PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The College of Arts and Letters, the College of Social Science, and the Office of Research and Innovation at Michigan State University invite applications with expectations to award up to 15 teams $3,000 each ($45,000 total) in small seed grants to cover costs for MSU-led interdisciplinary teams to meet and prepare collaborative project proposals in the area of climate justice and environmental ethics. Funds should be used to cover costs of convening with partners to plan and prepare materials for a competitive grant proposal submission within 12 months after receipt of the seed grant award.

ELIGIBILITY 

• Project teams must be led by a full-time MSU researcher/scholar who is PI eligible using OSP criteria; see https://osp.msu.edu/PL/Portal/389/PIEligibilityandRequestingExceptions
• Graduate students and postdoctoral research associates may be included as team members. Inclusion of undergraduate students is encouraged.
• Research teams must include scholars from multiple disciplinary areas, as appropriate.
• Teams may include collaborators from other institutions, and partnerships with minority serving institutions are encouraged.
•  As appropriate to the project, including community members is encouraged in the spirit of building reciprocal partnerships.

PROPOSAL FORMAT & PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

• Cover Page (form attached)
• Narrative (3 pages max) - Proposals should briefly and clearly include the following:
  • Need and/or Problem Statement (in scholarly and local communities)
  • Opportunity Statement (including the approach, experience, and expertise of the team)
  • Research Questions to be Addressed
  • Research Design
  • Community Collaboration
  • Study Logistics and Timing
  • Potential Funders
  • Expected Costs
• Budget – Simple itemized budget requesting up to $3,000 to cover costs for a project team’s work to prepare a competitive proposal
• Short CVs for all members of the Proposal Team (2 pages max, NSF/NIH biosketches OK)

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION 

Please submit one PDF file containing all combined documents to: https://forms.gle/gR1Ge4Knsm63qaE19 

TIMELINE FOR PROPOSAL AND DELIVERABLES

• Concept Notes are due Tuesday, February 28, 2023
• Applicants will receive email notifications of award decisions by Friday, March 31, 2023
• Project Teams should have plans to meet and spend seed funds by April 1, 2024
• Award recipients are requested to submit proposals for external funding before the end of the 2023-24 academic year.

Instructions for accessing funds will be provided at the time of award notification. Funds may be used for expenses related to the project as submitted, consistent with University Policy and Procedures, but may not be used for faculty salaries or conference travel and expenses. Any equipment valued at $500 or more purchased from these funds becomes the property of the University. A brief narrative and financial report are required within 12 months of the award date describing outcomes and plans for follow-up.

RUBRIC EXAMPLE

For scoring details, please see the rubric that will be used below.

2. What are the strengths of this nomination?
3. What are the weaknesses of this nomination?
4. Additional comments: