Faculty Collaborative Research Development Grant

Deadline: March 18

Purpose

The Faculty Collaborative Research Development Grant supports projects that will establish new collaborations between tenured/tenure-track and clinical faculty at Sargent College. This award is intended to foster new team formation with integration of basic, preclinical, clinical, and/or clinical implementation research.

Funding

The Faculty Collaborative Research Development Grant awards a $3500 stipend to each faculty member, plus a research grant up to a maximum of $10,000 to support project costs.

Eligibility

Eligible faculty include full-time tenure-track faculty, clinical faculty, and lecturers with primary appointments in any department at Sargent College. At least one of the collaborating investigators must be a tenure-track faculty member and at least one must be a clinical faculty member or a lecturer. Collaborations should be driven by mutual interest and disciplinary/expertise needs. Proposals will not be considered for funding unless plans for developing a meaningful collaboration are clearly described. 

Application Requirements

  1. Project title
  2. A statement of whether IRB or IACUC approval is required and/or pending
  3. A project proposal, not to exceed 6 single-spaced pages in 12-point font with 1-inch margins. This page limit includes Figures and Tables and excludes references. The proposal should include the following:
    • Summary: Summarize the proposed research in lay terms (not to exceed 200 words).
    • Specific Aims: Describe: (a) the long-term objectives of the work planned by the collaborative team; and (b) what the specific project proposed in this application is intended to accomplish (e.g., to test a stated hypothesis, create a novel design, gather preliminary data for a larger funding application, develop new methods, engage a new study population). 
    • Significance and Innovation: Briefly develop the background leading to this proposal, specifically identifying gaps the project is intended to address. Discuss the significance of this project in addressing these gaps. 
    • Project Design and Methods: Describe the research design and procedures that will be used to accomplish the project’s specific aims.  Specify how the data will be collected, analyzed, and interpreted. If relevant, describe any new methodology to be employed and its advantage over existing methods. Discuss any anticipated challenges or limitations and describe plans to minimize difficulties. Please include a timeline for the project to demonstrate its feasibility in a 12-month timeframe. 
      • Investigator Qualifications – In a few sentences, describe the qualifications and expertise of each team member as they relate to the proposed project.   
      • Importance of the Collaboration – Justify the need for collaborative grant funding, identifying core areas of collaboration and innovation that this project will spark and/or outlining plans for using this project as a basis for future work. Briefly describe how these funds will be leveraged for future larger-scale studies, grant submissions, conference presentations, publications, and/or co-authored work. 
    • Literature Cited: Include a reference list of all literature cited in the application (not counted toward the 5-page limit).
      • Budget: Provide an itemized budget for the $10,000 research allowance. Funding requests are restricted to direct costs only and may include personnel costs (excluding summer salary support for the investigators), equipment, supplies, participant costs, data collection, and research-related travel (e.g., for data collection, conference presentations). For each line item, please provide a brief justification. Funds should be used within the allocated 12-month period. Please prepare your budget in an Excel spreadsheet and submit separately.

    Download the Application Template.

    Evaluation Criteria

    Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

    1. Significance – the innovation and potential scientific impact of the proposed research, the adequacy of the research design and methods, the project’s feasibility, and, if appropriate, clinical impact. The application must include an explicit plan for a product or outcome (e.g., conference presentation, peer-reviewed publication, funding application).
    2. Feasibility – the likelihood of the project’s completion within specified period and budget, the adequacy of the proposed budget, composition of the scientific team, availability of necessary resources (e.g., participants, essential analytic tools). The duration for the proposed project should be 12 months.
    3. Investigators and Collaboration Plan — the prior productivity and relevant expertise of the investigators, the respective contributions of the investigators to the proposed work, and the potential future impact of the collaboration.
    4. Clarity – The degree of thought and thoroughness exhibited, with attention to the way the project aligns with the overall objectives of the collaboration. 

    Expected Product/Outcomes

    Awardees must submit a Final Status Report to the Associate Dean for Research, Jana Iverson, by May 31 following the funding period. This report should include the intended scholarly product, an explanation for any unspent funds, and, if needed, a request for a no-cost extension up to 6 months for these funds.  Awarded funds cannot be reallocated during or after the proposed budget period. 

    Apply