Stanford Propel Grants

Stanford Large Propel Grant

Funds Stanford faculty teams preparing collaborative proposals for large external opportunities.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

The Stanford Large Propel Grant, administered by the Vice Provost for Research (VPDoR), funds final-stage preparation of large-scale, collaborative external grant proposals submitted by Stanford faculty teams. Awards of up to $50,000 cover a 12-month period and are intended to support value-added activities that materially strengthen an upcoming external submission — not routine proposal preparation. The Spring 2026 deadline was March 30, 2026; an Autumn cycle typically closes around October 22. Applications are submitted through the VPDoR Application Portal.

Eligibility is restricted exclusively to Stanford faculty holding Principal Investigator status. Single-investigator proposals are ineligible; collaborative, multi-PI teams are required. School of Medicine PIs must include a co-PI from another Stanford school. The target external opportunity must represent funding 'beyond the usual' for the discipline — typically involving multi-investigator coordination, multidisciplinary collaboration, or budgets well exceeding standard grants. A key scale benchmark: the external opportunity being targeted should be at least 20 times the Propel amount requested. Budget justification is required for Large Propel applications.

Applicants should position their proposal around a clearly articulated external submission plan, including a contingency, and demonstrate that the Propel funds will unlock or substantially improve the chances of securing the larger external award. The application covers the research idea and 'beyond the usual' rationale, proposed activities with timeline, team composition, external funding plan, and budget justification. Contact for the program is rdo-funding-programs@stanford.edu. No institutional overhead is charged on these internal grants.