Proposals
FY26 Call for Proposals
The SLAC LDRD Call for Proposals for FY26 was announced by Lab Director John Sarrao on February 20, 2025.
Interested Lead Investigators should submit letters of intent (LOIs) to the LDRD program through the online form by March 20, 2025. In late March-early April, Lead Investigators of approved LOIs will be invited to submit full proposals.
Deadlines to submit proposals to ALDs are determined within each Directorate. Directorates submit proposals to the LDRD Program by April 29, 2025.
NOTE: SLAC login required for Call, Stanford SUNet login required for LOI
Application Process
Qualified proposals will be invited for submittal through an initial letter of intent (LOI) review process. ALD concurrence is required for submittal. LOIs must be submitted through the online form (SUNet login required) by March 20, 2025.
Lead Investigators create project proposals with an annually updated proposal template. Following the LOI review and invitation to submit full proposals, LDRD proposals are due April 29, 2025.
Supplemental guidance and overview resource slides for the proposal template are provided as Lead Investigators prepare their LOIs and proposals.
Proposal template overview resource
For proposal budget preparation, Lead Investigators must contact the directorate’s business office. The directorate's business office has the budgeting instructions. A list of finance contacts is provided below.
SLAC login required for all
All proposals must be submitted as a PDF file via upload to an LDRD proposals folder hosted by the Office of Strategic Planning. The upload folder can be accessed by the SLAC Business Managers and LDRD administration only. Business Managers, please reach out to LDRD administration to authorize delegates. The proposal upload folder is only accessible during the submission window between the full proposal invitation and the proposal deadline.
Proposal upload folder (closed)
From LDRD Proposals, click the directorate folder to which you want to add a document.
Click Upload to upload the proposal materials, or drag-and-drop materials into the directorate folder.
Process Information Resources
All peer review, project execution, and business processes related to the LDRD Program at SLAC adhere to the SLAC LDRD Program Review & Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy.
SLAC login required
The SLAC LDRD Lead Investigator Expectations Policy elaborates on eligibility and compliance measures relevant to Lead Investigators outlined in the SLAC LDRD Program Management Plan and Laboratory’s Site Compliance Plan for LDRD.
Lead Investigator Policy Document
SLAC login required
The SLAC LDRD Program Management Plan outlines how SLAC’s Office of Strategic Planning administers the SLAC LDRD program.
Program Management Plan Document
SLAC login required
Presentation slides from the December 2024 LDRD Proposal Best Practices workshop are available as a resource for proposal development.
SLAC login required
A list of panel members reviewing FY26 LDRD proposals will be published ahead of internal panel presentations June 11-12.
SLAC login required
