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UCR
Research and Economic Development Newsletter
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Vice
Chancellor for Research and Economic Development
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· UCR Teaming Mini-Grant Program -
Deadline: December 8, 2017
· Collaborative Seed Grant Program
2018 - Deadline: March 25, 2018
· Limited: NSF Major Research
Instrumentation Program - Deadline: November 28, 2017
· Limited: NSF Research
Traineeship (NRT) Program - Deadline: November 28, 2017
· Limited: NSF Scholarships in Science,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program (S-STEM) -
Deadline: January 16, 2018
· Reminder: Research Lunches
· Red-crested Cardinal
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UCR
Teaming Mini-Grant Program - Deadline: December 8, 2017
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UCR’s
Office of the Provost is pleased to announce a Call for Proposals
to a new “Teaming” Mini-Grant program. This Mini-Grant program supports
activities that bring together faculty to discuss new areas of
research and scholarship, and catalyze the establishment of new
teams.
The
primary goal of this program is to support UCR faculty engagement
in early-stage germination of ideas, networking and team
building. Proposed activities should help inspire new lines of
research and new interdisciplinary collaborations with the
potential for solving important and challenging problems.
Proposed activities also should help facilitate collaborative
proposals for seed grant funding from extramural sources.
Examples of activities that may be supported
include (but are not limited to) the following:
•
Workshops to discuss new interdisciplinary initiatives
•
Proposal planning workshops
•
Bringing outside experts to campus
The
maximum amount which should be requested by any
one proposal is $3,000. In exceptional circumstances
proposals requesting funding of up to $5,000 will be considered,
but the additional funding must be well justified. A proposal
should include at least three faculty members. A single faculty
member may participate in more than one proposal if the proposals
address clearly distinct topics or activities. Matching with
campus-based or external sources of funding is encouraged but not
required. Funds are expected to be used
over a period of one year or less.
Faculty
who are members of the UCR Academic Senate are eligible to submit
proposals as PI. Activities that also include students and
postdocs are encouraged.
The
proposal should be a maximum of two pages in length. It should
contain a descriptive title, brief abstract, a list of the
names/department affiliations of the PI/Co-Is, a description of
the activities to be undertaken and the budget requested.
Proposals
should be submitted by email in pdf format to the Executive
Services Officer at the Office of Research & Economic Development
(VCREDadmin@ucr.edu), and
cc’d to the Executive Assistant to the
Provost (provostadmin@ucr.edu),
by close of business on Friday December 8th 2017. It is
very important to write “Teaming Mini-Grant Proposal” in the
email subject line. You will receive an email acknowledgement of
the receipt of your proposal within one business day.
Proposal Evaluation and Selection:
Proposals will be evaluated by the Research and
Economic Development Advisory Board. The final decision on funding will be made by the Provost. Criteria for
selection will include potential for networking, team building,
and interdisciplinary collaborations in new lines of research;
potential to facilitate collaborative funding proposals;
timeliness and feasibility of the proposed activities; and
potential benefit to the UCR research and economic development
enterprise as a whole. Reviewers will be
notified of the outcome of their proposal by January 22nd
2018 and funds will be made available by January 31st 2018.
Reviewer comments will be provided to
PIs after the selection process has been completed. Approximately
ten awards are planned.
At the
conclusion of the one-year funding period, proposers will be
asked to submit a short report describing the results and next
steps for their activities:
1) Brief
biography of faculty involved.
2)
Summary of research activities carried out.
3)
Overview of the field e.g., funding, publications, thought
leaders, future directions.
4) Next
steps to be undertaken.
Strategic Planning Documents:
This
Mini-Grant Program is intended to
support any new team-building activities, not only those
associated with the ongoing Cluster Hires. However, if relevant,
proposers may wish to show how their proposed activities relate
to UCR's Cluster Hiring initiative.
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Collaborative
Seed Grant Program 2018
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The
Office of Research and Economic Development (RED) is pleased to
announce the continuation of the collaborative seed grant
program. The grants are internal funds for UCR faculty teams to
collaborate and publish in advance of proposing
multi-investigator projects and centers to external agencies.
Teams with seed funding who generate preliminary results and gain
experience working jointly have proven more successful when they
later compete for multi-investigator and/or multidisciplinary
grants.
Serving
as a catalyst for UCR faculty to form new teams, the seed grant
program is intended to initiate new
intellectual directions for faculty and to make UCR more
competitive for multidisciplinary grants. Selection criteria for
seed grants reward projects that create new relationships and
synergies across schools, departments or centers. Key
considerations include whether the project can be leveraged
toward new externally-funded research,
and whether the project cannot be otherwise initiated using
regular department or school resources. An ideal project would
apply for external funding within 6-10 months following seed
funding.
· Large Project Seed Grants:
Enable a team of two or more UCR faculty to obtain initial
results or data to prepare for a center grant, defined as at least
3 UCR faculty and 4 UCR graduate
students. Examples include NIH program project (P-50) grants, NSF
Science and Technology Centers, NSF Engineering Research Centers,
DOE Manufacturing Centers, NEH Summer Institutes, or USDA/NIFA
Coordinated Agricultural Project, etc. Large Project seed grants
have a maximum budget of $65,000 and funds may
be spent from July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019. The
collaboration must involve faculty from two or more different
departments.
· Small Project Seed Grants:
Enable a team of two or more UCR faculty to obtain initial
results or data that will make them more competitive for any
peer-reviewed federal program. A typical Small Project grant
would include summer support for a graduate student plus
supplies. . Small Project seed grants have a maximum budget of
$10,000 and funds may be spent from July
1, 2018- December 31, 2018. The collaboration must involve
faculty from two or more different departments.
Proposals
are invited from all UCR individuals
eligible to serve as a Principal Investigator. (For additional
information on PI eligibility see Policy #527-3.) Although external
collaborations with universities or companies are encouraged,
seed funded projects must involve at least two UCR faculty (a PI
and at least one UCR co-PI) and funds may not
be used to support outside institutions. A faculty member
may participate as PI or CoPI on only
one seed grant. A faculty PI on an award made through the Large
or Small Collaborative Seed Grant Program in, 2016 or 2017 cannot
be a PI or CoPI on a seed grant in
2017, unless they have been awarded a grant as
a result of the prior seed grant or applied three times
for funding based on the seed grant.
Funds may be used for any activity directly related
to the conduct of the research, e.g. salaries and benefits for
students, postdocs, or research scientists, research supplies,
equipment/facility recharge, etc. Funds may not be
used for faculty summer salaries, administrative staff,
course buyouts, seminar speakers, consultants, conferences, or
travel, except to federal agencies or proposer workshops. Small
project seed grants will receive all funding at the start of the
project. Large project seed grants will receive 50% of funds to
initiate the project, with the remainder made available upon
completion and approval of a brief report on project status. All
funds must be expended by the end of the
project period. To focus on projects that can make rapid
progress, unexpended funds will be returned.
The
internal proposal deadline for both Large and Small Seed Grants
is March 25, 2018.
PROGRESS TRACKING AND REPORTING
Awardees
of Large Grants are required to submit both a brief interim
report to release the remaining 50% of the funds and a final
project report within 60 days of the award period end. Small
Grant awardees are required only to submit a final project report
within 60 days. The final project report should include the
results of the research, a financial statement and plans or
efforts underway to obtain external funding. Lack of timely
reporting may result in exclusion from future award
opportunities.
Proposals will be reviewed by UCR faculty with comments returned to
explain funding decisions. The alignment of projects with the
goals of innovation and high impact, and the feasibility of
completing the project and submitting a collaborative grant
proposal are evaluation priorities. Proposals that are disruptive, use technology in new ways, or
launch entirely novel approaches are specifically encouraged. The
assessment will consider the extent of inter-disciplinary and
inter-departmental collaboration as well as the potential for
subsequent extramural funding. Deans of the PI and co-PIs also will be asked for input on the importance of
the project for their school.
Bearing
in mind that not all reviewers will have an extensive knowledge
of their field of inquiry, faculty should use proposal language
accessible to the most faculty. Both types of Seed Grant
proposals use the same application format:
1. Application Form (pdf)
2. Research Plan - No more than 3 pages, single-spaced, 12 point font with
one-inch margins. Typical proposals should include:
a brief introduction and one-year objectives, research plan -
specific aims and methodology, and anticipated results.
3. External Funding Target: What
specific federal funding opportunity will be
targeted for subsequent funding? What is the proposed
timeline for applying for external funding? Projects that do not
indicate a specific opportunity will be
returned without review.
4. Budget with breakdown of cost
categories.
5. CVs (no more than 2 pages for
each investigator).
6. Results of prior seed grant(s).
Questions
on the EasyChair application system
should be directed to Bri Cates
at VCREDadmin@ucr.edu or
951-827-4800
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Limited:
NSF Major Research Instrumentation
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Deadline:
November 28, 2017
The
Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program serves to increase
access to multi-user scientific and engineering instrumentation
for research and research training in our Nation's institutions of
higher education and not-for-profit scientific/engineering
research organizations. An MRI award supports the acquisition or
development of a multi-user research instrument that is, in
general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through
other NSF programs.
MRI
provides support to acquire critical research instrumentation
without which advances in fundamental science and engineering
research may not otherwise occur. MRI also provides support to
develop next-generation research instruments that open new
opportunities to advance the frontiers in science and engineering
research. Additionally, an MRI award is
expected to enhance research training of students who will
become the next generation of instrument users, designers and
builders.
An MRI
proposal may request up to $4 million for either acquisition or
development of a research instrument. Beginning with the FY 2018
competition, each performing organization may submit
in revised “Tracks” as defined below, with no more
than two submissions in Track 1 and no more than one submission
in Track 2.
· Track 1: Track 1 MRI proposals
are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to
$100,0001 and less than $1,000,000.
· Track 2: Track 2 MRI proposals
are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to
$1,000,000 up to and including $4,000,000.
In your
application, start the title with "Track 1" or
"Track 2". In general, equipment that will be used by existing NSF funded
researchers is more likely to funded, and equipment that has a financial
plan for sustained maintenance (such as a recharge) is more
likely to be funded. A good location (such as MRB1 or a core
facility) for equipment will also increase chances of success.
NSF requires a 30 percent match. Research
and Economic Development will provide 50 percent of the required
match. PIs should consult with deans and chairs on the
remainder of the required match.
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Limited:
NSF Research Traineeship (NRT)
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Deadline:
November 28, 2017
The NSF
Research Traineeship (NRT) program is designed
to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, and
potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education
training. The NRT program seeks proposals that explore ways for
graduate students in research-based master’s and doctoral degree
programs to develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies
needed to pursue a range of STEM careers.
The
program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate
students in high priority interdisciplinary research areas, through the use of a comprehensive traineeship
model that is innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with
changing workforce and research needs. For FY2018, proposals are requested in any interdisciplinary
research theme of national priority, with special emphasis on two
high priority areas: (1) Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR) and
(2) Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems
(INFEWS). HDR is expected to
continue as a priority research area for FY2019 and FY2020
competitions, along with a new priority area to be announced in
2018.
The NRT
program addresses workforce development, emphasizing broad
participation, and institutional capacity building needs in
graduate education. Strategic collaborations with the private
sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies,
national laboratories, field stations, teaching and learning
centers, informal science centers, and academic partners are
encouraged. NRT especially welcomes proposals that will pair well
with the efforts of NSF INCLUDES to develop STEM talent from all
sectors and groups in our society (https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/nsfincludes/index.jsp).
Collaborations are encouraged between NRT proposals and existing
NSF INCLUDES projects, provided the collaboration strengthens both projects.
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Limited:
NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics (S-STEM) Program
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Deadline:
January 16, 2018
The program seeks: 1) to increase the number of
low-income academically talented students with demonstrated
financial need obtaining degrees in STEM and entering the
workforce or graduate programs in STEM; 2) to improve the
education of future scientists, engineers, and technicians, with
a focus on academically talented low-income students; and 3) to
generate knowledge to advance understanding of how factors
or evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities
affect the success, retention, transfer, academic/career
pathways, and graduation in STEM of low-income students.
The STEM
disciplines supported by the S-STEM program include:
· Biological sciences (except
medicine and other clinical fields);
· Physical sciences (including
physics, chemistry, astronomy, and materials science);
· Mathematical sciences;
· Computer and information
sciences;
· Geosciences;
· Engineering; and
· Technology areas associated with
the preceding disciplines (for example, biotechnology, chemical
technology, engineering technology, information technology, etc.)
For
Track 1 (Institutional Capacity Building) and Track 2 (Design and
Development: Single Institution) projects, the Principal
Investigator must be a faculty member currently teaching in one
of the S-STEM disciplines listed in Section IV.B. who can provide the leadership required to
ensure the success of the project. Projects involving more than
one department within an institution are eligible, but a single
Principal Investigator must accept overall management
responsibility. Other members of the S-STEM project leadership
and management team may be listed as
Co-Principal Investigators.
For
Track 3 (Design and Development: Multi-Institutional Consortia)
projects, the Principal Investigator must be a faculty member
currently teaching in one of the S-STEM disciplines listed in
Section IV.B. or an institutional,
educational, or social science researcher who can provide the
leadership required to ensure the success of the project. A
consortium project must have a Principal Investigator who accepts
overall management responsibility. Other members of the S-STEM
senior project leadership and management team may
be listed as Co-Principal Investigators or PIs on
collaborative research proposals.
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Reminder:
Research Lunches
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You can
still RSVP for the upcoming Research and Economic Development
Research Lunches
Numerical
Simulation Research Lunch, November 13 starting at noon in UOB
145
Autism Research
Lunch, November 20 starting at noon in UOB 210
The lunches are catered by a local Thai restaurant
and include vegetarian and gluten-free options.
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The
red-crested cardinal is native to South America, but has been introduced to Hawaii where I
encountered this specimen.
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