). The goals of this pilot/small research program are broadly to improve workplace OSH, improve health, reduce and/or prevent workplace injuries, and/or lower workers’ compensation costs. Novel ideas as well as collaborative, interdisciplinary projects are encouraged. Examples of potential projects include:
- Stimulate investigators from other fields to apply their expertise to OSH issues
- Develop new partnerships to address emerging safety and health concerns
- Provide initial support for a translational or research-to-practice projects
- Obtain preliminary data, mine existing datasets, or pursue critical data gaps
- Support trainee research projects (Faculty Mentor for trainees is Required)
Pilot projects are intended to develop improvements in OSH and explore or develop new and creative OSH-related innovations and interventions. Projects may be exploratory, interventional, or investigational. Pilot Project Principal Investigators (PIs) must be full-time faculty or doctoral students. Faculty and students from outside the University of Utah, but in regional states (AZ, ID, NM, NV, CO, MT, SD, ND, WY) are especially encouraged to apply. Collaboration with faculty from RMCOEH at the University of Utah is encouraged but not required for regional states; collaboration is required for proposals from outside those regional states. Master’s trainees may not serve as principal investigators but are encouraged to apply with their faculty mentor. It is anticipated that successful projects will result in at least one peer-reviewed publication and submission of additional research grants, particularly resulting in extramural funding. Projects are expected to be one year in duration. Successful applicants are encouraged to present the findings of their project at the annual Regional NORA conference at the University of Utah.
Merit Review of Applications
Each proposal will be reviewed with the standard NIH review criteria (Significance, Innovation, Approach, Investigator and Environment) and with attention to the following domains when applicable:
1. Relevance to the NIOSH Mission.
2. Interdisciplinary involvements or potential.
3. Research capacity building for large-scale projects, R21, R01, or similar funding.
5. Innovativeness and scientific merit; adequacy and feasibility of research plans.
6. Appropriateness of budget and budget justification.
7. Participation of multiple stakeholders (employers, employees, academia).
8. Potential impact of a study on OSH with measurable benefits.
For master’s and doctoral student projects, the adequacy of supervision and track record of the mentor will be factored into the final funding recommendation.
Additional Information
Application Deadline: May 15, 2026
Approximate Award Date: July 1, 2026
Electronic applications and questions should be emailed to:
Application Instructions
A. Application Content
1. This program will enable investigators to collect sufficient data to pursue subsequent support through other funding mechanisms. Examples of pilot projects include:
- Provide initial support to develop innovative approaches or lines of investigation in OSH;
- Allow exploration of innovative directions in OSH;
- Stimulate investigators from other fields to apply their expertise to OSH issues;
- Develop new partnerships to address emerging safety and health concerns;
- Provide initial support for a translational or research-to-practice project;
- Obtain preliminary data, mine existing datasets, or pursue critical data gaps; and
- Support trainee research projects. (Faculty for trainees is Required).
2. The applicant should have goals that are relevant to NIOSH Research Priorities and should provide a description that includes these elements:
- The potential or actual impact of the program on worker health and safety;
- The appropriate IRB review and approval for all projects involving human subjects, to ensure the protection of the rights and welfare of human subjects;
- A synergistic approach for the dissemination and translation of research results;
- Evaluation of the program’s effectiveness and impact.
3. Applications with greater potential for securing follow-on external funding will be given priority.
4. Master’s students may apply for project funding. However, a faculty member must serve as PI. Doctoral students may serve as PI but must have a faculty supervisor identified for a Pilot/Small Project. Faculty without prior research funding should have a senior faculty advisor.
5. The faculty member supervising a student is responsible for oversight and management of the project. That faculty member is ultimately responsible for the delivery of a final report.
6. Include a cover letter that includes:
- The faculty mentor for graduate student proposals must be identified. A timeline for the project and their graduate program must be explained.
- Faculty projects should include the projected follow-on external funding (e.g., subsequent R01).
- All proposals should outline at least one projected publication and targeted journal for the work. If no peer-reviewed publication is possible, justification must be provided.
7. The application must include an application Face Page, detailed Budget Page (PHS398) with Justification, Biosketch, timeline, a Specific Aims page, and up to 6 pages of narrative for the project plan.
8. For budgeting, indirect costs are determined by the investigator’s institution and cannot exceed 8.0% of the award.
9. An NIH biosketch of a faculty mentor is required for MS/PhD student projects. (PHS 398).
10. The narrative is to be placed on a PHS 398 continuation page.
11. All grantees are required to provide a short progress report quarterly to briefly document the progress of the awarded project.
12. All projects must have a final report delivered to the RMCOEH the end date of the award (12 or 18 months). The report should state the original or approved revised aims and the progress and interpretation of results.
13. All grantees are expected to deliver research results at one or more conferences. Exceptions must be justified. Presentations at the annual University of Utah NORA conference or at the RMCOEH are strongly encouraged. Virtual presentations are acceptable.
14. Future outcomes and impacts must be tracked and reported upon request (e.g., abstracts, presentations, publications, grant applications, extramurally funded projects leveraged from this project, injury reductions and economic impacts).
15. Investigators must acknowledge support from the NIOSH RMCOEH ERC Pilot Project Research Training Program in all related publications resultant from the pilot grant award.
16. Inclusion of women, children and other populations to improve vigor is required whenever feasible and appropriate.
17. All approved projects involving human subjects must have Institutional Review Board review from the investigator’s home institution and approval prior to initiating research or expensing funds. NOTE: Although final IRB approval is not required at the time of the proposal submission, the final IRB approval must be submitted BEFORE the research and use of funds commences. Considerable time is often required for such approval and investigators may want to initiate IRB approval requests prior to the application. Accordingly, funding priority will be for projects with IRB approval or not needing IRB approval.
B. Funding eligibility
Any faculty member of any rank from any academic institution in the regional states (AZ, CO, ID, MT, ND, NM, NV, SD, UT, WY) is eligible to apply. Senior advisor/mentorship of junior faculty investigators is strongly encouraged. However, senior, established researchers are ineligible as PIs unless the pilot project, e.g., develops a new line of research for that investigator. OSH professionals outside of academia may apply but should generally have a faculty collaborator. Faculty who are not from the University of Utah should consider identifying a collaborating faculty member in the RMCOEH to assist with the coordination of the project. Graduate students (Masters or Doctoral) are also eligible to apply. Doctoral students may serve as PI, however master’s students cannot serve as PI. Regardless, all graduate students must have a full-time faculty member identified who agrees to take responsibility for and accomplish oversight of, the project.
C. Number of Awards per Year
It is anticipated that several awards will be made each year. Many are funded in the $5-$10,000 range. Projects for graduate student research may request up to $10,000. Faculty pilot projects with an identified external funding grant application may request up to $20,000. The amount and number of awards are subject to availability of funds.
D. Length of an Award
Awards will be for 12 to 18 months and are not renewable. A no-cost extension for up to 6 months is possible with written permission.
E. Human Subjects
Following NIOSH and University of Utah guidance, any Pilot/Small Project that involves human subjects must be approved by the relevant university’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). No funds will be dispensed under this award mechanism until IRB approval is forwarded to the RMCOEH. (See Item A. 16 above.)
F. Animal Welfare
Following NIOSH and University of Utah guidance, any Pilot/Small Project that involves animals will be submitted to the relevant university’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for evaluation. No funds will be dispensed under this award mechanism until IACUC approval is forwarded to the RMCOEH.
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