The Growing Research Infrastructure Together in Mississippi (GRIT Mississippi) project aims to strengthen the research administration capacity of Mississippi's institutions of higher education (IHEs). This planning effort also addresses a fundamental issue in the national research ecosystem—the uneven development of research infrastructure across U.S. regions. Mississippi historically has received less NSF research funding than many other states and has long held EPSCoR status, highlighting the potential positive role for targeted capacity-building. By conducting a statewide needs assessment, GRIT Mississippi will help uncover institutional and state-wide barriers to research support, compliance, and collaboration. The project will also spotlight effective practices that can be shared across similarly situated institutions nationwide. Enhanced research administration infrastructure in Mississippi will enable greater participation in science, foster cross-institutional collaboration, increase faculty and administrator engagement with research support systems, and strengthen the pipeline for future STEM researchers and grant professionals. GRIT Mississippi is a planning grant designed to assess and strengthen the research administration capacity of Mississippi’s institutions of higher education (IHEs). The project will conduct a statewide learning and needs assessment to identify gaps and opportunities in research support systems across Mississippi IHEs — including R1s, R2