Interdisciplinary Research Grants

Proposals must be routed and approved in NUgrant by 5:00pm, on the 2nd Friday in October.

DESCRIPTION:  Interdisciplinary Research Grants are designed for projects that encourage and enhance research, creative and scholarly activities. The goal is to enhance the competitiveness of applications for external funding and to foster innovative, collaborative, and timely ideas that inform existing and nascent strategic initiatives specified by the institution and/or funding agencies. Interdisciplinary Research Grants are available to scholars from all disciplines. Preference will be given to those who have not received a Grant-In-Aid, Faculty Seed grant or an Interdisciplinary grant from the Research Council during the previous two years.

AWARD AMOUNT: Typically, awards do not exceed $20,000 for one year. However, in an effort to encourage ambitious proposals and truly multi-disciplinary initiatives, the Research Council is now accepting requests for larger amounts of funding. Awards may be renewed competitively for one additional year.

SCOPE OF THE AWARDS:

ELIGIBLITY INFORMATION:

REVIEW AND AWARD PROCESS:

REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AWARDS:

GENERAL SELECTION CRITERIA:

Proposals must address these criteria (100 point scale):

In addition to these general criteria, Interdisciplinary Research proposals will be evaluated based on quality and the extent to which the project truly employs interdisciplinary and collaborative strategies.  For instance, investigators should indicate in the application if they belong to different colleges or academic units. In order to maximize chances for success, investigators are strongly encouraged to check the Commonly Asked Questions posted on the Research Council website at http://research.unl.edu/researchcouncil/interdisciplinary-research-grant-commonly-asked-questions/.

PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

Only electronic submissions via NUgrant will be accepted (http://nugrant.unl.edu). Paper applications will not be accepted. If you are a first-time user of NUgrant you can log in NUgrant using your Blackboard username and password.

Information required as part of the electronic NUgrant application:

1. 250-word abstract (using lay terms accessible to a broad audience).

2. 5-page proposal plus a 1-page bibliography (max.). The proposal must include sufficient detail to convince reviewers of the project’s scientific or scholarly merit and relevance, and written in lay language understandable to non-specialists. Please make the proposal and bibliography single-spaced, using an 11-point font and one-inch margins. The proposal should include information to demonstrate to reviewers its merit and potential for external funding, including the following elements:

a. Introduction

b. Proposed plan

c. Timeline for external funding proposal submission (< 24 months)

3. List of Key Personnel:  Attach a 2-page biographical sketch/vitae summary for each faculty member involved in the project (including publications for the last 5 years).

4. Current & Pending Support:  List all funded and pending internal and external grants for all faculty members involved in the project, including title, award amount, funding period, and funding agency. Summarize outcomes of previous funding from the Office of Research and Economic Development (last five years, one page max.), including previous funding from the Research Council (Interdisciplinary Grants, Seed Grants, Grants-In-Aid). When submitting multiple proposals to the Research Council in one funding cycle, please explain how they are related. Include reviews from external funding applications where pertinent.

5. Project Budget:  1-page budget and 1-page detailed justification. Any travel by non-UNL faculty/staff must be clearly justified.


If you have questions about the submission process, please contact
Mari Greer in the Office of Research and Economic Development at
(402) 472-2851 or by e-mail at mgreer1@unl.edu