Quick Response Proposal Submission Guidelines

Please submit a complete proposal as soon as possible after a disaster occurs. Research proposals are evaluated and awarded on an on-going basis. Your proposal should clearly state the desired beginning and end dates for data collection and address how award funds will be used to collect perishable data.

Program Eligibility

The lead researcher must be from an academic institution based in a U.S. state, territory, or tribal nation. Other research co-leads, research assistants, or local collaborators do not have to be affiliated with a university or located in a U.S. state, territory, or tribal nation—they cannot, however, serve as the project research lead and primary award recipient.

Proposal Submission

The online submission form will request that all researchers successfully complete the following fields:

• Investigator Names and Affiliations

• Project Title: Limit 12 words. (Please use APA title case)

• Full Abstract: Limit 500 words.

  • Abstract should include an overview of the project, clear research questions, the proposed research design, the gap this research intends to fill, and the expected implications of the proposed work.
    
    

• Brief Abstract: Limit 100 words. To be posted on the Natural Hazards Center’s website. See examples of the format here.

• 3-5 Keywords

• Disciplinary Focus Statement: Provide a statement (maximum 250 words) that briefly describes the disciplinary composition of your research team, including whether the team is single discipline, multi-disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary in nature. For further guidance on these distinctions, please see this paper. Single discipline proposals will be funded at a lower range while interdisciplinary proposals with a strong convergence orientation will be eligible for larger budgets, based on each call for proposals.

• Total Budget Requested: You will be asked to include the total award amount being requested. Please note that for regular submissions to the Quick Response Research Award Program, most budgets should be between $2,000 and $5,000. If you are applying for a Special Call, budget amounts may vary. Please ensure that the amount you request does not exceed the maximum budget limit for each award type.

• Proposal Narrative and Appendices: The proposal narrative should be a maximum of 5 single-spaced pages, with additional pages allowed for budget, references, and appendices. Please download the Proposal Narrative Template and follow the instructions. Once completed, please save the document as a single PDF, no larger than 4MB and upload to the online submission form, where indicated.

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Funding Agreement

Award recipients must carefully read and agree to the following funding criteria:

• The lead investigator, as designated in the proposal, must be from an academic institution based in a U.S. state or territory or a U.S tribal nation. Other co-leads, project assistants, or local collaborators do not have to be affiliated with a university or located in a U.S. state, tribal region, or territory—these individuals cannot, however, serve as the project lead and primary award recipient.
• Award payments can be distributed across team members as designated by the lead investigator (for example, 50% of the award sent to the lead, 25% to the co-lead, and 25% to a local collaborator). No more than three recipients can be designated for any one award.
• Payments will be sent directly to the award recipients as designated in the budget to cover project-related expenses or time dedicated to data collection, analysis efforts, or the dissemination of results.
• This award funding can NOT be sent directly to a university or other institutions, and there are no overhead or indirect costs associated with these funds.
• Expenses may need to be paid out of pocket if fieldwork begins prior to receiving payment. Due dates will not be extended due to delays in payment processing.
• Individual recipients of these awards will be solely responsible for all tax reporting and ramifications. The Natural Hazards Center cannot provide tax advice. Awardees are allowed to include estimated taxes in their budget justification.
• Per tax compliance requirements, the University of Colorado Boulder will report payments to taxing jurisdictions when required. Individual payees will be issued any applicable tax forms directly from the University. Payees are responsible any and all tax consequences related to payments they have received.
• If you or one of your team members are a University of Colorado employee, please reach out to Katie Murphy at Katherine.Murphy-1@Colorado.edu prior to submitting a proposal, as the funding distribution has different requirements, including additional fringe and payroll tax considerations.
• For award recipients who are neither U.S. citizens nor permanent residents, the payment process may take longer and will require additional paperwork. All payments made to visa holders are submitted through the International Tax Office at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Award funding will be processed after proposals are accepted and awards are announced. To receive the award funding, the designated recipients will need to return:

• One copy of a completed and signed funding agreement, to be issued upon approval to designated recipients of the award funds. The information for payees will be filled out on the form.
• A W-9 or W-8BEN for all payment recipients (W-9 is for U.S. citizens or permanent residents; W-8BEN is for non-U.S. persons).
• A letter of approval or exemption from a university based Institutional Review Board, if applicable.

Once the award has been activated and the award agreement, tax forms, and IRB approval have been submitted to the Natural Hazards Center, researchers may begin fieldwork.

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Final Report

Award recipients are required to submit a 20-page, double-spaced report to the Natural Hazards Center within six months of award activation. Please read the full Report Submission Guidelines before drafting your paper.

Quick Response Research Reports will be edited to Center style and published on the Natural Hazards Center website as well as in other electronic and print forms. Most Quick Response-funded researchers go on to publish final results in academic journals or reports. The researcher must acknowledge Center support in all publications resulting from their QR-funded research and provide an electronic link or reprint of those publications to the Natural Hazards Center Team at haz.research.awards@colorado.edu.

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Submit Your Proposal

I have read and understand the Quick Response Award Program Guidelines and any additional special call criteria.
I understand that all funding will be paid directly to award recipients and not their universities, and that the award recipients are responsible for all tax ramifications.
I agree to fulfill all requirements outlined in the Program Guidelines if chosen for this research award.

Take me to the application form