Applications due Nov. 15 for early career seed money awards

In order to increase research and scholarship at the university, the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development (VPRED) is launching the second round of seed research funding in two programs – the Post-Doctoral Research Program and the Early Career Award Program. These programs are funded primarily through the support of the UND Alumni Association and Foundation.

The Post Doctoral Program is aimed at dramatically increasing extramural funding support for our research programs by increasing the capacity of faculty and research staff to win and manage more external grants. In 2016-2017, the Post Doctoral Program awarded funding for ten 2-year post-doctoral positions, representing a $1.25M commitment. The program was co-funded by the VPRED office (year 1 of the program) and colleges of the awardees (year 2 of the program). These awards went to faculty in several colleges. In March 2017, the awardees and the post-doctorals that were recruited met as a group to report out on research progress as well as publications, presentations, grant proposals submitted and grants received. Excellent progress was reported. In 2017-2018, we anticipate making up to ten new 2-year awards representing a similar level of commitment. All researchers with permanent (either faculty or staff) appointments at UND will be eligible to apply for the Post-Doctoral awards. Please note that one criterion for review of proposals will be the fit with the Grand Challenges articulated in the new One UND Strategic Plan.

The Early Career Award Program is designed to help pre-tenure, tenure track faculty develop their research programs leading to a positive tenure decision. In 2016-2017, five Early Career 1-year awards were made to faculty in three colleges (Arts & Sciences, Education & Human Development, and Engineering & Mines) representing a $100K commitment. In April, the awardees met with the Provost and VPRED to report on the progress of their work and offer suggestions for future iterations of the program. In 2017-2018, we anticipate making up to five new 1-year awards.

These two programs are the first in a series planned for this academic year that are geared to support Goal 4 of the One UND Strategic Plan, specifically building research activity in areas related to the plan’s Grand Challenges.

Early Career Award Program Call for Proposals

In order to help early career faculty develop competitive, high quality programs of research, scholarship and creative activity and build strong records of achievement in their fields during their pre-tenure probationary period, President Kennedy, Provost DiLorenzo, and the University of North Dakota Alumni Association and Foundation are pleased to announce a call for proposals for Early Career Awards. Pre-tenure, tenure track faculty are eligible to apply for funds to conduct original research, scholarship and creative works. This program will award up to a total of $100,000 with individual awards not to exceed $20,000. Awards will be made for 1 year and will begin as soon as funding decisions are made. Award funding may be used for academic year release time, support for students and post-doctoral researchers, equipment, materials, supplies and conference and collaborative travel. Previous awardees are not eligible for this competition.

Proposal Preparation and Submission

All proposals must include the following information in the order indicated and conform to the page limits and other noted restrictions. If this information is not provided and clearly indicated, proposals will be returned without further review. All proposals should use 12 pt. Times New Roman font.

• A cover page including the project title; the name, departmental/college affiliation, and contact information of the faculty member; and 5 keywords describing the project.
• A detailed description of the project, including how the funding will be spent, composed in a manner so that it can be understood by a person from another field. Included should be a description of how this funding will impact the faculty member’s career. (Up to 3 pages maximum, exclusive of references)
• A description of previous or current internal and external funding support and the results of this support. (Up to 2 pages maximum)
• (Up to 1 page maximum)
• A detailed budget. (Up to 1 page maximum)
• A formal CV or biosketch. (Up to 4 pages)
• A letter of support from the faculty member’s department chair that speaks to the impact that funding will have on the faculty member’s pre-tenure career.

Proposals should be submitted electronically as one PDF file to the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, c/o Brenda Halle, on or before November 15, 2017 at brenda.halle@research.und.edu. Decisions will be made and communicated soon thereafter. Projects may commence immediately upon award notification. Please direct questions to Grant McGimpsey, VP for Research and Economic Development, grant.mcgimpsey@und.edu or John Mihelich, Faculty Fellow, john.mihelich@und.edu.