KIX Mini-Grants

Request for proposals

The IU KIX Lab Summer 2026 Exploratory Mini Grants Request for Proposals invites applications for small-scale exploratory projects. Proposals are due by June 21, with award notifications expected on July 1. Funded projects will take place during the performance period of July 6 through Sept. 7. Each selected project will receive $2,000 in funding, and up to five awards will be granted.

About the IU KIX Lab 

The IU KIX Lab community explores and leverages cutting-edge immersive technologies to study, advance, and celebrate the human condition. This intentionally broad vision invites IU creatives and researchers to leverage the KIX Lab’s unique immersive infrastructure to pursue innovative and interdisciplinary scholarship in all its forms. 

Opportunity overview 

The KIX Lab invites proposals for Summer 2026 Exploratory Mini Grants supporting collaborative, interdisciplinary exploratory projects that leverage KIX Lab infrastructure to incubate new research and creative activity. Proposed projects do not need to be fully developed. Rather, this exploration is envisioned to promote ideation through creative uses of the newfound KIX Lab’s infrastructure in the broadest array of possible scenarios. Selected projects will leverage this infrastructure with the support from dedicated Lab staff.

The expected deliverable will be an experiential prototype or demonstration that may serve as a foundation for a larger and more focused project with potential follow-on funding. Recipients of the grant must agree to allow their proof-of-concept demo to be featured as part of the Lab’s public launch tentatively scheduled for the 2026-27 academic year. 

Projects must engage one or both of the following: 

  • Virtual Production Wall (with or without motion capture/tracking)
  • Immersive Audio Studio

Purpose

The Summer 2026 Exploratory Mini Grant Program is intended as a first step towards strengthening the KIX Lab community of scholars and creatives and establishing a foundation for cutting-edge research in immersive technologies. It is designed to: 

  • Support early-stage experimentation and prototyping  
  • Develop experiential proof-of-concept demonstrations  
  • Identify technical and workflow gaps in KIX Lab infrastructure  
  • Stage projects for the pursuit of KIX Lab grants, full-scale development, and external impact 
The lab offers a Virtual Production Wall and a Wall-centric motion tracking system, Talentrack. It is complemented by the first spoke space, the KIX Audio Studio, located in RTV100. (Photo by Scott Carmichael | WTIU)

Project expectations

Projects should demonstrate potential for future measurable impacts, including (listed in alphabetical order): 

  • External grant proposals 
  • Partnerships (community, industry, etc.) 
  • Public presentations (performances, exhibitions, etc.) 
  • Publications 
  • Visibility (defined broadly) 

Teams must include at least two collaborators and may include graduate students, and/or postdocs (interdisciplinary preferred; same-discipline teams will be considered). 

By September 6, 2026, teams must present a preliminary concept with a demo, defined as:  

  • An experiential prototype or demonstration that leverages the IU KIX Lab infrastructure 
  • A proof-of-concept for future development 
  • An example that can be demonstrated as part of the Lab’s public launch 

By September 30, 2026, the teams must fill out a brief online KIX Lab Post-Exploratory Summer Grant Report form (to be provided later) that will be leveraged to improve the Lab infrastructure, workflows, and the grant process, as well as to track the project trajectory beyond the granting period. 

Eligibility 

The opportunity is open to all Indiana University faculty (TT and NTT). 

Benefits and allowable expenses

Each team will receive:

  • $2,000 in funding to be spent on eligible expenses
  • Up to 20 hours of Lab access
  • In-kind KIX Lab staff support

Eligible expenses include:

  • Faculty time
  • Student (undergraduate or graduate), or post-doc time
  • External collaborator honoraria
  • Project-specific hardware/software

Upon project completion, the hardware and software purchased using grant funds will become a part of KIX Lab shared inventory.

Proposal requirements 

Each team should submit a proposal with the following parameters: 

  • PI must be a faculty member 
  • Length: no longer than 2 pages (1 page recommended) 
  • Format: 11-point Times New Roman, 1-inch margins 
  • Structure: One brief paragraph per each prompt below: 
  1. Motivation 
  2. Goals 
  3. How will the project leverage the KIX Lab infrastructure  
  4. Anticipated outcomes 
  5. Broader impact potential  
  6. Future work (e.g., presentations, publications, external funding) 
  7. Research team’s relevant expertise 
Originally announced in March 2024, the KIX Lab was created in order to explore new ways to tell immersive stories. The lab may be used in a number of ways, including performances, scientific studies, and folklore preservation efforts. (Photo by Scott Carmichael | WTIU)

Review process 

Proposals will be reviewed by the members of the interdisciplinary IU KIX Lab Advisory Board. 

Evaluation criteria include: 

  • Feasibility and impact potential 
  • Effective use of KIX Lab infrastructure 
  • Strength of interdisciplinary collaboration 
  • Intellectual and/or creative merit 

KIX Lab tours and additional notes 

Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend a KIX Lab tour to better understand available technologies and workflows. Multiple tours will be offered prior to the proposal deadline.

Sign up for an upcoming Lab tour

Awardees will be eligible to apply for fall 2026 Seed Grants. 

Submit your proposal

Proposals are due by June 21. 

Submit your proposal

Questions?

Contact Ico Bukvic, KIX Lab director and professor.