Purpose of Research Seed Grants

Intended for scholarly and creative activities for which it is rare to find external sponsors. Research seed grants are intended as a mechanism to jumpstart research activity to collect preliminary data or conduct pilot studies to help with larger external funding after.

Research Seed Grants (RSGs), awarded for amounts up to $10,000 from the Division of Research and Innovation, are intended to enable research that seeds funding of extramural sponsored programs. The VPRI encourages the use of RSG's to support collaborative and interdisciplinary research.

Funding Restrictions

Funds from RSG may not be used for travel in pursuit of extramural funding or to workshops and conferences.
In addition, certain items may not be paid for using these funds, for example, alcohol, tips and gratuities. The RSGs may not request faculty summer salary or teaching release via buy-out. Only one RSG may be awarded to a faculty member each year.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the RSG, the PI must be a faculty member that holds the academic rank of tenure-track Assistant Professor or tenured Associate/Full Professor and be employed on a full-time basis in a permanent position. Permanent and temporary faculty appointees who hold the doctorate (or equivalent) may serve as Co-PI. Preference will be given to proposals from tenured and tenure-track faculty.

Review Criteria

The following criteria will be used to review proposals:

• Well-articulated and strong research project description. Project description is written with sufficient clarity and detail that an educated researcher can assess the application.

• Clear plan to collect preliminary data/results needed for a future sponsored project application.

• Project description states PI/Co-PI expertise; when relevant describes the interdisciplinary component.

• A convincing plan to apply for external funding sources to further the research.

• A reasonable and itemized budget.

• Broader impacts/significance of the research included in the project description.

Expectations and Outcomes

• All proposals should contain a specific research plan and a specific plan for obtaining external funding.

• It is expected that external support will be submitted within one year of completion of the RSG.

Deadline

Research Seed Grants applications are due by October 1, 2020. A review panel will make recommendations for funding and a representative from the Division of Research and Innovation will contact you after the review process is complete.

Submission

The application form includes the project description and additional forms within the document. Provide the application as one single .pdf file submitted to IntramuralGrants@unt.edu

Final Report Requirements

1. PI/Faculty Name
2. College and Department
3. RSG Project Title
4. Brief RSG grant research project description
5. RSG Budget Outline
   1. Total Amount of RSG grant funds spent, itemized by category (ex. Salary/wages, consumables, equipment, research travel, etc.)
6. Research project outcomes
   1. Details of scholarly research publications (journal, book, exhibition etc; provide title of publication, date of publication, publisher)
   2. Details of sponsored grant funding proposal submissions (submitted and planned):
      • Sponsored Grant Agency Name
      • Funding amount requested in proposal
      • Title of proposal
      • Role (PI or Co-PI)
      • Sponsored Grant Proposal Number (if applicable)
      • Date submitted or planned submission

Note: PI’s will have 1 calendar year from the time of RSG funding allocation to finish their project and use their funds. Any unspent RSG funds after 1 year will be returned to the VPRI office. Reports will be due at the end of the month, 1 year after funds are allocated. (ex. Funds allocated 9/2/20; report due by 9/30/21)