Ad Astra Awards Program

The Kansas State University (K-State) Ad Astra Intramural Grants Program is designed to advance the university's research mission by supporting faculty-driven initiatives that enhance competitiveness for external funding, foster interdisciplinary research collaboration, and promote innovation leading to commercialization. This program consolidates internal funding opportunities under a unified framework administered by the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), through its Office of Research Development (ORD), and is funded in partnership with the One K-State Fund, through the Office of the President. The program aligns with the Next-Gen K-State strategic plan, particularly the Opportunity Agenda areas: community health and well-being, sustainability, global food security and biosecurity, and enabling technologies.

The program is structured to balance nimbleness and timely support against the resources available to review proposals and make funding recommendations. Two competitions per year give faculty a predictable second opportunity to apply and allow the university to respond to high-risk, high-reward, time-sensitive federal opportunities.

All Ad Astra competitions are at the university level. Proposals are solicited, reviewed, ranked, and awarded centrally by the OVPR.

The Ad Astra Program comprises four funding opportunities designed to support distinct stages of research development.

Table 1: Ad Astra Intramural Grants Program structure and annual allocations.

• Only full-time K-State tenured or tenure-earning faculty members with a research component to their appointment are eligible to serve as Principal Investigators (PIs).
• Faculty with active, unexpended start-up funding must provide a detailed justification for why these funds are not available to be used to support the proposed program of research.
• Faculty reapplying for Ad Astra funds must demonstrate measurable success from any previous Ad Astra award, such as submission of an external grant proposal, receipt of external funding, peer-reviewed publications, or other verifiable research outcomes tied to the initial award.
• A PI may hold only one active Ad Astra award at a time and may submit to only one Ad Astra competition per cycle. Participation in a directed award series (Section III.E) does not count against this limit unless the sponsoring call states otherwise.
• Collaborative proposals involving multiple colleges or departments are encouraged where applicable to program goals and are required for ORBIT Awards.
• Applications must be certified by the Department Head and the college/unit Associate Dean for Research to confirm alignment with the faculty position responsibilities and goals and the unit's strategic plan.

When intramural funds are provided by a specific initiative, institute, or restricted funding source, the same program prefix is used with a designator identifying the funding source or thematic area — for example LAUNCH-Energy, LAUNCH-Global Food Systems, THRUST-Water, or ORBIT-Biomanufacturing.

• There will not be Designated awards offered from each area every year.
• Designated awards are additive to, not carved out of, the base allocations in Table 1.
• Designated series follow this policy for nomenclature, review process, rubrics, and reporting. Award size, award count, eligibility restrictions, deadlines, and project periods are set by the sponsoring initiative and stated in its call for proposals.
• Where a sponsoring initiative operates its own review process — for example the Secure Energy Initiative seed funding competition, with pre-proposals due October 1, 2026 and full proposals due November 8, 2026 — that process governs. ORD coordinates tracking, and reporting so that all intramural awards appear in a single portfolio [7].
• Designated funds carrying fiscal-year spending obligations must be obligated and expended within the fiscal year of appropriation or they are returned to the source. ORD will schedule designated competitions to maximize the time teams have to expend funds; where state appropriations are received in July, the OVPR anticipates moving the corresponding call to the previous March cycle so that awardees have a full 12 months to spend the award.

Two RFP cycles are issued each year, with proposal deadlines of October 1 and March 1. The October cycle supports a January 1 project start; the March cycle supports a July 1 project start at the beginning of the fiscal year.

Table 2: Standard review and award calendar for LAUNCH, THRUST, and ORBIT Awards.

First-Year Schedule

• September 4, 2026: Notice of Funding Opportunity Issued
• October 1, 2026, deadline: LAUNCH, THRUST, and ORBIT Awards.
• March 1, 2027 deadline: LAUNCH, THRUST, and ORBIT Awards.
• October 1, 2027 deadline and thereafter: LAUNCH, THRUST, and ORBIT Awards in both cycles.

Program-Specific Timeline Notes

• LAUNCH Awards: the standard calendar in Table 2 applies. Uncommitted balances are confirmed at award notification and published with the next RFP so that applicants know the funds available in the cycle.
• THRUST Awards: PIs may request a one-year no-cost extension with justification and an updated resubmission timeline and budget. Resubmission of the revised proposal to the external funding agency is expected within 18 months of the THRUST project start date, and the final report is due 30 days after the extended end date, documenting the outcome of the resubmission and progress toward securing external funding.
• ORBIT Awards: renewal requests are due 60 days before the end of Year 1 and are subject to a competitive progress review by ORD and approval by the VPR. An interim report documenting team formation, agency engagement, and proposal development milestones is due 30 days after the end of Year 1. The final report is due 30 days after the project end date.
• TOUCHDOWN Awards: the KSURF call establishes deadlines. A brief commercialization progress update (IP status, partner discussions, SBIR/STTR or investor pipeline) is due each active year, and a final report documenting commercialization milestones is due 30 days after the project end date.
• Designated series: deadlines follow the sponsoring institute's call for proposals. Funds subject to fiscal-year reversion will be scheduled, where possible, on the March cycle to allow a full 12-month project period.

ORD-convened reviewers will use scoring rubrics that explicitly consider alignment with the Next-Gen K-State strategic plan, including growth in research expenditures and a focus on the four Opportunity Agenda areas, as well as specific published priorities from federal funding agencies.

Common Rubric Dimensions (All Programs)

Each proposal will be scored on a 1–5 scale (1 = Poor, 5 = Outstanding) across these dimensions:

1. Strategic Alignment (Next-Gen K-State): Alignment with Next-Gen K-State imperatives (e.g., driving transformational discoveries, economic impact, community engagement). Connection to one or more Opportunity Agenda areas (community health and well-being, sustainability, global food security and biosecurity, enabling technologies) [1][2].
2. Agency Priority Alignment: Clarity and specificity of alignment with at least one funding agency and its current strategic or program priorities, as documented in publicly available plans, solicitations, or budget justifications (e.g., NSF FY 2026–2030 Strategic Plan; USDA research and development priorities; NIH or institute-level strategic plans; DOE Office of Science priorities). Strength of the case that the proposed work responds to identified priorities such as critical and emerging technologies (NSF), resilient and profitable agricultural systems (USDA), advancing biomedical and behavioral sciences (NIH), or fundamental and use-inspired energy and security science (DOE). Responsiveness to rapidly emerging or one-time federal priorities is credited equally with alignment to standing programs.
3. Potential for External Funding or Commercialization: Likelihood that the project will lead to competitive external funding (LAUNCH, THRUST, ORBIT) or clear commercialization outcomes (TOUCHDOWN). Appropriateness of targeted agencies, programs, or markets.
4. Quality and Feasibility of the Plan: Clarity of objectives, methods, team roles, timelines, and milestones. Feasibility given budget, timeframe, and available resources.
5. Investigators and Team Strength: Expertise and track record of PI and team relative to the proposed work (adjusted for rank and discipline). Evidence of collaboration, interdisciplinarity, or engagement with external partners where appropriate.
6. Broader Impact: Potential to positively impact Kansas communities and rural or underserved communities consistent with the land-grant mission and engagement goals. Contribution to workforce development, experiential learning, or student involvement when applicable.

Requirement for Proposals: Proposals should provide a short paragraph in the narrative or cover page explicitly titled "Agency Priority Alignment," citing the agency, program, and the specific strategic priority, topic area, or solicitation language the project is designed to address.

Rubric Weights by Program

Table 3: Proposal Evaluation Rubric Weights by Program

Program-Specific Considerations

LAUNCH Awards: Reviewers should consider clear plans to open a new research direction or generate preliminary data that enables a defined external proposal within 12-18 months, reinforcing university-level Next-Gen priorities, and should confirm that the PI has accounted for active start-up funding.

THRUST Awards: Reviewers must verify that a full external review or summary statement is provided, that the agency review threshold in Section III.B is met, and that the proposed one-year program of work is carved out of the external proposal and clearly fills gaps identified in the prior review.

ORBIT Awards: Reviewers should assess the credibility of the interdisciplinary team and the specific center-scale or large one-time funding target. For proposals requesting consolidation into a single $500,000 award, reviewers should explicitly comment on the transformational potential at the institutional level and on K-State's positioning as a national leader in a critical grand-challenge domain.

TOUCHDOWN Awards: Reviewers should note readiness for SBIR/STTR, private investment, or corporate partnership within 12-24 months; the strength of the IP position; engagement with KSURF and Innovation and Partnerships; and any external mentors or advisors.

Thematic Scope of Calls for Proposals

• LAUNCH, THRUST, and ORBIT calls are open to all disciplines and to all four Opportunity Agenda areas.

Each call may include non-binding guidance identifying areas ORD judges to have the highest probability of external funding success, including emerging federal priorities announced since the previous cycle. Such guidance is advisory. Proposals developed organically by faculty outside the highlighted areas are welcome and will be scored on the same rubric, so that innovation in unanticipated directions is not disadvantaged.

• Where a sponsor restricts funds to a defined area, that restriction is expressed through a designated award series (Section III.E) rather than by narrowing the base competition.

• Each applicant must adhere to specific guidelines established for the selected funding category, including proposal format, page limits, budget justification, and approval routing. Routing does not require college-level ranking, endorsement, or matching commitments. The specific guidelines for each award type can be found by clicking through to its specific page (above).
• Proposals must be submitted electronically through the online portal by 11:59 p.m. on the announced deadline (October 1 or March 1).
• Incomplete proposals, or proposals that do not meet stated eligibility or documentation requirements, will be administratively withdrawn by ORD.

A standardized review process applies to all Ad Astra programs:

1. ORD review and ranking. The Office of Research Development coordinates the review of all proposals, convenes reviewers (internal and, where appropriate, external to K-State), and applies the rubrics in Section V. ORD verifies eligibility and program-specific requirements, compiles scores and reviewer comments, and prepares a ranked list of proposals for each competition.
2. Recommendation to the VPR. ORD transmits the ranked list, scores, and summary of reviewer commentary to the Vice President for Research.
3. Consultation with the One K-State committee. The Vice President for Research consults the One K-State committee on the ranked list to finalize the funding recommendation, considering strategic alignment, portfolio balance, rollover balances, and the availability of One K-State and OVPR funds.
4. Final decision and notification. Final award decisions are made by the Vice President for Research, informed by the ORD ranking and the One K-State consultation. ORD issues award notices, establishes accounts, and provides feedback to unsuccessful applicants.
5. Rollover determination. At the close of each cycle, ORD reconciles committed funds against available funds and reports the uncommitted balance to be carried into the next RFP cycle. Rollover is applied to the same program line (LAUNCH, THRUST, or ORBIT) unless the VPR, in consultation with the One K-State committee, redirects it.
6. Analytics. ORD retains all proposals, funded and unfunded, for research analytics, program assessment, and reporting.

TOUCHDOWN Awards are reviewed by KSURF in accordance with the process described in Section III.D. Designated award series follow the sponsoring initiative process, where one exists.

• PIs must submit progress and final reports on the schedule in Section IV, summarizing project outcomes, dissemination activities, and progress toward external funding or commercialization goals.
• The OVPR will track program metrics, including the number of proposals submitted, award rates, rollover balances, external proposals generated, awards received, publications, patents, and other deliverables for annual assessment.
• ORD will report annually to the Vice President for Research and the One K-State committee, and will share program metrics with colleges and departments for planning purposes. These metrics will inform whether the two-cycle structure, award sizes, and award counts remain appropriate.

Two competitions per year require intentional grants management to ensure that funded research progresses as advertised and that funds are expended within the project period.

• The Office of Research Development in the OVPR will oversee coordination, calls for proposals, reviewer recruitment, scoring, ranking, award notification, post-award monitoring, reporting, and assessment of the Ad Astra Intramural Grants Program.
• The Vice President for Research makes final award decisions after receiving the ORD ranking and consulting the One K-State committee.
• Base Ad Astra funds are administered centrally by the OVPR in partnership with the One K-State fund. No college matching funds are required or permitted within the program. TOUCHDOWN funds are administered by KSURF.
• Each award carries defined milestones. ORD will conduct a documented mid-project check against those milestones and may place an award on hold, reduce it, or recover unexpended funds where progress materially departs from the funded plan.
• ORD will pursue a partnership with Piestar, a research information platform used by university research programs to automate proposal intake and review workflows, report reminders, milestone tracking, and output reporting, in order to reduce administrative burden and support timely budget management across two cycles per year.
• All awards will be subject to standard K-State fiscal accountability, compliance, and reporting requirements.