Proposals sought for collaborative research seed/planning grant

Request for Proposals:  Seed/Planning Grant for Collaborative Research at UND

Purpose: The purpose of this program is to provide a grant that will facilitate a new, interdisciplinary project at UND, with the goal of enabling the collaborators to prepare and submit a major grant proposal.

Funding: Up to $75K will be provided; maximum of $25K per participating UND faculty member.  For Academic Year 2010-2011, one award will be made.  Funding may be used for collection of preliminary data, for buy-out of faculty time during the second semester, or other purposes if clearly justified.  Sub-awards to non-UND researchers are not allowed.

Collaborative requirement:

• This program will fund new collaborations only.  Collaborative projects by faculty members who have a record of collaborating with each other are not eligible.
• The project must involve at least two faculty members from UND, who must be from different departments.
• Preference will be given to collaborations between faculty from disparate disciplines, particularly collaborations between STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and non-STEM disciplines, e.g, art and chemistry or engineering and public policy.

Strategic Plan: While all innovative proposals will be considered, proposals aligned with UND’s strategic plan for research will be given priority.  A draft of the plan is posted at http://www.und.edu/dept/research/docs/August%2023%20draft.pdf.  The final version will be posted the week of Sept. 13, 2010.

Review and Award: Since the purpose of this program is to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among UND faculty, in accordance with the strategic plan, the decision on what project will be funded will be made by the Division of Research and Economic Development, with consultation from relevant disciplinary experts.

Timeline:
Sept 8, 2010: RFP issued

Oct. 15, 2010: Proposals due to VPRED office

Oct 29, 2010: Announcement of award

November, 2010: Funds available

December 31, 2011: End of granting period.  Unused funds will be recovered

Application Process:

Proposals should be submitted electronically in Word to vpr@mail.und.edu no later than 5 pm. Oct. 15.  Proposals are limited to five pages of narrative (including bibliography) plus a one-page budget and the cvs of the investigators.  If the budget includes buy-out of faculty time, also attach a letter of endorsement from the relevant dean.  Additional Supplementary Material will not be considered.

Clearly identify the hypothesis or idea to be studied at the beginning of the proposal.  Explain why this is an important question worthy of scholarly investigation.

Include a plan for achieving ongoing coordination among the collaborators.

Describe the work that will be done during 2011 with the funding from this grant.

Identify target agencies, foundations, or other entities for submission of a proposal that will result from this work, and the submission deadlines, if known.

A detailed budget must be included with justification for all budget items.

Reporting:

By January 15, 2012, submit a report about what was accomplished with this funding, and what funding proposals were submitted to outside entities as a result.  This report is limited to two pages.  Report should be submitted electronically to vpr@mail.und.edu.