VPDoR International Research Exploration Seed Grant - 2023
Overview
The Steven and Roberta Denning International Research Fund, administered by the Office of the Vice Provost and Dean of Research (VPDoR), was created to help faculty expand their international network of researchers through early-stage research projects.
The 2023 deadline is 11:59 pm on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.
The International Research Exploration Seed Grant provides support to help faculty stimulate international exploratory research. Investigators may propose new partnerships to gather preliminary data to develop a research idea (e.g., feasibility, pilot, and proof-of-concept studies) that may result in joint publications and enable subsequent applications for extramural funding. Alternately, investigators may expand an existing partnership if the research project explores new directions and requires further development to attract future funding.
Since 2013, the International Research Exploration Fund has enabled faculty to address numerous international research challenges they encounter. Examples of the work that the fund has helped with include:
- bringing international research colleagues to Stanford
- traveling to the field to meet with international research colleagues to accelerate partnerships
- establishing research infrastructure at Stanford or abroad
Program Priorities
Competitive applications will provide strong evidence that the proposed research:
- leads to international collaborations with new or expanded partnerships,
- is innovative and exploratory, and
- promotes research that addresses a critical need, as defined by the proposer’s field or discipline.
In addition, preference will be given to projects that:
- build partnerships in the developing world
- establish relationships with new international partner(s) that have long-term potential
- engage undergraduate, graduate student, or postdoctoral researchers
- develop international experiences for early-and mid-career faculty
- articulate how the funds will help build towards future external funding
- demonstrate diversity, equity, and inclusion
Applicants with existing resources that could be used to fund the proposed project are discouraged.
Eligibility
All Stanford faculty with principal investigator (PI) status (i.e., members of the University's Academic Council or UML faculty) are eligible to apply. This call is open to faculty from all the Stanford schools.
VPDoR is committed to creating an environment that values and embraces diversity. Applications from those typically underrepresented in their field of expertise are particularly encouraged.
Requirements
- The applicant in Stanford Seed Funding must be the lead or institutional PI. Applications submitted by other personnel (grad students, postdocs, etc.) will not be reviewed.
- To ensure an equal and impactful collaboration, each proposal must identify at least one international collaborator with a leadership role on the project.
- Applicants may submit only one proposal as the lead PI per cycle.
Award Amount and Term
Proposals will be funded for a maximum of 12 months. Budget requests must be in the range of $10,000 to $25,000. Depending on the number of applications received, projects may be partially funded. Funds may be used for:
- travel and living expenses (lodging, food, incidentals), both for Stanford faculty, postdoc and graduate student researcher travel and for bringing international collaborator(s) to Stanford
- research, meeting, and communications costs
- consumable supply and costs for proof-of-concept studies
The funding may NOT be used for faculty salary, course buyouts, administrative staff, tuition, capital equipment, or health/welfare benefits. Seed funds cannot be used for subawards or expenses on behalf of other organizations.
Please see the Stanford Purchasing Policies and Guidelines if you have questions regarding allowable expenses.
Timeline
- April 4, 2023 - Application deadline
- April 5 - 21, 2023 - Review period
- By April 27 - Applicants are notified of their application status
- May 1, 2023 – Award period starts
- April 30, 2024 – Award period ends
- June 1, 2024 - Project report deadline
- June 3, 2025 - Impact survey deadline
Application Instructions
The proposal should be single spaced with a minimum 11-point font and 1-inch margins on all sides. The proposal must be written in clear, concise language accessible to a general audience and must contain the following sections:
- Project Narrative (3 pages maximum, excluding references)
- Briefly describe the research idea that you are seeking to develop or the issue your project will address. Include an overview of your approach, timeline, and anticipated impact.
- Explain how this proposal stimulates exploration, as well as how the collaboration may enable future funding, as applicable.
- Describe the team and partnership you will build, and if applicable, how undergraduates, graduate students, or post-docs will participate in the project.
- Explain the contributions or roles of key personnel and the value of the collaboration.
- Budget and Justification (1-2 pages)
- Provide a detailed table of estimated costs and explain the need for this seed grant.
- Proposed budgets do not need to include indirect costs, as this program is internally funded.
- 2-4 page biosketch or short resume for each investigator with a leadership role (typical sponsor formats encouraged).
- Current and pending research support (include sponsor name, term, and amount of funding) for the Stanford PI.
Review Process and Criteria
These proposals will be reviewed by VPDoR staff for alignment with the program eligibility criteria.
Then a review committee, composed of both former recipients and peers selected ad hoc, will evaluate the proposals and recommend projects for funding based on the following review criteria.
- Significance & Impact: Is the proposed work important and are the anticipated benefits impactful if successful?
- Collaboration value: Does the project benefit from the international partnership and are there equitable roles among the key personnel?
- Feasibility: Can the project be successfully implemented within the proposed timeline? Is the budget reasonable for the work proposed?
- Alignment: Does the proposal align with the program priorities (outlined above)?
In addition, we will aim for a portfolio of awards that is balanced in terms of topic areas and distribution across the university.
The panel’s expertise can come from all Schools from Stanford and may include reviewers who may not be familiar with your discipline. It is therefore strongly advised that the proposal avoid jargon and unexplained abbreviations.
Award Terms and Conditions
- Awards will be between $10,000 and $25,000 for 12 months.
- Funds are made available through the financial office in the recipients’ respective department/division/school.
- By accepting this award, the PI agrees to:
- submit a two-page final report at the end of the award period describing what you have accomplished and/or lessons learned, and
- complete a brief survey one year after the award period describing the impact and outcomes of the project in the longer term.
- Recipients will be asked to serve on future IRE review panels.
Contact
We welcome questions from potential applicants. Please contact the program manager, Jessica Boydston, at rdo_seedgrants@stanford.edu.