Phase I Submission Deadline:                        January 15, 2018

Phase I Seed Grants Award Dates:                By February 1, 2018

Award Amounts:                                              $500-$20,000

Overall Goal of the IRT:

The Water-Energy Nexus Interdisciplinary Research Theme (WEN IRT) is funded by the College of Engineering and Applied Science. The IRT aims to bring together researchers from different disciplines to address the pressing challenges surrounding water, energy and associated systems (such as food, land, air quality and climate) with the goal of fostering collaborations to obtain large “center-scale” grants, raising visibility of the College and the Campus, and training future leaders in engineering.

Seed Grants:

The WEN IRT seed grant program will award >$125K in 2018 in support of the goals of the Water Energy Nexus Interdisciplinary Research Theme. Seed grants can range in size from $500 -$20,000. The seed grants can be used to support a broad range of activities that are deemed to support the goals of the IRT. In addition to traditional research support for faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students, the seed grants may also be used to support research supplies, large proposal preparation, partnership development, research travel, and other activities.

Eligibility:

The seed grant program is open to all CEAS faculty members who are eligible to serve as Principal Investigators (PIs) on R&D grant applications submitted through the Office of Contracts and Grants.

Submission Instruction:

  • All Phase I seed grant requests should be made by submission of a single PDF file by 11:59 PM, January 20, 2018. via WEN IRT website webform. The IRT will strive to review and make award decisions by February 1, 2018. 
  • The level of detail in the proposal should align with the amount of funds being requested, but the proposal should not exceed 2 pages in length. The proposal should describe: 1) Goal/objectives; 2) Proposed activities; 3) Timeline; 4) Expected outcomes; 5) Potentials to further the goals of the IRT (major research awards); and 6) Itemized budget and justification.
  • Work may begin on February 1, 2018 and should be completed no later than December 31, 2018. Extension may be granted based on project need and budget availability.

Review Criteria:

Proposals with multiple investigators are encouraged, and preference will be given to CEAS faculty with applications that clearly demonstrate defined targets for subsequent R&D sponsorship. Projects over $5,000 will be given separate speed types and managed by the PI’s home department, and projects less than $5,000 will be managed directly by the IRT and staff in the Dean’s office. The proposals will be reviewed by the IRT seed grant review committee. The major review criteria include 1) Intellectual merit, and 2) Potential of attracting extramural funding.

Reporting:

Each grantee is expected to provide a one-page summary by the end of the project listing the activities and accomplishments (proposal submitted/awarded, results obtained, papers published, recognition received, media reports received, connections made, etc.)  

Future Funding:

Future seed grant programs may be available depending on funding availability and major research program opportunities. 

For additional information, please contact wen_irt@colorado.edu