[Research] Funding Opportunities and ERA Systems

Tue Jul 21 15:34:06 PDT 2026

*~~ Please disseminate this information with those *

*researchers and research administrators*

*in your department who may find it noteworthy ~~*

*STScI Grants Administration Spotlight Series Presents:*

*Updates to the STGMS Budget Form*

STScI Grants Administration (GRA) is excited to invite you to our next
Spotlight Session, where we will provide an overview of updates to the
STGMS Budget Form. As a reminder, the Spotlight Series is an optional,
informal series designed to help STScI grant recipients navigate grant
regulations and compliance.

*July Session: Updates to the STGMS Budget Form*
We are excited to announce the release of our new and improved budget form,
which focuses on streamlining our processes and easing recipient burden.
This session will cover the changes to the STGMS budget form and the budget
narrative template and provide a step-by-step walkthrough of budget
submission for future cycles. Attendees will also be invited to participate
in a live Q&A.

*Session Details*
Date:  Thursday, July 30, 2026
Time: 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET (11:00 AM – 12:00 PM PT)
Platform: WebEx
<https://stsci.webex.com/stsci/j.php?MTID=me8249bf71b4ebba11462cde76cc7fa9f>
Meeting Password: Spotlight

Please forward this invitation to anyone who may be interested. The
recording and session materials will be available for those unable to
attend the live session. Feel free to direct questions or suggestions for
future topics to Amanda Linko at alinko at stsci.edu. We hope to see you
there!

Regards,
STScI Grants Administration

*Funding Opportunity: Quantum FAST Challenge*

The *California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development
(GO-Biz)*
<https://us.list-manage.com/10qEGdyUUlX?e=ce3adb28c3&c2id=0a43e8e3b3b3304fcff59b262149b70e>
and
the *California Education Learning Lab*
<https://us.list-manage.com/B5QiIJMi7Li?e=ce3adb28c3&c2id=0a43e8e3b3b3304fcff59b262149b70e>
have
launched the *Quantum FAST Challenge, *a *$2.7 million* grant program
designed to strengthen California’s quantum ecosystem by supporting
high-impact projects across the state’s higher education and research
institutions. Individual awards will range from *$50,000 to $500,000* over
an *18-to-24 month* project implementation cycle. Proposal submissions
open *July
20, 2026*, and the final application deadline is *October 20, 2026*.

*Application Stage Key Dates:*

*Release of Request for Proposals: *July 20, 2026

*Technical Assistance Webinar #1: *July 28, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. PT

*Technical Assistance Webinar #2: *September 11, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. PT

*Statement of Intent: *October 1, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. PT

*Full Proposal Due: *October 20, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. PT

*About the Program*

The Quantum FAST Challenge seeks to support the development of the quantum
industry and to maintain California’s leadership in the sector by funding
projects in two priority areas:

   - *Education and workforce development *that builds the talent pipeline
   that California's quantum technologies require.
   - *Applied use case demonstrations* that pair researchers and students
   with industry partners to demonstrate applications in quantum-adjacent
   disciplines.

*Eligibility*

Lead applicants must be faculty members or administrators from a *University
of California (UC),* *California State University (CSU),* or *California
Community Colleges (CCC)* campus. Cross-institutional collaborations and
partnerships with industry are strongly encouraged. Private nonprofit
institutions of higher education and industry stakeholders may participate
as project partners.

*Proposal Tracks*

Projects must align with at least one of the following tracks:

   - *Expanding access to quantum-relevant hands-on experiences *through
   laboratory and technical learning opportunities.
   - *Building entry points to the quantum workforce* for learners in
   adjacent fields to prepare them for careers in the quantum industry.
   - *Advancing quantum innovation, applications, and use case
   demonstrations *that lead to publishable research or intellectual
   property.
   - *Wildcard*, for innovative approaches that strengthen California’s
   quantum talent pipeline beyond the categories above.

*Funding Levels*

Individual awards will range from $50,000 to $500,000, and will be made
based on the size and scope of proposed projects according to the
conditions below:

   - *Up to $100,000* for pedagogical-focused, prototypical projects at a
   single institution or limited collaboration across institutions.
   - *Up to $250,000* for applied use projects that implement and scale
   approaches across multiple institutions.
   - *Up to $500,000* for projects that combine multiple tracks and
   demonstrate strong intersegmental collaboration.

*Additional Information*

Project proposals submitted for the Quantum FAST Challenge will help inform
development of California Jobs First’s strategy for the quantum industry,
which is expected to be released this fall.

In addition to building on *GO-Biz’s ongoing quantum efforts*
<https://us.list-manage.com/Sz1nfNBVmfc?e=ce3adb28c3&c2id=0a43e8e3b3b3304fcff59b262149b70e>,
the Quantum FAST Challenge complements an additional $3 million in
workforce funding as part of the *Accelerator 14 Grant Program*
<https://us.list-manage.com/zDJmdDz4t0T?e=ce3adb28c3&c2id=0a43e8e3b3b3304fcff59b262149b70e>
recently
announced by the *California Workforce Development Board* to support
partnerships developing scalable career pathway programs focused on the
quantum and fusion sectors.

Interested in learning more about the Quantum FAST Challenge? Please visit
the *Quantum FAST Challenge website*
<https://calearninglab.org/grant/quantum-fast/> for more information.

*Requests for an eRA Commons Account*

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and USDA-NIFA require the use of
the eRA Commons to facilitate grant proposal submission and the
administration process. To access eRA Commons, faculty and staff must have
an eRA Commons ID that is affiliated with UCR.

To request an eRA Commons ID or to affiliate an existing ID with UCR,
complete the Kuali Build eRA Commons Request form
<https://ucr.kualibuild.com/app/68b71f35304ff7027d34b217/run>. (Please do
not request a new eRA Commons ID if you already have one.)

*Registration and Role Requests in NSF Research.gov *

REMINDER: Please be sure to request the proper User Role(s) when
registering for a new NSF ID in Research.gov or when affiliating an
existing NSF ID from an individual’s previous institution to UCR. Here are
the User Roles applicable to researchers and/or department administrators:

*User Roles*

o   *All researchers* should have the* Investigator* user role.

o   *Department Administrators*, who assist PIs/co-PIs with proposal
preparation and award activities, will need to have two user roles: *View
Only* and *Other Authorized User (OAU).*

Ø  To add a new role, log into Research.gov, click ‘My Profile’, click ‘Add
a New Role’, click ‘Add Organizational Role’, and select the proper role.
Note: Your organization’s Administrator will receive the automated request
electronically for review and approval. Thereafter, an automated electronic
email will notify the requester once the request has been processed.

Please do NOT request the ‘Administrator’ role, as that is reserved for
certain members within RED who have been assigned such a role which
entails, in part, processing User Role requests in Research.gov.

For additional information pertaining to registration access and role
requests, please refer to the following SPA webpage:
https://research.ucr.edu/spa/era#national-science-foundation-ns.

*IMPACT23 – Office Hours: Kuali Sponsored Programs*

Please join us for the Kuali Sponsored Programs Office Hours which meets on
the *first and third Thursday* of each month from 9 – 9:30 a.m. via the
following *new ZOOM link*:
https://ucr.zoom.us/j/91549349837?pwd=7acOMgGLk5bLVMXyHSPMSkHPTo0bhA.1&jst=2
.

*We hope to see you there!*

*Research List-Serv*

Do you know of someone in your department who is not currently registered
to receive newsletters (such as this one) from the Research listserv, but
would like to?  If so, please forward their name and email address to
Cynthia Johnson at cynthia.johnson at ucr.edu.
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