Limited Submission: CSU Growth in Undergraduate Innovation, Discovery and Engagement (GUIDE)

Author:

ORSP invites proposals to a limited submission opportunity (wherein the sponsor limits the number of proposals that an institution may submit to a funding opportunity). Three proposals will be selected to move forward to submission to the sponsor. Please send required materials to Susan Pelton, spelton@sfsu.edu, and Thien Lam, ttlam@sfsu.edu by the deadline specified.

 

Sponsor: California State University (CSU) Chancellor’s Office

Funding Opportunity: Growth in Undergraduate Innovation, Discovery and Engagement (GUIDE)

 

Overview
The CSU Chancellor’s Office is launching a new GUIDE funding initiative to enhance undergraduate student engagement across the system and promote innovative, inter-campus faculty collaboration. This program is designed to foster promising one-year research, scholarly or creative activity (RSCA) projects that can lead directly to the preparation of a proposal for major extramural funding.

 

Funding and Duration
$40,000 or $80,000 for one year


Eligibility

Faculty (permanent or temporary) at any CSU campus. The principal investigator must be a CSU tenured or tenure-track faculty member.

Faculty may only submit one application to ORSP (whether as principal investigator or team member).

 

Required Materials for ORSP Submission

Any pages over the limit will not be reviewed

  1. One-page project summary describing (1) which track you will apply under; (2) project goal and objectives; (3) student engagement plan; and (4) which extramural grant you will apply for
  2. Budget, using attached budget template
  3. Two-page CV for each applicant

 

Selection Criteria

  1. Merit and feasibility of project
  2. Quality of student engagement plan
  3. Potential for extramural funding
  4. Qualifications of team and impact of project

 

Deadlines

  1. Submit materials to ORSP and committee for review: April 10, 5pm PT
  2. ORSP and committee to choose three applications to move forward: April 17
  3. Sponsor application deadline: June 1
 
 

For more information and guidelines, see the attached request for proposals. 

 

CSU GUIDE Webinar  

April 2, 2026, 11a.m. – 12p.m.

Register by March 31, 2026

 

This webinar is the first in a three-part CSU GUIDE webinar series designed to support campuses in understanding the program and preparing for upcoming proposal development opportunities. 

 

TOPICS 

  • Welcome and Program Overview
  • Upcoming Proposal Development Webinar Series
  • Campus Perspectives 
  •  FAQ Highlights and Interactive Q&A 

 

SPEAKERS 

  • Dr. Elizabeth Soto, CO Research Department, Director of Research Operations
  • Dr. Frank Gomez, CO Research Department, Dr. Frank A. Gomez, Executive Director, STEM-NET
  • Dr. Joy Goto, CSU Fresno State, Faculty and CO Research Department Consultant 

 

SFSU Limited Submission Policy and Procedure