2026 Postdoctoral Grant Program Request for Proposals
Background
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) is home to the Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP), a grantmaking program within SMPH. The Wisconsin Partnership Program is committed to improving health and advancing health equity through investments in community partnerships, education and research.
A true embodiment of the Wisconsin Idea, WPP awards grants to innovative projects and initiatives that propel medical research, enhance health education and workforce development, support community health partnerships and advance health equity. The work of WPP and its grantees touches all corners of the state, across a wide range of health challenges, communities, populations and geographic areas.
The Wisconsin Partnership Program’s vision, mission and values as well as its goals and grantmaking strategies are described in the 2024–2029 Five-Year Plan.
Goal and Description
The Postdoctoral Grant Program is designed to support the professional development of postdoctoral trainees, postdoctoral fellows, research associates and clinical fellows at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Under the guidance of their supervising mentor, who serves as Principal Investigator, grants will support postdocs as they conduct a research or education project or pursue a professional development opportunity to advance their career with a focus on improving health, health care or advancing health equity in Wisconsin and beyond.
These career development grants should enhance and expand postdoctoral research, education and professional development. Examples could include, but are not limited to:
- Funding for an independent side project related to the postdoctoral supervising mentor’s research
- Professional development, including travel (e.g., conference, training, or presentation expenses)
- Open-access publication fee coverage
Eligibility
The applicant (referred to as “postdoc” throughout the RFP) must have the title of Postdoctoral Trainee, Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Associate or Clinical Fellow with a 75 percent or higher protected time research appointment in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, effective on or before the application deadline, and a signed nomination letter from the Principal Investigator attesting that the appointment is intended to extend for a minimum of 12 months from the award start date. Clinical Fellows must also have their SMPH department chair or SMPH division head/chief co-sign the required nomination letter. Applicants with an Honorary Associate/Fellow title are not eligible to apply.
The postdoc’s supervising mentor serves as Principal Investigator (PI) on the grant. The PI must have an appointment of at least 50 percent as professor, associate professor or assistant professor in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Grant awards to a postdoc will be managed through the PI’s (supervising mentor) department. The PI must attest as part of the application process that they intend for the postdoc’s (applicant’s) appointment to continue for at least 12 months from the award start date.
Principal Investigators with appointments in SMPH auxiliary units that report to SMPH (e.g., Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene) must have an appointment of at least 50 percent as professor, associate professor or assistant professor in an SMPH department.
Applicants with appointments outside of SMPH are eligible if their supervising mentor meets the eligibility requirements to serve as Principal Investigator. For postdocs outside of SMPH, the supervising mentor’s SMPH department chair or SMPH division head/chief is required to co-sign the required nomination letter.
Funding Scope and Duration
Grants are for up to $20,000 for up to one year. The funding request must detail the project or skill, learning or training activities and reflect the scope and scale of the proposal. The proposed project(s) or activity(ies) must be completed before the postdoc leaves UW–Madison. If the postdoc leaves UW–Madison before the end of the award, any unexpended grant funds remaining will be forfeited and recouped by WPP. Direct salary support is not allowed (see allowable and unallowable expenses).
No-cost extension, formal budget revisions, and change of scope requests will not be considered.
The Partnership Education and Research Committee (PERC) anticipates allocating up to ten 2026 Postdoctoral grants this cycle, depending on the availability of funds.
Submission and Review Dates
*All projects must start within the earliest and latest dates (December 1, 2026–March 1, 2027). Protocol approval must also be obtained and shared with WPP before the project starts. Review terms and conditions for more information.
Allowable and Unallowable Expenses
Applicants should review the WPP’s Allowable and Unallowable Grant Expenses Policy when creating their project budget.
Funds must be used for project-related costs. Examples of how funds may be used include:
- Professional development (conference, training)
- Travel expenses (related to the project or professional development)
- Childcare (limited to one-time related conference attendance)
- Open-access publication fees
- Services, such as consultant or contractual services
- Supplies and other expenses, such as participant support costs
Funds, as outlined in the Unallowable Grant Expenses Policy, may not be used for:
- Pre-award costs
- Indirect overhead and administrative costs
- Infrastructure
- Lobbying
- Institutional Review Board fees (for more information, see terms and conditions
- Supplanting (for more information, see Non-Supplanting Policy)
Additionally, for this grant program, funds may not be used for:
- Direct salary support, such as stipends, salaries and fringe benefits or graduate tuition
- Equipment, which is defined as items costing $5,000 or more with a useful life greater than one year
Non-Discrimination Guidelines for WPP-Funded Projects
The Wisconsin Partnership Program, in partnership with the UW–Madison Office of Legal Affairs, developed guidelines to ensure that WPP-funded project activities comply with relevant non-discrimination laws and statutes. Eligibility for participation in WPP-funded project activities cannot be restricted based on race, ethnicity, gender or other legally protected identity characteristics. Applicants invited by PERC to submit a full application are required to complete a non-discrimination attestation.
Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools
The Wisconsin Partnership Program recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) tools can assist applicants in drafting, editing, and receiving structured feedback to improve the quality and clarity of their grant applications. However, applicants are strongly discouraged from using AI tools to generate the substantive content for their proposals. To ensure originality, creativity and fairness, all narrative sections, goals, objectives and activities should reflect the applicant’s own ideas. To ensure fair review, and to protect applicant’s proprietary information, reviewers are prohibited from use of AI tools for their critiques of assigned applications.
Application Guidelines
Application Submission Deadline: August 17, 2026 at 5 p.m. CDT
The application is available in the Fluxx portal. All applicants are required to have a Fluxx account to access and submit the application.
Once logged in to Fluxx, click the green “Start Your Postdoctoral Grant Application” button to start your application.
Applicants should apply under their own name and have the mentoring PI sign the application.
Email wpp@hslc.wisc.edu with questions regarding Fluxx.
In addition to providing general information about the project, the application includes several components:
Project Overview
The project overview describes the postdoc’s professional accomplishments and career goals; the proposed project, publication or professional development opportunity; and how the project or activity contributes to the career development of the postdoc. The project overview also describes how completion of the project or activity prepares the postdoc for a career focused on improving health or advancing health equity in Wisconsin and beyond.
The project overview must be uploaded as a PDF and cannot exceed two single-spaced pages with one-inch margins and a minimum 11-point font. Footnotes, references, a table of acronyms (if applicable) and up to three tables and/or figures are not included in the page limit and should be inserted after the proposal overview.
Principal Investigator (Supervising Mentor) Nomination Letter
The application must include a nomination letter on SMPH departmental letterhead from the Principal Investigator (i.e., postdoc’s supervising mentor) that addresses the following items. Please bold each item and use as topic headings, following the required nomination letter template (DOCX).
- Postdoc Qualifications: Describe the postdoc’s experience and expertise as it relates to this project
- Postdoc Career Development: Describe the impact that a Postdoctoral Grant Program award would have on advancing the applicant’s career development focused on improving health or advancing health equity in Wisconsin and beyond
- PI Support to Postdoc: Describe professional support and resources, such as facilities or other appropriate resources, for the postdoc during the grant period
- PI Attestations:
- Attest that the PI intends that the postdoctoral research appointment will continue for at least 12 months from the award start date, including anticipated appointment renewal date and duration, if applicable
- Attest 75 percent or higher protected time for the postdoc
The PI and the applicant are required to sign the nomination letter. In addition:
- If the applicant is a Clinical Fellow, the nomination letter must be co-signed by the applicant’s SMPH department chair or SMPH division head/chief
- For postdocs with appointments outside of SMPH, the nomination letter must be co-signed by the supervising mentor’s SMPH department chair or SMPH division head/chief
The nomination letter must be uploaded as a PDF. There is a three-page limit for the nomination letter.
Project Budget
Using the required budget template (Excel), the project budget should clearly indicate how the grant funds will be spent. Requests should be made by expense type (services, travel, supplies, etc.) and should provide sufficient detail for individuals unfamiliar with the project.
Expenditures must:
- Be related to a project, professional development opportunity or open access publication fee
- Be fully justified, reasonable and clearly related to the project’s goals and activities listed in the proposal
- Explain the sources and amounts of any cost share
- Be allowable, reasonable and applicable in accordance with WPP Cost Principles
Budget Justification
The budget justification describes in detail the major budget line items: services, supplies, travel and other expenses. The justification provides specific information about why an expense is necessary to achieve the project goals and objectives. The budget justification must be uploaded as a PDF with one-inch margins and a minimum 11-point font.
Biographical Information
Applications must include a biographical sketch for the postdoc and the Principal Investigator in NIH format (new or old format), including a personal statement, positions, scientific appointments and honors, and contributions to science. Biographical sketches, each up to five pages in length, must be uploaded as a single PDF.
Designation of Confidential and Proprietary Information
Designation of Confidential and Proprietary Information is required in accordance with Wisconsin’s public records and open meetings laws. See the Wisconsin Partnership Program terms and conditions for more information.
Indicate whether the application includes proprietary and/or confidential information, and using the form provided, identify and request confidentiality for any trade secrets or proprietary information.
Compliance
Compliance indicates whether the project requires approval by the Animal Care and Use Committee, the Madison Campus Biological Safety Committee, UW–Madison Institutional Review Board, and/or the University Radiation Safety Committee. See the Wisconsin Partnership Program terms and conditions for more information.
Non-Supplanting Questionnaire
The Non-Supplanting Questionnaire must be completed by responding to the questions and providing explanations as necessary. The Non-Supplanting Questionnaire must be signed by the PI. See supplanting review for more information.
Non-Discrimination Attestation
Before signing the required non-discrimination attestation (DOCX) (form provided*), review the Non-Discrimination Guidelines for WPP-Funded Projects. Developed in collaboration with the UW–Madison Office of Legal Affairs, these guidelines ensure that all WPP-funded project activities comply with applicable non-discrimination laws and statutes. A signed non-discrimination attestation is required. Upload the signed attestation as a PDF.
*A non-discrimination attestation specific to sovereign tribal nations is available upon request.
Review Process
Technical Review: Wisconsin Partnership Program staff will review each application to confirm eligibility of the postdoc and the Principal Investigator (supervising mentor) and to ensure that all requirements are met. This will include confirmation that the PI nomination letter assures that the postdoc’s research appointment in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health will continue for at least 12 months from the project award start date with 75 percent or higher protected time. Applications that do not comply with the eligibility or submission requirements will not be reviewed, and the applicant will be notified.
Content Review: The Review Panel, which is advisory to the PERC and includes UW School of Medicine and Public Health faculty members, will review the applications. Each application will be reviewed by three reviewers. Faculty reviewers typically are from SMPH basic and clinical science departments with experience mentoring postdocs and expertise in biomedical research, health services research, health policy, community-based population health research and/or education. The reviewers will independently review assigned applications based on the review criteria. The review panel will share their scores, comments and feedback with each other, allowing for diverse opinions. The ranking of the applications and the de-identified reviewer comments will be shared with the PERC.
The PERC will make a final decision to select the grant award recipients based on rank, discussion of the application and review materials, additional information from the applicant team (if requested by PERC or WPP’s Administrative Leadership Team) and the project’s alignment with the goals of the Postdoctoral Grant Program. Applicants will be notified of whether they are selected for a grant award no later than October 30, 2026.
Supplanting Review: Supplanting means to replace, to take the place of, or to supersede. The Wisconsin Partnership Program prohibits any funds from being awarded that will supplant funds or resources otherwise available to applicants from other sources for the proposed project.
PERC’s award decisions are conditional on a review of non-supplanting by the Wisconsin Partnership Administrative Leadership Team. If a determination is made that supplanting has occurred or likely will occur, the Administrative Leadership Team will take action in compliance with WPP’s non-supplanting policy. The WPP Administrative Leadership Team’s decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
Applicants selected for awards by PERC are required to provide information for review by the Wisconsin Partnership Program:
- An up-to-date non-supplanting questionnaire
- Postdoc and PI signed Other Support pages in NIH format with three sections: Project/Proposals by status (Active and Pending); In-Kind Contributions; Overlap
The committee’s decisions at each stage of the review are final and cannot be appealed.
Review Criteria
- Proposed project, professional development opportunity or open access publication fee reimbursement has the potential to advance the career development of the postdoc, in the health or health equity space in Wisconsin (40%)
- Proposal appears feasible with high likelihood for completion within requested funding period (30%)
- Principal Investigator (postdoc’s supervising mentor) is highly engaged and committed to support the professional development of the postdoc (20%)
- Postdoc is on an upward career trajectory and is poised to further their research career (10%)
Terms and Conditions
By applying for a Wisconsin Partnership Program grant, applicants agree to the Partnership Program’s terms and conditions. Please refer to the Memorandum of Understanding for terms and conditions of the award.
All projects must start within the window specified in the Submission and Review Dates section. Protocol approval, if necessary, should be obtained and shared with WPP.
Contact Information
Please note that our team is not allowed to review a draft of your submission.
General Inquiries
Aimee Haese
Program Officer
alhaese@wisc.edu
Budget or Supplanting Inquiries
Jon Thomas
Finance Associate Director
thomas38@wisc.edu