Communities of Research Scholars Opens 2025-26 Call for Proposals
Expanded two-year format, new pilot study category, and more networking opportunities strengthen UofM’s flagship interdisciplinary research program
The Communities of Research Scholars (CoRS) Program will launch the 2025-26 call for proposals on October 20, with a virtual session outlining the program features. As CoRS enters its seventh year, the program has become the flagship opportunity to enable interdisciplinary research across the University of Memphis campus. The goal of the program is to bring together faculty from diverse fields, external stakeholders, and other partners to forge new pathways for research.
In response to a changing national research landscape, the Division of Research and Innovation is more focused than ever on building teams and breaking down silos to enable collaboration. Over the summer we surveyed prior CoRS recipients and solicited feedback from faculty to determine the best way to modify the program to fit faculty needs in light of these changes. To better serve faculty in their pursuit of research, we are excited to introduce CoRS for this year with several modifications including:
- Performance period on CoRS projects is now two years; program will remain an annual opportunity
- New category for pilot studies
- Longer application period to enable team development (applications due January 23)
- More networking and engagement for CoRS teams
- Greater visibility for research interests.
Below you will find descriptions of each of the types of proposal being accepted this year.
All proposals are open to all faculty members, with special consideration given to assistant professors and first year faculty.
To learn more about the opportunity, email researchdev@memphis.edu to register for the kickoff meeting on October 20.
If you need help building your team, we encourage you to register for the Research Speed Networking Event on October 17, and the November 13 Community Mapping and Partner Engagement Showcase.
Research Development “Speed Networking” Event
📅 October 17 | 12:30 – 2:30 PM
📍 Maxine A. Smith University Center – Beale Room (363)
Join us for a dynamic and informal conversation with faculty from across campus, discover potential collaborators, and learn more about the exciting research happening at the university.
Community Mapping and Engagement Showcase
📅 November 13 | 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
📍FedEx Institute of Technology (FIT) Lobby/Zone
This event brings together community partners and faculty to highlight challenges, build collaborations, and explore opportunities in applied research and workforce development. The first Showcase will focus on the healthcare sector.
2025-2026 CoRS Opportunities
- CoRS Development Grant: $2,500
- CoRS Development Grants are focused on building an interdisciplinary community of research scholars in diverse research topic areas. The objective of the program is to bring together researchers, community stakeholders, and other partners together in the pursuit of sustainable funding through external sources. CoRS Development Grants can be on any topic, and the program is open to any faculty-led research team. Priority in funding is given to junior faculty seeking to establish their careers and to faculty who have not previously been funded. By the end of the period, CoRS recipients must have submitted at least one external funding application.
- Successful applications will include:
- An interdisciplinary team of faculty
- A short budget narrative
- A one-page summary on the thematic area of inquiry that your group would like to explore
- Potential external funding opportunities
- CoRS Scale Up Grant: $5,000
- CoRS Scale up Grants are awarded to CoRS Development Grant teams that have demonstrated successful pursuit of external funding and exhibit momentum in the continued growth of their work. CoRS Scale Up Grant Recipients will have applied for external funding (documented in Cayuse) and will be able to clearly demonstrate momentum for their efforts. CoRS Scale Up Grants are expected to include in their proposal a convening of their community of scholars that is focused on
- Successful applications will include:
- Two-page narrative describing the evolution and next steps for the CoRS
- Description of the convening that the community will organize
- Short budget narrative
- Sustainability plan including a summary of external funding applications submitted
- CoRS Pilot Study: $2,000
- Many applications to CoRS over the years focused on using the resources to conduct a study or acquire data, which is instrumental to helping build research capacity. These projects were often necessary preliminary research for forming an interdisciplinary community, but resulted in the actual work of the CoRS not focusing on community development. We have introduced the CoRS Pilot Study program to provide funds for these studies.
- Successful applications will include:
- Description of the study to be conducted including summary of next steps following study completion
- Short budget narrative, including quotes on datasets if applicable.
- Data management plan
- Potential external funding opportunities