Office of
Research Services

NIH Research Enhancement Award (R15) and Support for Research Excellence (SuRE) Program (R16)

Research Enhancement Award (R15) Supports small-scale research projects at educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced degrees for a significant number of the Nation’s research scientists but that have not been major recipients of NIH support. Support for Research Excellence (SuRE) Program (R16) The SuRE program will support investigator-initiated research in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences (collectively termed "biomedical" sciences) that falls in the mission areas of NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices.

R15 Awards

Supports small-scale research projects at educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced degrees for a significant number of the Nation’s research scientists but that have not been major recipients of NIH support.

The goals of the R15 are to:

  • support meritorious research,
  • expose students to research, and
  • strengthen the research environment of the institution.

Awards provide limited Direct Costs, plus applicable F&A costs, for periods not to exceed 36 months. This activity code uses multi-year funding authority. 

  1. Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions
    1. All the non-health professional components of the institution
  2. Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools

An institution letter verifying eligibility with the criteria listed in the funding opportunity announcement will be required with each application and the ineligible institution list will no longer be maintained.

The Office of Research Services has evaluated the eligibility criteria, utilizing the federal RePORTER system, and has concluded the following:

UMKC is NOT eligible for REAP*
UMKC is eligible for AREA*
*See NIH RePORTER Data link below for NIH award amounts by Fiscal Year

NIH RePORTER Data

R16 Awards

The SuRE program supports research capacity building at institutions of higher education that: 1) award undergraduate (B.S. or B.A.) and/or graduate degrees in biomedical sciences; and 2) at the time of the application, have received no more than $6 million dollars per year (total costs) from NIH Research Project Grants (RPGs) in each of the preceding two fiscal years, calculated using NIH RePORTER; and 3) enroll at least 25% of undergraduate students supported by Pell grants based on the most recent two years of data available from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics, or are an accredited medical/health professional school with a historical mission statement that explicitly states that it was founded to educate students from nationally underrepresented​ backgrounds. It seeks to develop and sustain research excellence of faculty investigators and provide students with research opportunities while catalyzing institutional research culture and enriching the research environment.

UMKC is NOT eligible for R16 awards

NIH RePORTER Data

Fiscal Year NIH Research Project Grants (RPGs)
2022 $6,101,924
2023 $7,112,116