Dear Colleagues,

During the 2013-2014 academic year, the Research Advisory Council (RAC) in collaboration with the Office of Vice President for Research (OVPR) deliberated over the past and future of the university’s internal grants program.  The internal grants program has been relatively unchanged for more than two decades. The growing costs of research, the extraordinary challenges that now exist in the extramural funding environment, and the needs of faculty for more diverse research support necessitated a hard and thorough look at our internal grant programs. All aspects of the grants program from general goals to reporting and follow-up were examined and discussed by the RAC.  For example, we studied the distribution of faculty receiving grants by rank; the types of grants funded in recent years; the peer review process used to evaluate proposals; what types of internal grants are offered at other public research universities, what types of support are needed by faculty, and many other important aspects of the program.  In addition, the RAC (representing all UConn’s schools and colleges) solicited input from a wide array of faculty.

As a product of this process, the RAC and the OVPR are pleased to announce the unveiling of the Research Excellence Program (REP) for the 2014-2015 academic year.  Key aspects of the REP are:

• The primary goal of the Research Excellence Program (REP) is to provide seed funding to promote, support, and enhance the research, scholarship, and creative endeavors of faculty at UConn, including (but not limited to) the strategic and emerging areas delineated in the Academic Plan.  As an outcome of these awards, recipients are expected to submit proposals to extramural sponsors (federal, state, private, industry, or foundation sponsors) and/or carry out activities consistent with the highest standards of accomplishment in their discipline. The REP is designed to assist faculty, regardless of rank, in all areas of scholarly work and to facilitate the competitiveness of extramural funding opportunities as well as contribute to UConn’s national and international reputation as a premier research university.
• Two broad categories of competitive awards will be available. Proposals should be submitted to the category that best represents the project’s goals, methods of study, and expected outcomes rather than a specific discipline or area of study.
  • Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Social Sciences
    • Single PI awards capped at $25,000
    • Multi-PI awards capped at $50,000
    • Proposals should emphasize how the research will advance knowledge in the Sciences (basic and applied life science, physical sciences, mathematical science, social and behavioral sciences), Technology, Engineering, or Society (applied research, interdisciplinary research)
  • Arts, Humanities, Business, Law, and Engagement
    • Single PI awards capped at $10,000
    • Multi-PI awards capped at $25,000
    • Proposals should emphasize how the research, project, or scholarship will advance the arts, humanities, business, law, education, creative endeavors, or engaged scholarship (community partnerships, evaluation research, participatory research)
• There will be only one internal grant competition per year. For the 2014-2015 competition, a mandatory letter of intent must be submitted by 10/20/14, full proposals must be submitted by 11/17/14, and notification of awards will be made by 3/2/15.
• What were formerly called the Small Grants Program and the Interdisciplinary Colloquia Program have been renamed the Scholarship Facilitation Fund (SFF). The SFF will provide funding up to $2000 to facilitate the initiation, completion, or advancement of research projects, creative scholarly activities, or interdisciplinary initiatives.

We recognize that the REP is a significant departure from past practice at UConn, but the RAC felt strongly that new programs were needed to serve the goal of making UConn one of the premier public research universities in the country.  We also recognize that there will likely be some pieces of the research support puzzle that we did not address this past year.  As a result, the RAC will continue to evaluate the outcomes of the program and pursue revisions to it more often than has historically been the case.

Thus, we look forward launching the REP this academic year.  A fuller discussion of the program and the submission and review process is available at http://research.uconn.edu.  In the meantime, please feel free to contact us with any questions, comments, or issues in the weeks and months ahead.

Sincerely,

Jeff Seemann                                              Mark A. Boyer
Vice President for Research                        RAC Chair

Research Advisory Council 2013-2014