UM Faculty Grant Development Academies
2023-2024 Academic Year

Announcement and Call for Applications

The UM ORSP Research Development (RD) will contract with Hanover Research to offer cohort-based faculty grant academies for the 2023-24 academic year. With their supervisor’s endorsement, faculty, researcher scientists, or postdoctoral research associates may apply.

Primary Benefits of Program Participation

Individuals selected for the program will:

·      Progress as a cohort of 8 to 16 members

·      Participate in 6-12 grant trainings, including six webinars provided by Hanover Research related to the cohort theme, and up to 6 additional trainings provisioned by ORSP RD

·      Receive support from Hanover Research in creating an individual development plan (IDP) that includes: professional/career objective(s), training skills assessment, and extended long-term goals. (See example IDP provided.)

·      Receive individualized support from Hanover Research for two projects chosen from the following (i.e., a member who already knows what funding apps they want to pursue could forgo the prospecting project and choose two proposal revision projects instead):

o   Prospect research & alignment: includes guidance on identifying one or more funding opportunities that best fit the individual’s objectives and expertise

o   Non-technical proposal revision: includes 1) margin comments on the narrative draft with recommendations surrounding alignment to the grant guidelines and funder’s expectations; 2) a brief memo outlining high-level recommendations; 3) revision of narrative content for clarity, style, and presentation; 4) editing of proposal content for punctuation and grammar; 5) a debrief teleconference call with a Grants Consultant; and 6) a second follow-up review as needed.

 

Supplementary Benefits

Cohort members may also access the these services, if needed & requested by their supervisor:

·      Proposal development support from ORSP Research Development on one proposed project. Depending on the support services already available to the faculty member from local research administrative personnel, the services provided by ORSP Research Development may include performing, augmenting, or mentoring one or more of the following activities, as requested in the supervisor’s endorsement:

o   Summarizing funding opportunity details; developing a timeline and to-do list with due dates and reminders; providing hands-on budget development assistance; assisting with institutional support requests and letters; creating and populating the application in the sponsor’s portal; and/or interfacing with ORSP SPA to create and route a transmittal for institutional authorization

·      Interdisciplinary expert review: ORSP RD will, on its own or working with another firm, identify and enlist an external disciplinary expert to provide a blind technical review and critique of the proposal narrative.

 

Cohort Themes

For this first year, up to 3 cohorts, one in each of the following themes, are envisioned, depending on demand:

-       NIH Grants Academy: For scholars whose research interests align with those of the National Institutes of Health. Each cohort member will be expected to develop a proposal ready for submission to NIH in 2024.
Minimum Cohort Size: 8. Maximum Cohort Size: 16.

-       NSF Early Career Grants Academy: For early-career faculty whose research interests align with those of the National Science Foundation and who are eligible to submit an NSF CAREER proposal in 2024. Each faculty member will develop a proposal to submit to the NSF Early Career Development Program in 2024. While this cohort is mostly envisioned for assistant professors who have never submitted a proposal to NSF as an independent investigator, consideration will also be given to other individuals, including (but not limted to) those who have submitted a proposal to NSF as a PI during their independent research career but not yet had one funded, and who are not planning to submit an NSF Career proposal in 2023.
Minimum Cohort Size: 8. Maximum Cohort Size: 16.

-       Humanities Grants Academy: Aimed at faculty at any career stage whose research is in the humanities, regadless of sponsored funding history. Each cohort member will  develop a proposal for submission in 2024 to NEH or another humanities sponsor.

 

If the program goes will this year, we will consider supporting cohort academies in different themes next year, and welcome suggestions about possible future cohort themes.

 

Conversation, Application, and Endorsement Process

 

Individuals wishing apply for this program must first submit a Notice of Intent via the InfoReady Review Portal[1] , and also have a conversation with their administrative supervisor about whether this program is a good fit for them at this time, whether and to what extent the supervisor will endorse and sponsor their application, and what expectations the applicant and supervisor have of one another with respect to the applicant’s proposed participation in the cohort—including but not limited to expectations about how the $5,000 unit contribution will be met if the applicant is selected. After this conversation and NOI, eligible applicants will be invited to submit their application via the InfoReady Review Portal. Applications will then be routed to the applicant’s administrative supervisor for official endorsement before being considered. These endorsements must be submitted within one week of the application sub mission. ORSP RD will confer with Deans’ offices to confirm any Dean’s level financial sponsorships and make any down-selection decisions if the number of applicants exceeds the maximum cohort size.

 

 

Notices of Intent Should be submitted by 5/5/2023 and include the following:

-       Applicant: name, home unit, email, appointment title, date of appointment

-       Supervisor: name & email

-       Cohort Choice: Which cohort you are applying for: NIH, NSF Early Career, or Humanities

 

Eligible NOI submitters will be invited (with a Cc to their supervisor) to apply by 5/22/2023, and the supervisor’s endorsement must be received by May 30.

 

Invited Applications should include the following additional information:

-       Confirmation of Prior Conversation with Supervisor: A yes/no confirmation of whether you conferred with your supervisor before submitting this application, as required.

-       Interest and Commitment Statement: A max 500-word statement addressing 1) why you are interested in applying and how you think this program might enhance your career; 2) how your participation could be a benefit to other cohort members; and 3) your commitment to fully participating and producing a submittable proposal if selected.

-       Any Funds to Contribute: If, based on your conversation with your supervisor, you (not your unit—your supervisor will be asked about those funds) are able and expected to contribute towards the $5,000 unit cost of your participation, please indicate the amount you can contribute and the account number. This should be an unrestricted account (e.g., an overhead account or startup account) from which you have authority to spend. If you are unable to contribute, enter $0.

Supervisor’s Endorsement: Submitted applications will be automatically routed to the applicant’s supervisor for endorsement and sponsorship confirmation within one week of submission. The supervisor’s endorsement should include:

-       Confirmation of Prior Conversation with Applicant: A yes/no confirmation of whether the applicant had a conversation with you before submitting their application, as required by this solicitation.

-       Recommendation: A max 500-word statement of endorsement, addressing 1) how you think the applicant’s participation could help their career development; 2) how you think their participation could benefit other cohort members; 3) any expectations you have regarding the individual’s full and committed participation in the cohort; and 4) what the applicant can expect from you in terms of support for their participation.

-       Commitment to Fund: How will the unit’s share of the costs be covered? The unit cost is $5,000, which can come from one or several accounts. Considering any contribution the individual offers, list the other account number(s) and amount(s) of the unit’s contribution, adding up to $5,000. If you are asking the Dean’s office to contribute towards the $5,000, indicate how much you are asking them to contribute.

-       Needed Services: In addition to the services to be provided by the external firms, and considering the proposal development support infrastructure that is locally available or that you anticipate will be available later in the year, indicate whether you expect the applicant to need proposal development services from ORSP Research Development in putting their proposal together. For example, if local research administrative personnel are unavailable or could use assistance to provide this level of support.

 

Selection Process and Criteria

 

The maximum number per cohort will be 12 if three cohorts make or 16 if only two cohorts make. A cohort “makes” if at least 8 endorsed applicants are accepted into the cohort. If there are more qualified applicants/nominees than available slots for a cohort, ORSP RD will consult with the Deans or Associate Deans for Research (ADRs) to make selections. Factors to be considered in making selections may include, but are not necessarily limited to:

-       Role of Applicant: Priority will be given to faculty and scientists in long-term appointments with significant research expectations. Others, including postdoctoral associates not 100% funded by grants, will be considered for the remaining slots.

-       Reach: The more participating departments, schools, colleges, & centers, the better.

-       Deans’ priorities. If down-selections are needed among a school’s nominees.

-       Potential Benefit to the Cohort Member. As articulated by the applicant and endorsement.

-       Potential Benefit to the Cohort. As articulated by the applicant and endorsement.

 

Selections will be made in June 2023. Cohorts will begin August 2023 and finsh by August 2024.

 

Program Cost

 

The estimated cost per cohort member is $8,250; the nominating unit is expected to contribute $5,000. The nominating unit may specify how this will be paid—through some combination of contributions from the department, the dean, the center or program director, and/or the faculty member’s startup or overhead funding. This is payable no later than the time the cohort begins in August 2023. ORSP’s cash contribution to this program is an estimated minimum of $3,250 per cohort member on top of the unit cost.[2]

 

At UM, 55% of facilities and administrative costs recovered on sponsored programs are distributed to the proposing units, including 10% to the PI. These returned F&A funds (also called indirect costs or overhead) are expected to be reinvested in local support of research and research development. For applicants from units that do not have a history of garnering externally sponsored research, and therefore do not have access to enough recovered F&A to co-sponsor the applicant’s participation, their supervisor may request a waiver of a portion of the expected unit contribution. If so, this waiver request should be included in the supervisor’s endorsement recommendation narrative, and justified based on verifiable quantified information (such as sponsored funding history and 2502 account availability and balances). 

 

Questions

 

Direct questions or concerns to Jason Hale at jghale@olemiss.edu.