Researcher at work in a university translational research laboratory

University Research Funding

How ready is your institution for the next stage of research funding?

Universities are managing large and increasingly complex research portfolios while the federal research-funding environment continues to change. BioCrowd is studying how research offices and technology transfer teams identify promising programs, define their next milestones and prepare for funding beyond the initial award.

Take the research survey About BioCrowd

Share your institution's perspective. The findings will be used to develop an aggregate view of university research capital readiness.

$117.7B
U.S. higher-education R&D expenditures in FY2024
NSF NCSES, 10 Feb 2026
326
R1 & R2 institutions in the 2025 Carnegie Research Activity Designations
Carnegie, 13 Feb 2025 — 187 R1 + 139 R2
$109B+
Total research funding represented in AUTM's U.S. 2024 Licensing Survey
AUTM, FY2024 Licensing Survey

Why this research matters

Help build a clearer picture of how university research programs move toward their next source of support.

The research-funding environment is changing. NIH's Unified Funding Strategy is now applied across Institutes, Centers and Offices, with peer review and scientific merit remaining central while funding decisions also consider priorities, scientific opportunity, portfolio balance, workforce needs and available funds.

At the same time, U.S. higher-education R&D reached $117.7B in FY2024. The size of the research enterprise makes a practical institutional question increasingly relevant: how do universities identify the programs ready for their next meaningful milestone?

  • 1Contribute to an institution-level view of research funding and capital readiness.
  • 2Help identify where research programs encounter gaps between funding stages.
  • 3Share how your institution defines and evaluates translational research milestones.
  • 4Help surface the operational needs of research offices, TTOs and translational programs.
  • 5Receive the findings when published — final report format may evolve as the study develops.
Row of research microscopes in a university science laboratory

Who should participate

For people who manage, support or understand university research programs.

Technology transfer and commercialization leaders

Vice presidents, deans or directors responsible for research

Research administration and sponsored-research leaders

Translational research institute leaders

Innovation and commercialization program leaders

Other institutional professionals involved in moving research toward translation or commercialization

Take the survey

University Research Funding & Capital Readiness Survey

The survey is designed to understand how research institutions identify promising programs, manage funding gaps, define milestones and prepare research for the next stage. This research is conducted independently of any commercial engagement with BioCrowd.

Takes 6–8 minutes. You'll get first access to the only cross-institutional benchmark on this topic before it's public.

What the study examines

  • •How institutions identify promising translational programs
  • •How funding gaps are managed between stages
  • •How milestones are defined and evaluated
  • •Operational needs of research offices and TTOs

Takes about 6–8 minutes to complete.

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Please select an institution type.

How your data is handled

  • Raw responses are accessed only by the BioCrowd research team, for the purposes of this study.
  • Findings are reported in aggregate; individual responses are not published or shared with third parties without your separate consent.
  • Response data is retained only as long as needed to complete this research study.

Read the full privacy policy.

Your responses will be used for the purposes described in this study. Please do not include confidential research, unpublished IP, patient information, proprietary institutional information or other restricted data in open-text responses.

About BioCrowd

Research funding infrastructure for translational programs.

BioCrowd is building institutional funding infrastructure for translational research, connecting institution-approved research programs and measurable milestones with multiple sources of capital and reporting workflows.

Research programs

Promising translational programs need clear next milestones and supporting evidence to move toward the next stage of development and funding.

Institutional readiness

Research, TTO and administrative teams need a workable institutional process for identifying and advancing programs toward translation and commercialization.

Funding infrastructure

BioCrowd is building infrastructure around approved programs, measurable milestones and reporting workflows that support multiple sources of capital.

Research report

The State of University Research Capital Readiness

Survey findings will inform the first aggregate benchmark of how U.S. research institutions identify funding gaps, define translational milestones and prepare programs for the next stage. We are collecting institutional perspectives now.

Contribute to the study

Frequently asked questions

Questions about the study

Who is the survey for?

The survey is intended for university research leaders, technology transfer and commercialization professionals, research administration teams, translational research leaders and related institutional stakeholders.

Why is BioCrowd conducting this research?

BioCrowd is studying how research institutions identify promising programs, manage funding gaps and prepare programs around measurable next milestones. The research is designed to produce an institution-level view of research funding and capital readiness across U.S. research institutions.

Is this a BioCrowd sales survey?

The survey is positioned primarily as institutional research. Respondents may choose to request a follow-up conversation with the BioCrowd team, but survey participation does not require a sales conversation.

What is capital readiness?

For this study, capital readiness refers to the institutional and program-level preparation needed to clearly identify a research program, its next meaningful milestone, supporting evidence, funding gap and relevant institutional workflow.

Will individual institutional responses be published?

No. Individual institutional responses are not published. BioCrowd reports findings in aggregate only, and raw responses are accessed solely by the BioCrowd research team for the purposes of this study.

What happens after the survey?

BioCrowd will analyze aggregate findings. Qualified institutions may also have the option to request an institution-specific conversation or assessment, subject to BioCrowd's final program structure. Respondents who consented to receive the findings will be notified when the research report is ready.

University Research Funding Survey

Share your institution's perspective on research funding and capital readiness.

Your contribution will help build the first aggregate benchmark of how U.S. research institutions prepare programs for the next stage.

Take the research survey Request an institutional conversation