Grant money will further professors’ research
USU professors and researchers have until Saturday, Oct. 15 to apply for the opportunity to further their research and teaching through university-funded seed grants, distributed by the Office of the Vice President for Research.
The program was started in 2008, said Vice President for Research Jeff Broadbent.
“The idea was based on recommendations from a task force that explored the best practices for growing research,” he said.
Prior to 2008 a different seed grant program existed, he said, but the new programs have created a more strategic connection between internal seed funding and faculty pursuit of external research funding.
There are three types of seed funding grants available for researchers to apply for, Broadbent said.
James Dorward, associate dean for research for the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, described the grants that are available and the eligibility requirements for them.
The Grant Writing Experience Through Mentorship (GEM) Grant is offered to a tenure-eligible assistant professor or research professional who has been at the university for at least four years. Recipients are given one year of funding of up to $5,000 to establish active collaboration between a new USU investigator and a more established colleague willing to serve as a research and proposal writing mentor.
“The GEM program provides faculty with mentors who have established records in targeted external programs,” Dorward said.
All tenured or tenure-eligible university faculty and research professionals are eligible for the Research Catalyst Grant. Recipients are given a year’s worth of funding, up to $20,000, that can be used to fund salaries, travel expenses and the cost of supplies needed to complete the project. Dorward said the money helps recipients develop new initiatives or directions in their discipline that will lead to new externally funded grants.
“The (Research Catalyst) program, with its emphasis on proof-of-concept pilot research projects, can provide the type of evidence and credibility that agencies like to see in proposals,” he added.
The third option available, according to Dorward, is the Seed Program to Advance Research Collaboration. The SPARC Grant is similar to the RC Grant, but the recipient must utilize the skills and knowledge of faculty members from at least one other department, research center or institution. A maximum of $35,000 over the course of one year is given.
“The SPARC program provides support for interdisciplinary research teams to work together in developing complex proposals,” Dorward said. Broadbent said applications for the grants are due Oct. 15. Deans from each of the eight USU colleges have been asked to collect proposals and rank them by who they would select. The university typically funds 12-16 grants every six months.
“The applications are then reviewed by a committee that I chair, which includes representatives from each of the academic colleges,” Broadbent said.
These grants give faculty members the opportunity to make new developments in their research and increase the potential for them to get their name out there, said Jagath Kalurachchi, associate dean for the College of Engineering.
“The seed grant proposal program has been very helpful for our faculty, especially junior faculty members where they use the seed funding to make preliminary investigation into a good research idea,” Kalurachchi said. “With these new findings, the faculty gets the opportunity to develop the research ideas to full maturity, so they can send good proposals to potential external funding agencies, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.”
These grants help researchers develop ideas and get help. The more developed ideas become, the more likely applicants are to receive grant money from federal agencies, Kalurachchi said.
“These new programs have been much more targeted toward improving the quality of proposals to federal and foundation programs,” Dorward said.
“Our faculty have greatly benefited from this seed grant initiative and have been successful in getting seed funding for their innovative research ideas,” Kalurachchi said.
– megan.allen@aggiemail.usu.edu