A new internal faculty funding program, the Scaling Success Grant, has been established, joining the existing Seeding Success Grant and Rapid Advancement Micro-grant programs. All three programs are now managed by Research Development and Support within the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.
These internal funding programs are designed to support faculty research and scholarship in all fields across provost-reporting Vanderbilt schools and colleges—from arts and humanities to social sciences and education to STEM—each offering a unique set of resources for faculty to seize new opportunities.
“By providing the Scaling Success Grant funding to our faculty every two months, we are empowering them to rapidly take their research and scholarship to the next level with more ambitious projects that leverage sponsor priorities,” Vice Provost for Research Padma Raghavan said. “Provost Raver, our deans and the members of the Vanderbilt University Research Council have been instrumental in launching this program, and I expect we’ll continue to fine tune the program to meet faculty needs.”
The new Scaling Success Grant is designed to support faculty as they scale up to increasingly impactful team research and scholarship, including larger awards from federal, foundation or industry sponsors, specifically supporting faculty to develop competitive proposals for projects that have already generated interest and encouragement from an external sponsor.
If needed, Research Development and Support can assist faculty in gauging sponsor interest and developing relationships with sponsors. Awardees must commit to submitting at least one proposal to an external sponsor within 12 months of award receipt.
- Funding ranges from $5,000 to $60,000 to be used within 12 months of award receipt, with larger amounts considered if the proposal warrants and the program budget allows.
- First application deadline for proposals will be Feb. 2, 2022.
- Further calls for Scaling Success Grant applications will occur every two months to enable faculty to rapidly respond to sponsor interest.
- First-round award funding will be available in March 2022.
The Seeding Success Grant supports new directions with strong potential for impact or funding from federal, foundation or industry sponsors. Note that the Seeding Success Grant has been updated and now offers the seed opportunity track exclusively. The course buyout track formerly offered by the Seeding Success Grant is no longer available, but faculty may propose a course buyout via the separate Scaling Success Grant with the support of their dean.
- Funding is $5,000 to $60,000 per year for up to two years, with larger amounts considered if the proposal warrants and the program budget allows.
- Next application deadline for proposals will be Feb. 2, 2022.
- Further calls for Seeding Success Grant applications will occur twice annually, every spring and fall semester.
- Award funding will be available May 2, 2022.
Rapid Advancement Micro-grant Program (RAMP) awards are designed for smaller-scale funding opportunities that require a rapid response, allowing faculty to innovate in the moment and seize strategic and time-sensitive opportunities as they arise.
- Funding ranges from $500 to $3,000 as the budget allows, with smaller requests encouraged.
- Award funding will be rapidly available, with requests reviewed monthly.
See individual program webpages for full details including eligibility, standards, proposal requirements and funding guidelines. Separate MyVU notices will follow announcing the opening of the application portals for each of these three internal faculty funding opportunities.
For more information about how Research Development and Support can assist faculty in gauging sponsor interest and developing sponsor relationships, see the Research Development and Support internal funding programs webpage, or contact ovprfunding@vanderbilt.edu with questions or concerns.
By Jane Hirtle