The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Economic Sciences (ACES) Future Interdisciplinary Research Explorations (FIRE) award program receives generous funding support from the ACES Office of Research. This grant encourages creativity and collaboration between ACES faculty and research partners. This grant is restricted to associate or full professors (tenure-track and specialized) with a primary appointment in ACES and requires participation in a Multistate Hatch project.
The aims of FIRE proposals are for faculty to:
- Develop exploratory research ideas that require the involvement of multiple disciplines
- Identify a research theme or question that gives coherence to the project and relates to the scope of programs within ACES
- Collect preliminary data or other relevant information to address research questions
- Prepare, develop, and submit research proposals for external funding
The expected product of the FIRE seed grant program is generation of preliminary data or results to support a fundable extramural interdisciplinary research proposal.
The program solicits outstanding interdisciplinary team research proposals to initiate new and enhance existing collaborations among faculty.
The deadline for submission of FIRE proposals is February 16, 2026 no later than 5:00 PM CT.
Questions? Contact Barbara Godlew (aces-or-support@illinois.edu) in the ACES OR for additional information.
For additional details and the evaluation criteria, please see the FIRE Request for Proposals.
The budget template can be downloaded HERE (xlsx).
Eligibility
FIRE awards will utilize USDA NIFA Multistate Hatch funding and are subject to federal grant regulations. To receive these funds, the Lead PI will need to initiate or have an active Multistate Hatch project with NIFA tied to the regional Multistate project of which they are a member. NIFA has annual reporting requirements which must be followed in addition the FIRE report.
PI Requirements
- The lead PI must have a primary appointment within the College of ACES.
- PIs and their respective units are fully responsible for any overages if the funding request is calculated incorrectly
- The PI is responsible for consulting with the relevant offices and meeting all requirements
- To the best of the PI's knowledge, all the information provided in the application is correct.
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation