Voucher Program

About the Voucher Program

The ICTR Voucher Program is intended to help the researcher generate pilot data needed for extramural grant applications/peer-reviewed publications.  Services that may be eligible for voucher support include those listed at these sites:  CIBR, GCRC, NORC, and UMMC* IDS  and HS/HSL Data Visualization services. 

Please Note:  The Voucher Program cannot be used for ICTR Cores of Services.  For more information about the ICTR Cores of Services, go to Investigator Resources 

See Restrictions Below

Voucher Program Leadership

• Thomas W. Oates, DMD, PhD, Co-Director
• Gloria M. Reeves, MD, Co-Director

Eligibility

• UMB Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor faculty with a minimum 51% FTE appointment

RESTRICTIONS

• Up to $5000 in voucher support may be awarded.  The application must include signed, written quotes from the UMB service provider 
• Applications involving human subjects research or research involving live vertebrae animals cannot be forwarded for review without the IRB or IACUC decision letter  
• CANNOT be used to obtain be used to obtain Biostatistics, Informatics, Community-Collaboration, or Drug Discovery and Development services.  These services are available through the ICTR Cores of Service.  Please click on link above for more information.
• Cannot be requested to offset expenses in a grant application
• The voucher award must be exhausted within 12 months of the award date.  After 12 months, the remaining voucher award will be returned to the ICTR
• Cannot be encumbered for future use or transferred to another project, researcher, or expense.  
• Limited to one voucher award per faculty per 12 months
• Limited to one voucher award per project
• Cannot be used to pay salary support that is not already included in a UMB cost center's fee schedule
• Cannot be used on more than two (2) UMB Campus Cores
• BIORESCO purchases on the Voucher award are limited to no more than $2500
• Applications must be completed by the PI of the project and not a surrogate/proxy.  

Questions? Several ICTR Navigators are on hand to help you with the "next steps." Please email ICTR-Navigator@umaryland.edu

How to Apply - Two Steps

• First - Request the Voucher Application through the electronic ICTR Resource Request Form

  • You will need to upload the IRB protocol and approval/determination letter and/IACUC letter.
  • Use your UMID/password to log into the webpage to access the link to the ICTR Resource Request Form.  
  • The request for the Voucher Application is near the end of the form, after the ICTR cores of service.  Remember, the Voucher Program is not intended for biostatistics, informatics, community collaboration, drug discovery and development core services.     
  • Once submitted, your ICTR resource request will be forwarded to the ICTR Navigator for review and for further processing within 1-2 business days after your request was submitted (as noted by its timestamp).  If your request appears eligible for voucher support, you will receive a REDCap email with a link to your Voucher Application.

• Second - Complete and Submit the Voucher Application.  Make you sure you have uploaded the required documents below as well as the signed, written quotes for the core service provider(s).   Required templates and supporting documents:

1. Voucher Abstract Template (Save to desktop before entering data; limit 30 lines)
2. Voucher Budget Template (budget cannot exceed the allowed amounts noted above and must describe how budget amounts exceeding the limit will be supported) 
3. CURRENT, SIGNED, WRITTEN quote(s) from the UMB Core(s) and/or community service providers that will be providing the planned service(s)
4. Statement on:
   • Why services are needed.
   • How the voucher will extend existing funding.
   • Impact the ICTR Voucher will have on the research.
5. Voucher Timeline Template for voucher utilization (voucher award should be used within 12 months)

You can return to your application using the "Save and Return Later" feature and edit as needed. Once submitted, the application is reviewed by the Voucher Program Liaison for completeness and then forwarded to the Voucher Committee for review. Applications submitted near the deadline without the required supporting documents risk being rolled over to the next deadline to allow time for you to modify your application.  Awards are typically announced the beginning of the following month. 

For questions regarding application guidelines, please contact the ICTR Navigator (ICTR-navigator@umaryland.edu).

Application Submission Deadline

Applications accepted quarterly.  All supporting documents listed above must be submitted by 5 p.m.  Applications submitted after the deadline will be rolled over to the next round.

Review Process

Applications are accepted quarterly. The applications are reviewed by a committee comprised of UMB faculty across campus.  The review process is intended to be simple and brief to allow award notification within 6 weeks after the application deadline.  

Applications are scored on Scientific and Technical Merit and Budgeted Resources/Justification using the 9-point rating scale below (1 being exceptional and 9 being poor) and receive a funding priority designation as well (Must Fund, Fund if sufficient funding available, and Not recommended for funding). 

For researchers who have been awarded an ICTR Voucher in the past, additional elements about the prior award(s) are considered, such as spending/accounting issues, project not completed within 12 months, lack of strong metrics of success (grant applications, publications, and intellectual property disclosures), whether the UMB ICTR was acknowledged on successes as noted in the Voucher notice of award, etc. 

9-point Rating Scale

Acknowledging the ICTR and CTSA grant

All publications, abstracts, poster presentations, and grant applications resulting from research supported by the UMB ICTR Cores (Biostatistics, Informatics, Community Collaboration, Dissemination & Implementation, and Drug Discovery and Development); ICTR Vouchers Program, ICTR Studios consulting service; Pilot Grant Funding Program; or the ICTR Scholar's Program should cite the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Institute for Clinical & Translational Research as a contributing source of support. Please include the following citation:

“We acknowledge the support of the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Institute for Clinical & Translational Research (ICTR)”

This section last updated April 22, 2024