TIER 1: Seed Grant/Proof of Concept Program
The FY14 TIER 1 grant competition is now closed. Please check back in mid-March for the list of FY14 TIER 1 awards. The FY15 TIER 1 competition will be announced in November.
This competitive program provides funds to support and encourage individual faculty members to form multidisciplinary teams to secure proof of concept, with a goal of successfully competing for future sponsored research opportunities. Funds are also available as seed grants for faculty teams to develop new and innovative research directions. An explicit strategy for securing external funding must be outlined. Total support of up to $50,000 for one year is available, provided by College(s) and Senior Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Education (SVPR). Current TIER 1 grantees may apply for limited second year funding, however these requests will be subject to a high level of scrutiny and must have a very strong justification for additional funding.
This year we will be particularly interested in proposals that address the University's global research themes of Health, Security, Sustainability, and now Big Data/Network Science. We anticipate that as many as half of the awards will be for projects that advance research in these strategic areas.
Applications must be submitted using the TIER 1 Application Form and be signed by Department Chairs before being uploaded to the FY14 TIER 1 Portal by the team's designated Contact Co-PI. Note that every Co-PI must register on the portal before they can be added to a submission.
Proposals will be reviewed in a two-stage process beginning with the relevant Deans. Proposals that are endorsed by the Deans will go forward to the SVPR for further consideration.
Important Deadlines:
November 15 - Announcement of FY14 TIER 1 competition
February 1 - Deadline for submission of proposals through the TIER 1 Portal for College review
February 22 - Deadline for Deans to submit endorsed proposals to SVPR. Colleges to notify faculty whose proposals were not endorsed for current funding round.
March 15 - Award Notifications
July 1 - Start of grant period
Support Constraints:
Funding may not be requested for faculty salary support. Salary support for research scientists is allowed.
Graduate students who are included on the grant must be named, and their CVs included with the proposal (exceptions may be requested for students enrolled in non-PhD professional degree programs). Funding should not be requested to support first-year graduate students. Tuition is not an allowable charge.
TIER 2: Federally Designated Centers; Major Programs Initiative
The SVPR and the Dean(s) will provide incentive support to faculty groups pursuing large, multidisciplinary Federal funding opportunities. Funding consists of support to facilitate the preparation of highly competitive proposals, up to $75,000, or post-award annual operating support up to 10% of the IDC. Rolling deadline
TIER 3: Campus-wide Research Initiatives Program (CRIP)
This competitive program provides support for development of broad, multidisciplinary research initiatives and centers that will position the university to become a national leader in an emerging or sustained area of research that responds to a national or societal need. Successful applicants will receive planning grants of up to $150,000 and post-CRIP designation support of up to $150,000 from the SVPR and Dean(s) for a designated time period. Rolling deadline