T/RIF Pilot Grants Program  

We are not accepting LOI's at this time. 

Goals

To support research and related activities that will position NAU researchers to subsequently compete successfully for major ($100K+ per year) extramural research grants.

Objectives

  • To support the generation of preliminary data that can be used to develop competitive research proposals, especially (but not exclusively) to the NIH
  • To support planning activities that help to build and solidify interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaborations for sponsored research opportunities

Call for proposals

Two types of proposals are being solicited:

Planning grants

Planning grants are up to 6 months in duration in amounts up to $25,000. The primary focus of planning grants is on preparatory work for interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaborations.

Examples of planning grant funding uses include:

  • secondary analysis of existing data from an interdisciplinary perspective to generate study hypotheses;
  • preparation of joint publications from an interdisciplinary team to strengthen their competitiveness for NIH funding; or
  • support for the logistics of preparing a center grant or program project application, including convening a pre-proposal advisory board.

A planning grant must lead directly to:

  • the submission of one or more extramural funding applications** (on which NAU is the prime applicant) each requesting $100,000 or more in total direct costs and full indirect recovery; or,
  • the submission of a Preliminary Studies grant application

Preliminary studies grants

Preliminary studies grants focus specifically on activities such as conducting preliminary research to inform study design, demonstrating feasibility of research protocols, pilot testing novel methodologies, or initiating and establishing new interdisciplinary research collaborations. Preliminary studies grants can be up to one year in duration and up to $100,000 may be requested.

Examples of preliminary studies grant funding activities:

  • proof of principle/concept studies for new methodologies
  • feasibility studies
  • measurement validation studies
  • pilot intervention studies to inform sample size and power estimation
  • development of new technologies that address a societal need
  • new methods for structuring or analyzing data sets

A preliminary studies grant must lead directly to:

  • the submission of one or more extramural funding applications** (on which NAU is the prime applicant) each requesting $500,000 or more in total direct costs. Full indirect recovery is required.

Eligibility

NAU employees who are eligible to serve as Principal Investigators/Project Directors on extramural grants are eligible to apply for PGP grants.

How to apply

Application deadline dates

Letters of Intent will be accepted beginning December 15, 2012 and will be accepted through November 30, 2013. Full proposals will be accepted beginning February 1, 2013 and will be accepted through December 1, 2013.

Letters of Intent can be up to 3 pages (12 point type and 1 inch margins) and should provide the following information:

  • Names and unit affiliations of PI, CoPIs, and any other key personnel (including those from other institutions, if applicable).
  • Type of grant (i.e., Planning or Preliminary Studies)
  • Working title or broad area of investigation
  • 5 key words
  • Brief description of the proposal, including intellectual merit and broader impacts
  • Description of outcomes or project deliverables**

Letters of intent will be reviewed on a monthly basis as follows:

  • Planning: LOIs received by 5:00pm on the 15th of each month will be reviewed that month. By the end of the same month, applicants will be notified as to whether or not s/he is invited to submit a full proposal. For example, LOIs received by December 15 will be reviewed by December 31.
  • Preliminary Studies: LOIs received by 5:00pm on the 30th of each month will be reviewed the next month. By the 15th of that next month, the applicant will be notified as to whether or not s/he is invited to submit a full proposal. For example, LOIs received by December 30 will be reviewed by January 15.

Full proposals will be accepted on a bi-monthly basis--on the first of the month as follows: February 1, April 1, June 1, August 1, October 1 and December 1, 2013.

All application materials must be submitted electronically to nauinnovations@nau.edu

**Extramural funding applications as deliverables of the PGP program: Letters of intent must include information on the specific extramural funding application that will be submitted as a "deliverable" of a Planning or Pilot Studies grant. Such extramural funding applications can be in response to a specific program announcement/RFP or they can be "unsolicited" applications to agencies provided the PI has demonstrated that the agency will be receptive to the application. Examples of types of extramural funding programs that will satisfy PGP program requirements are listed below.

National Science Foundation

NSF12-522 Decadal and Regional Climate Prediction Using Earth System Models (EaSM)
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12522/nsf12522.htm
Awards are expected to be in the range of $3M, $4M and $5M for 3-year, 4-year and 5-year projects, respectively.

NSF12-570 Geography and Spatial Sciences Program (GSS) CAREER, regular research proposals and RCN proposals)
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12570/nsf12570.pdf

NSF11-690 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11690/nsf11690.htm
Minimum CAREER award size is $400,000 - $500,000

Department of Health and Human Services

Investigator-initiated R01 (PA-11-260) and R21 applications requesting at least $750,000 and $275,000 in Total Direct Costs, respectively

PAR-10-234 Bioengineering Research Grants (EGRB) [R01) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-10-234.html

PA-12-284 Exploratory/Developmental Bioengineering Research Grants 9EBRG) [R21] http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-12-284.html

PA-12-153 Research to Action: Assessing and Addressing Community Exposures to Environmental Contaminants (R01) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-12-153.html

If you have any questions regarding this program, please contact Lesley Cephas at ext. 3-8288 or Lesley.cephas@nau.edu.

NAU Innovations
Office of the Vice President for Research
Northern Arizona University
P.O. Box 4087
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4087
(928) 523-8288 VOICE
(928) 523-1075 FAX
http://nau.edu/nauinnovations

TRIF Terms and Conditions