Announcements

New Seed Grant Programs

CEHS DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS WILL BE
THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2008

In February, 2007, the Vice President for Research assembled a committee with broad-based representation and charged it to identify opportunities and best practices for growing sponsored research at Utah State University. The efforts of this committee have now been compiled into a Strategic Plan for Growing Sponsored Research, a summary of which is available online at: http://research.usu.edu/htm/grants_funding/all-programs.

One of the key recommendations to emerge from this report was that existing seed grants should be restructured toward more targeted programs with specific missions/goals and expected outcomes. To satisfy this recommendation, the Research Office is announcing the availability of three new seed grant programs effective July 1, 2008. These programs include:

Grant-Writing Experience Through Mentorship (GEM).

GEM is a new seed grant program that will provide I-year funding of up to $5,000 to enhance the professional development of junior researchers through one-on-one research and grant-writing interaction with successful research mentors. The purpose of this program is to build the University's research capability and increase extramural funding for scholarly activities by enhancing the proposal development skills of junior researchers. Eligibility is open to all USU tenure-eligible assistant professors and non-tenure track research assistant professors or research professionals with no more than four (4) years in rank.

Research Catalyst (RC).

The RC is a new seed program that will provide I-year funding of up to $20,000 to help applicants develop new initiatives or directions in their discipline that will lead to new externally funded grants. The purpose of this program is to build the University's research capability and increase extramural funding for scholarly activities from government agencies and private sources. Eligibility is open to all tenured, tenure eligible, research faculty, or other USU research professionals regardless of rank.

Seed Program To Advance Research Collaboration (SPARC).

SPARC is a new seed program that will provide I-year funding of up to $35,000 to catalyze development of large interdisciplinary research teams and projects that involve scholarly research in more than one department, research center, college or institution. The purpose of this program is to enhance the success of USU researchers in securing new, large-scale, interdisciplinary externally funded grants. Eligibility is open to all tenured, tenure-eligible, research faculty, or other USU research professionals regardless of rank.

Additional information on each program, including links to full RFPs, has been posted on the VPR website at: http://research.usu.edu/htm/grants_funding/all-programs.

PLEASE NOTE: The Office of Research Services will review and critique drafts of proposals for all programs on an as needed basis. ANYONE interested in submitting a proposal should contact Jim Dorward, the Associate Dean for Research at 797-1471 or jim.dorward@usu.edu as soon as possible!

The Vice-President is requiring each College to submit proposal rankings for the initial competition by May 1, 2008. CONSEQUENTLY, THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS TO THE FIRST ROUND OF SEED PROGRAM FUNDING WILL BE THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2008. Proposals will be submitted to Wendy in the Office of Research Services, CEHS, room 453.