SURGE Grants

Surge Grants For Data Science

The School of Data Science supports transformative and innovative projects at all stages in the research process. The School recognizes the difficulty in current funding streams for high impact research and is now accepting research proposals from core faculty members to the Supporting Unfunded Research with Great Evaluations (SURGE) grant program. The purpose of this grant is to fund on-going research projects that have received strong external reviews from a prior submission over $1,000,000. The School aims to inject money into existing research teams to push proposals over the top.

SUMMER SURGE GRANTS: SUMMER 2026
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: MIDNIGHT EST ON MARCH 1, 2026

SDS Mission Statement

We commit to excellence in education, research, community engagement, and inclusion to shape and lead the future of data science education and practice. We will teach our students to be responsible and ethical data science practitioners, leaders, researchers, and innovators in an increasingly data-driven and global society.

Overview

The School of Data Science (SDS) is launching the SURGE Grant Program, a targeted internal funding mechanism designed to help promising, unfunded external proposals with strong positive reviews obtain funding upon resubmission.

While the SDS Seed Grant Program supports the development of new interdisciplinary ideas, SURGE focuses on previously submitted external proposals that have received favorable panel or peer-review evaluations but were not awarded funding. The goal is to provide resources and support that help faculty address reviewer feedback, strengthen project design, and increase resubmission success.

Funding of up to $10,000 per award is available for School of Data Science core faculty, subject to the fund availability, to implement improvement plans, refine analyses, build proof-of-concept demonstrations, or gather missing pilot data identified by reviewers as necessary for competitiveness.

More INFO on surge GRANTS:

Proposals should:

Be led by Core Faculty members of SDS
Prioritize hiring School of Data Science Ph.D. Students in the summer months

Proposal Eligibility:

Previously submitted external grant proposal to a federal agency or foundation (e.g., NSF, NIH, DoD, DOE, NEH, or major private foundations) with a total proposed budget exceeding $1 million.
Provide official external reviews (individual reviewer comments and/or panel summaries) and the agency’s decision letter.
Demonstrate that the proposal received strong or encouraging evaluations (e.g., “Excellent,” “Very Good,” or equivalent panel ratings).
Have a core or affiliate SDS faculty member as the PI or Co-PI.

Scope and Guidelines:

Up to a maximum of $10,000 budget per proposal; proposals of less than the maximum are encouraged (e.g., $10k)
No more than half of the proposed budget may be faculty salary requests
Proposals must be submitted electronically by 12pm EST, March 16, 2026
The Executive Director, with consultation, from the SDS Research Committee will evaluate submitted proposals using the below criteria and select the best for funding
Awardees will be announced by April 17, 2026
Initial funding will be disbursed to the PI’s home department by May 15, 2026
Funds must be spent by October 15, 2026
Funding is for a maximum 5-month period
A request for external funding is expected before the end of 2026

Proposals Should Focus On:

Conducting proof-of-concept studies, simulations, or pilot fieldwork to improve the initial submission.
Revising or expanding interdisciplinary teams to better meet funder priorities.
Other areas of weakness pointed out in individual reviews and panel summaries, or requested by the PO

Unallowable Expenditures Include:

Office supplies, travel to professional conferences
Outreach program delivery
Meals and snacks
Publication charges

Proposal Structure and Submission:

Submit proposals as a single PDF to Dr. Jason Windett, Director of Research, School of Data Science (jwindett@charlotte.edu) with the subject line “SURGE Grant Application.”

Cover Page (1 page)
- Project title
- PI and co-PIs (with affiliations and SDS status)
- Contact information
- Original external agency and program title
- Total budget of original submission
- Amount requested from SURGE (up to $10,000)
Summary of Prior Submission (1–2 pages)
- External agency, program name, and submission date.
- Abstract or summary of the previously submitted project.
- Attach external reviewer and/or panel comments and the official declination letter as appendices.
- Amount requested from SURGE (up to $10,000)
Improvement and Resubmission Plan (1–2 pages)
- Specific issues or weaknesses identified by reviewers.
- How SDS funds will be used to address those critiques.
- Plan and timeline for resubmission (target agency, call, and expected deadline).
- Description of any new datasets, analyses, or preliminary results to be generated.
Budget and Justification (1 page)
- Itemized cost list (student support, data acquisition, software, technical consulting, etc.).
- Budget period not to exceed 6 months.
- No more than 50% of funds may be used for faculty salary.
Appendices
- Full external reviews and decision letter.
- Original proposal (as submitted).
- Any new targeted call or RFP to which the resubmission will be directed.

Evaluation Criteria:

Criterion	Description
Quality of Prior Reviews	Evidence that external reviewers found the project scientifically meritorious but just short of funding or negative decision was result of budget shortcoming of agency.
Feasibility of Improvement Plan	Clear, achievable plan to address specific reviewer critiques using SURGE funds.
Potential for External Success	Likelihood that the revised proposal will secure >$1M in external funding.
Alignment with SDS Mission	Relevance to SDS’s interdisciplinary strengths and areas of research excellence
Effective Use of Funds	Appropriateness of budget to achieve stated improvements (e.g., proof of concept, pilot testing, revision support).

Funding and Timeline:

Maximum award: $10,000
Project duration: Up to 6 months
Announcement of awards: April 16, 2026
Funds available: Upon release of announcement
Funds must be spent by: October 15, 2026
Expected resubmission: Within 12 months of SURGE award

Reporting Requirements:

Awardees must provide a brief 3-page project report within one month of the grant end date, summarizing 1) How SURGE funds were used 2) Progress made on addressing reviewer feedback. 3) Resubmission timeline and updated external funding target.

Awardees must acknowledge SDS support in all revised submissions and resulting publications. Awardees must include SDS as an affiliated unit in Niner Research proposal submission.

All questions or concerns can be sent to Jason Windett, Director of Research, School of Data Science: jwindett@charlotte.edu.