The most significant barrier to actually improving current or developing new curricula here at UCSF is faculty time constraints. The Academy therefore intends that a large portion of its Innovations Funding will be used for the purchase of faculty effort away from other obligations to guide new program development. This funding is therefore not intended to primarily support faculty direct teaching time. Proposals are significantly strengthened by an indication that the faculty members other activity will decrease to account for project development activities, and by evidence that this adjustment is agreeable to the department chair. Faculty support, for proposals requiring faculty "away time", is typically up to 10% of a FTE salary. Projects may have funds budgeted for equipment and other support, as needed.

The Academy seeks to fund several projects each year. Although there is no specific budgetary limit on any given project, the Academy will strive to fund the largest number of worthwhile projects possible (both large and small projects), therefore many funded projects will be in a modestly-budgeted range. Innovations Funding projects to date that have been funded have ranged from a budget of $3,000 to approximately $30,000. Contained within these budgets is the key "purchase of faculty effort", which has represented up to 10% of a faculty member's salary (0.1 FTE). In addition, the Academy does not fund capital equipment such as computer hardware, and may not fund excessive food, travel, or office expenses.