Requesting Letters of Support

UTMB recognizes the need for institutional investment in order to further the research mission of the university.  In some cases, incremental institutional resources (e.g. matching funds) are required for the proposal to be considered competitive. If this is the case, we welcome requests for letters of support necessary to accompany proposals.

To provide sufficient time for review, please submit all requests for letters of support to the CRO’s office thirty (30) days prior to the proposal submission deadline.  Requests can be sent to Dr. Andrew McNees.     

In your submission, please address the following points, keeping in mind preference will be given to awards supporting multiple research programs, leveraging existing resources/commitments, requiring minimal incremental expense and aligning with the university’s research strategic plan.

  • Potential sponsor
  • Type of funding (e.g. S10)
  • Funding announcement (please provide a link, if available)
  • Application due date
  • Proposal synopsis (what are you asking the sponsor to support?)
  • Benefit to your research program if awarded
  • Other investigators whose research programs will benefit, and how so
  • How resources gained from an award will be made available to others (e.g. equipment will be placed in a core and made available to all via the service center mechanism)
  • Alignment with UTMB’s current research strategic plan
  • Summary of research done to demonstrate that an award will result in novel capacity (e.g. the instrumentation is not readily available at UTMB, nor via collaborators/commercial entities)
  • Likelihood of new, commercially viable, intellectual property generation if the award is funded
  • University support being requested (narrative). Please read the FOA carefully so that the letter is aligned with items required in the “institutional commitment” section of the application.
  • Five year financial summary (please account for all of the following that may be applicable)

Initial investment (if any)

  • Space considerations (will additional space/renovations be needed if an award is received?)
  • Staffing
  • Equipment and/or supplies
  • Other

Ongoing annual investment (if any)

  • Staffing
  • Service contracts
  • Equipment and/or supplies
  • Other

Incremental revenue estimates (if any)

  • Service center revenue
  • Additional sponsored project revenue
  • Licensing/royalties/etc. revenue from resultant intellectual property
  • Other