Tetrad Initiative for Interdisciplinary Research

Introduction

The Tetrad Initiative, launching in Fall 2023, is designed to foster new cross-unit and cross-college collaborations among faculty who have not worked together before, resulting in projects that create opportunities for extramural support of unique research programs. Researchers, at any rank, seek collaborators from outside of their own unit to form a team of three investigators, who must be faculty (any track), librarians, and academic specialists. Funds can be used to partially support MSU learners such as students, post-docs, residents, and fellows on the project. Once the team submits a completed proposal, their Tetrad is awarded funding of $30,000 with support coming from each PI’s home department and college, with a match from the Office of Research and Innovation completing the Tetrad. There is no review for merit. If Tetrad applications exceed available funding, a random drawing will be conducted.

Opt-in Forms

As a first step, Colleges/MAUs and Departments must "opt-in" to the program and commit a budget level or the number of "Tetrad tokens" they can support.

The deadline for Deans and Chairs to complete their opt-in form was November 17, 2023. If you would still like to participate, please complete the appropriate form below:

Office Hours Q&A Recording (11/9/2023)

Getting Started

Associate Deans for Research and Department Chairs will soon receive a form to opt-in the Tetrad program. Once enrolled (opted-in) , a list of participating colleges and departments will be posted to this site for reference by faculty who wish to apply for the program this fall.

Participating colleges and departments are listed below. If your unit is not included, please do not submit an application, but instead encourage your college and unit to participate.

Tetrad Collaboration Space (Microsoft Teams)

The Tetrad collaboration space using Microsoft Teams is intended to be a gathering point for the initiative, where MSU community members have the opportunity to seek collaborators from across disciplines. It’s a virtual venue designed for sparking conversations and building connections, potentially laying the groundwork for the diverse research teams that are important for Tetrad funding.

Join the TETRAD Collaboration Space

Participating Units

Last updated November 29, 2023

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, AgBioResearch
- Animal Science
- Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
- Entomology
- Fisheries and Wildlife
- Food Science and Human Nutrition
- Forestry
- Horticulture
- Kellogg Biological Station
- Planning, Design and Construction
College of Arts and Letters
- English
- Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures
- Theatre
College of Communication Arts and Sciences
- Advertising and Public Relations
- Communication
- Communicative Sciences and Disorder
- Media & Information
- School of Journalism
College of Education
- Counseling, Educational Psychology & Special Education
- Educational Administration
- Kinesiology
- Organizational Disparities Laboratory
- Services, Training, and Research for Independence and Desired Employment (STRIDE)
- Teacher Education
College of Engineering
- Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Computer Science and Engineering
College of Human Medicine
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health
- Emergency Medicine
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Family Medicine
- Medicine
- Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
- Pediatrics and Human Development
- Pharmacology and Toxicology
- Physiology
- Psychiatry
- Radiology
- Surgery
- Translational Neurosciences
Institute for Quantitative Health Science & Engineering
James Madison College
College of Law
Lyman Briggs College
MSU Extension
College of Natural Science
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Chemistry
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Integrative Biology
- Kellogg Biological Station
- Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
- Physiology
- Plant Biology
- Plant Research Lab
- Statistics and Probability
College of Nursing
College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Institute for Global Health
- Medicine
- Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
- Orthopedics
- Pharmacology and Toxicology
- Physiology
- Psychiatry
- Radiology
College of Social Science
- Coastlines and People Thematic Area
- Consortium for Sexual and Gender Minority Health
- Future of Work Thematic Area
- History
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Social Work
- Sociology
- Youth Equity Project Thematic Area
College of Veterinary Medicine
- Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
- Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation
- Pharmacology and Toxicology
- Physiology
- Small Animal Clinical Sciences
University Outreach and Engagement

Deadlines

The online application for PIs will open in December 2023, with awards being announced after January 1, 2024. PIs interested in applying may join the Team site to reach out and connect with potential collaborators. A Word version of the application is also posted there and PIs can begin drafting their proposal in preparation for the online application to go live.

Contact Information

For questions and assistance, please email VPRFunds@msu.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions

For PIs

What are the eligibility criteria for Tetrad funding?
Investigators should be regularly employed faculty at MSU, including tenure system, fixed term, health professionals, and research faculty. (Please note that the Tetrad initiative does not support PI effort.)

Are there any exceptions to the faculty requirement to receive funding/participate?
Community-based, adjunct, prefixed, or non-prefixed faculty may participate at the discretion of sponsoring departments/divisions. Such faculty may participate, but their employing institution will be responsible for their share of funding.

What constitutes a "new" collaborator?
The goal of the Tetrad program is to develop new research collaborations across disciplines. A new collaboration is defined as "has not conducted scholarship together previously." If you developed curriculum or served on a committee for example, that does not constitute scholarship and would be allowable.

Are there any limitations to who I can work with from other departments?
One of the primary goals of the Tetrad Program is to develop new collaborations. Therefore, none of the PIs for a Tetrad may have previously collaborated on a scholarly project, even if the result had no work product.

Are there any limitations as to what my project can focus on?
A Tetrad project must be focused on scholarly work. Instructional or administrative projects will not qualify.

What if I have found a collaborator from another department, but we fall under the same college?
Investigators must be from three different departments, and at least two colleges. For colleges without departments, at least one PI must be from another college.

Are Tetrad collaborations limited to only the investigators, or can other participants engage with our project?
Participation of MSU learners (students, post-docs, residents, fellows) as personnel (not PIs) on projects is strongly encouraged but not required.

Can I apply for more than one Tetrad?
No, you should only apply once. If you were on multiple Tetrad applications, you could potentially disqualify one of the applications if there was not enough funding/tokens committed from your College or Department to cover more than one. You could apply in the future for a new round of Tetrad funding.

When will the PI application open?
The goal is to open the online PI application by the end of November 2023. The process is currently in Phase 1 and gathering budget commitments from Colleges and Departments. Once that is complete, the PI application will open. Now is a great time to be seeking collaborators and working on a draft application. Join the Tetrad Team link to collaborate and also find a Word version of the PI application to start developing a draft.

I am appointed in two departments. Which one do I list on my application?
All units that have "opted-in" will be listed in a drop down on the application. You should choose the department that fits the project you are applying for. All Colleges and Departments that have opted-in are listed on the website. If not, you should reach out to your chair and encourage them to support the program.

Are Henry Ford Health faculty eligible?
Yes, if they are appointed to an MSU college/department they may apply. We are working on a solution for HFH faculty who are NOT appointed at MSU.

Do I need to include a budget proposal to receive funding?
A budget narrative or explanation to support your Tetrad proposal MUST be included.

Do I have to submit a budget to the KR system before applying?
No, the application is not asking for a full budget but rather a narrative or support statement.

Who is responsible for managing the funds?
One PI will be listed as the Primary PI of the project. Once approved, funds from contributing accounts will be transferred into an account created and managed in the Primary PI’s unit.

If I am awarded a Tetrad, how long do I have to use the funding?
The funding must be used within 18 months. There will be a symposium at the end of that period where all Tetrad teams will report on their projects.

What happens if the spending is not completed within the 18-month time frame of the award?
Spending must be completed within 18 months of the award. Any overdraft will be divided equally among the three collaborators' units.Any remaining funds will be proportionately returned to the financially contributing colleges/units/PIs.

For Colleges, Departments, Deans, and Chairs

Do all college deans have the same amount of funding allocated for Tetrad?
The amount varies by college. The dean, or associate dean for research, from each participating college will state how many opportunities for funding they have available.

What happens once the college has opted in to the Tetrad program?
Once a college has committed to the Tetrad Program, department chairs will then declare the amount of department Tetrad funding available for faculty.

How long are the tokens good for?
Tokens committed by the colleges and departments are good for the current round only. Colleges and departments will be asked to opt-in again for future rounds.

As a chair I committed to 5 tokens, but only 3 were granted. What happens to the two that weren't used?
Tokens are a commitment for this round until funding is used up at the University level. Unused tokens are only placeholders. No money moves until a Tetrad is formed and and fully funded. Once University funds to complete Tetrads are exhausted, the round is complete.

Our department has faculty appointed at different colleges. When I opt-in for 5 Tetrad tokens, do I have to designate which college they can be used for?
The tokens are generic for your department until used by a faculty member from a specific college. So if you are offering 5, they can be anyone. The application routes to the college, and it's up to them to approve when they add their college specific token.

If my department opts-in for 3 tokens, but later learns we have 5 faculty interested, can we add more?
Yes! That would be a wonderful problem to solve.

What happens if a college or department doesn't commit to enough tokens to cover all the requests? Or what if the University doesn't have enough to complete all the Tetrad requests?
If you have more faculty apply than tokens (and approve those applications), then there will be a random selection of the finalists up to the tokens you have committed.