Seed Grant Program
The purpose of the Institute of Public and International Affairs (IPIA) seed grant program is to provide faculty with the money and/or time needed to write strong, IPIA-related research proposals that will subsequently be submitted to extramural funding agencies. Proposals should focus on cutting edge research that targets politics, government, and/or public policy issues. Applications must involve interdisciplinary, collaborative efforts that cross departmental lines. At least one member of the application team must be an IPIA affiliate. There are three application deadlines each year: September 15th, January 15th, and May 15th. See the projects from seed grant funds.
Application Instructions
Each application should be submitted electronically and include the following:
1. A cover letter that includes the title of the project and acknowledges that if the seed grant is awarded, the end product will be the submission of a proposal for extramural funding of the larger research project.
2. A letter of support from each faculty members’ department chair(s). If some of the funding would be used to support teaching release time for one member of the applicant team, then that applicant’s department chair must indicate his/her willingness to support this in the letter.
3. A cover
sheet with:
a. Title of the proposed research project
b. Applicant’s(s’) relevant contact information.
4. An abstract of no more than 250 words describing the IPIA-related research question and the methods proposed for answering it.
5. A description of the proposed research that does not exceed five single-spaced pages (excluding references, budget, and the abstract). This description should identify the central research question, summarize the existing literature, and provide detail on the methodological approach and the data that will be used to answer the question. The researchers must also identify the external funding agency that will be targeted (providing a copy of any relevant RFA or PA if available), describe how the seed grant would enhance the prospects for external funding, and provide a step-by-step time line for submitting the extramural proposal.
6. A listing of all intramural support the research team has received over the previous three years and the outcomes of that support (e.g., new extramurally funded grants, peer-reviewed publications).
7. A one-page
itemized budget that does not exceed $6,000. Categories that may be included
in the budget are:
a. research assistance
b. equipment and/or software purchases
c. methodological and/or information-related consulting
d. project-related travel
e. faculty time (up to a maximum of $5000)
If faculty release time is being requested, the research team must provide a written justification for why the release time is necessary for the successful completion of the project. Priority for release time requests will be given to junior faculty. The budget should also include proposed beginning and ending dates for the seed grant.
8. Human subjects review documentation if required. Funds for approved seed grants that involve human subjects will be released when the investigator submits proof of Institutional Review Board approval to IPIA.
9. Biosketch
forms for all researchers involved in the project. These biosketches should
be submitted using the format required by the external funding agency
where the research team plans to submit their application. For example,
if they plan to submit the larger application to NIH, then the NIH biosketch
format should be used.
The Review Process
Each proposal will be evaluated by the IPIA seed grants committee. Questions used by the committee to evaluate the applications are:
1. Does the proposed research address a new, important political and/or public policy question? Does it provide background for the question via a comprehensive and current literature review? (20 points)
2. Does the application present a clear description of the research question and the research approach that will be used to answer the question? (20 points)
3. Are the proposed methodologies (i.e., research design, choice of data, and analysis strategy) appropriate and sound? (40 points)
4. Are the proposed extramural funding plan, time-table, and seed grant resources requested reasonable? Would the receipt of a seed grant enhance the likelihood that the larger proposal would be funded? (20 points)
All applications will be ranked based on a 100 point scale.
Funded Proposals
Abstracts
of funded proposals will be listed on the IPIA web site along with the
name of the principal investigator (PI) and the status of the work (e.g.,
proposal to be submitted to NSF in August 2006). Research teams have a
maximum of 9 months to complete the funded research and submit a proposal
to an external funding agency.
PI’s of funded proposals are required to:
1. Present a Policy at the Podium seminar that focuses on her/his seed grant research project at some point during the grant’s funding period.
2. Submit a copy of the extramural proposal along with a brief, final report (maximum of 2 pages) to the IPIA director within 30 days of the seed grant’s ending date.
3. Acknowledge IPIA support in all published work related to the seed grant.
Questions about the IPIA Seed Grants Program and Completed Applications
should be addressed to:
George F.
Hepner
Department of Geography
The University of Utah
260 S Central Campus Drive, Rm. 270
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9155
Phone: 801-581-6021
Email: george.hepner@geog.utah.edu