VPDoR Small Propel Grant FY23

The Stanford Research Development Office (RDO) is a unit under the Office of the Vice Provost and Dean of Research that aims to strengthen collaborative or strategic research, scholarship, and creative activities by helping to set PIs up for sponsored research funding success.

RDO is pleased to invite applications from Stanford Researchers for Small Propel Grants. 

The objectives of the program are to support collaborative and/or complex research efforts in their pursuit of external funding, and to maximize competitiveness of external funding applications. 

RDO anticipates awarding up to thirty-two Small Propel grants per year, with awards of $5,000 per team.

Propel Grant Purpose

Propel Grants are designed to help Stanford-led research teams clear those final hurdles to submitting a competitive proposal for external funding.

Funded activities should support the development of key characteristics for grant success, including:

• vetted vision, concept, and/or approach
• demonstrated strong collaboration and cohesive team
• necessary preliminary data, proof of concept, and/or other elements to convince reviewers of feasibility
• responsiveness to all sponsor and program goals
• well-written and beautifully illustrated proposal

$5,000 Grant Supported Activities

Funding from the Small Propel Grants may be used for activities that will elevate your external funding application and drive it forward. Examples can include a writing day, hiring a graphic designer or scientific illustrator, conducting an expert review of your proposal draft, or another activity to make the external application more competitive. These small grants are meant to help you finalize your external grant application and to position your proposal for success.

Small Propel Grants are not intended to fund research or feasibility studies; such proposers are encouraged to apply to our Large Propel grant, or other programs that may be better suited to serve such needs.

Who should apply?

This is not a traditional seed grant. The program is intended to support projects which are:

• Already defined, with teams preparing to apply for external sponsored research funding.
• Collaborative in nature and “beyond the usual” in scale for their disciplines in terms of research scope, award budget, and team size.

We are committed to creating an environment that values and embraces diversity: Applications from those persons who are typically underrepresented in their field are particularly encouraged.

Eligibility

The target audience for a Small Propel Grant are collaborative teams “beyond the usual” in scale who are positioned to submit an extramural funding application in the next six months.

All Stanford faculty with principal investigator (PI) status (i.e., members of the University's Academic Council or UML faculty) are eligible to apply. Stanford may participate as a subawardee or a member of a collaborative research project, however priority is given to projects with Stanford as the lead institution.

Projects from the School of Medicine must include a meaningful faculty partnership with other Stanford school(s) to be eligible for funding.

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.

Priorities

Applications are particularly encouraged for, but not limited to, projects that meet one or more of the following priorities:

• involve collaborative research across two or more departments.
• include team members from backgrounds underrepresented in the academy (e.g., ethnic, cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds, research expertise, career stage, institution/sector, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.).
• strengthen collaboration between Stanford and SLAC.
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Timeline

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, every other Wednesday, starting January 18, 2023.

Funding decisions will be announced within three weeks of request submission.

Award Amount and Term

Grants provide $5,000 per team to support efforts over the next one to six (6) month(s).

Application Instructions

Applications are accepted through the application link on this Stanford Seed Funding website. The application must be written in clear, concise language accessible to a non-specialist audience.

1. Research idea (maximum 300 words). Introduce the overarching research idea to be funded by an external award. This should be a high-level overview of the project with an explanation of how this is “beyond the usual” for your discipline in scope, team and award size.
2. Team composition. List the key team members and partner institutions (if applicable) with name, title, institution, and department or division, specifying which are confirmed and which are proposed. Include a paragraph describing the partnership and, if applicable, diversity within the team. We especially encourage applications from those who are underrepresented in their field.
3. External funding plan (maximum 200 words). Describe the plan to pursue external funding. A minimum of one potential external grant must be identified. Include the following details on the targeted external grant(s). Proposing an alternative or back-up funding plan is encouraged.
   • sponsor name
   • program name
   • submission date
   • expected budget request to Stanford, and
   • URL to the funding solicitation if available
4. Proposed activities (maximum 200 words). Specify the anticipated use of the funds or the activities the funds will enable, and how this will enhance the competitiveness of your external application. 

Review Process and Criteria

Applications are reviewed by Research Development Office Staff against the Propel Grants purpose, priorities, and eligibility criteria.

Successful Small Propel Grant applications should result in the submission of at least one competitive proposal to an external funding agency and answer the following questions:

• How is the project collaborative in nature and “beyond the usual” in scale for their discipline and routine research work?
• How does the team ensure a meaningful faculty partnership?
• Is the plan to pursue external funding reasonable and resulting in a high chance of submission of a well-aligned proposal?
• Will the proposed activities maximize competitiveness of their proposal?

RDO will award a portfolio of projects that represent the diversity and breadth of scholarly areas. Preference is given to disciplines or fields that have limited internal grant program support. 

Award Reporting

Grant recipients will be expected to complete a brief impact survey at six (6) months after the initial award.

In addition, teams should notify rdo_seedgrants@stanford.edu if the Propel Grants contributed to a noteworthy outcome or if any external funds were received, for up to two years after award.