Faculty Interdisciplinary Seed Grants, 2024

Faculty Interdisciplinary Seed Grants 2024

The UF Biodiversity Institute encourages interdisciplinary research and training with three main foci:  (1) discovery of biodiversity, (2) using big data –  informatics, modeling, computation of heterogeneous data – to describe, understand, explain, and predict patterns of biodiversity and the processes that generated those patterns, and (3) translating knowledge on biodiversity into action – conservation, policy, law, education, etc. – through relevant partnerships with journalists, social scientists, education specialists, lawyers, representatives of state and federal agencies, and others.

To enhance interdisciplinary research in biodiversity-related fields, the UF Biodiversity Institute offers Interdisciplinary Seed Grants.  These 12-month grants will support interdisciplinary research that addresses the general goals of the Institute; examples include but are not limited to (i) large-scale, collaborative biological surveys to document and monitor biodiversity on a global scale; (ii) development and application of informatics tools for biodiversity research; and (iii) translational research in natural resource management, protection, and sustainability.

Award Information

Number of Awards:  2 – 4 Awards
Amount of Awards:  up to $50,000 for 1 calendar year
Submission Deadline:  Friday, April 26, 2024, 5:00 pm
Start Date:  July 1, 2024

Eligibility Criteria

To be competitive, proposals must be multi-/interdisciplinary and must involve faculty from at least
two departments/units/colleges. Single-investigator proposals are not eligible.

Proposals involving hypothesis-driven research should clearly and explicitly state the hypothesis.  Proposals that are data-driven should clearly state a range of possible outcomes and how the results can be used in further analyses.  Projects that are methodological should focus on specific, key interdisciplinary problems.

Proposals may be submitted by any UF faculty member (PI) eligible to submit a proposal to an
external funding agency. Courtesy, Adjunct, Visiting, and OPS faculty; Assistant In, Associate In, Senior Associate In; Research Associates; and Postdoctoral Associates are not eligible to be PIs; they may participate as co-PIs.

Proposal Requirements

1. Cover Page: Include title, list of PIs, co-PIs, and all faculty contributing time to the project and their departmental/college affiliations, email address of primary contact PI, project start date, and budget request.
2. Abstract: Up to 1 page. Explain the rationale for the work to be accomplished in terms that can be understood by an “intelligent non-expert.”
3. Project Description: Up to three (3) pages of text MAXIMUM describing the project. The project description should be written such that it can be understood by an interdisciplinary faculty committee.
   1. Project Description should include the following:
      1. Background and Significance: Proposals should explicitly spell out the interdisciplinary nature of the proposed project
      2. Specific Aims/Objectives
      3. Innovation/Potential Impact of Proposed Research
      4. Approach/Research Design
      5. Preliminary Data (if applicable)
4.  Project Budget & Justification:  maximum of 1 pageBudgets should be in the range of $25,000 – $50,000 and a duration of 1 year. The budget may include all normally allowable costs of research as outlined in the Cost Accounting Standards, with the exception of faculty salaries and indirect costs. Faculty salaries may NOT be charged to the Seed Grant.  There are no indirect costs associated with these grants. Seed Grants are to be expended on campus.  Exceptions will be allowed in instances where specific techniques are not available on campus.
5. Literature Cited (no page limit)
6. Key Personnel: A list of the individuals to be involved and details of their participation (no page limit)
7. Plans to obtain continuing external support for the project (1 page maximum). Proposals must specifically list the sources of external support that will be pursued following the Seed Grant (such as R01, P01, NSF Center Grant, NSF Career Award, YIPs DoD).

Submission Requirements

Applications, composed of a single merged pdf that includes all segments described above, must be submitted by email to flora.marynak@ufl.edu.  The subject line of the email should use the format UFBI SEED GRANT APPLICATION LASTNAME FIRSTNAME.

The submission deadline is April 26, 2024, at 5:00 pm.

Formatting Requirements

Applications must be single-spaced; font size no less than Times New Roman 11-point or Arial 10-point; 1-inch margins.

Review Process

An interdisciplinary selection committee composed of members of the UFBI Advisory Board and other UF faculty will evaluate the applications and select the awardees.

Notification of Awards

We anticipate announcing the award recipients by approximately April 15.  The earliest start date for the award is May 15, 2023.

Reporting Requirements

Within 6 months after the conclusion of the grant, all awardees of Seed Grants are expected to participate in a symposium/poster session sponsored by UFBI.  At the termination of the 1-year award, PIs are expected to submit a report on their accomplishments and an outline of the proposal to be submitted to an external agency, as noted in item 7 above.

To print a copy of the Seed Grant Award Information, visit https://biodiversity.research.ufl.edu/faculty-interdisciplinary-seed-grants-2024/.

Questions

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact:
Dr. Pamela Soltis, FLMNH, UFBI Director
Email: psoltis@flmnh.ufl.edu