COS Research and Innovation Seed Program - SciRIS-ii

The College of Science Research and Innovation Seed (SciRIS) Individual Investigator Program - SciRIS-ii - funds individual faculty who seek to establish or augment research relationships with external partners. Such partners may include OSU units outside COS, academic institutions, industry, and other organizations. SciRIS-ii provide funds to establish partnerships, accelerate project development, generate data and manuscripts, and foster proposal submissions.

SciRIS-ii has a unique purpose focused on assisting individual faculty efforts to establish research relationships with external partners.

The funds for this innovation seed program come from Education and General funds and other Foundation funds.

Objectives

SciRIS-ii specifically seeks to

• Identify transformative research opportunities,
• Cultivate collaborations within OSU or external engagements,
• Broaden participation and foster equity, access & inclusivity,
• Cultivate ideas that strengthen the research & innovation enterprise

Investment

SciRIS-ii funds enable individual PIs to build and solidify relationships with research organizations external to the College.

Rewards

SciRIS-ii investments make faculty much more competitive for grants by providing them with the seed funding necessary to build bridges, demonstrate the feasibility of their ideas, and quicken the pace of scientific discovery.

Outcomes

• Partner Engagement
• Transformative Discoveries
• Groundbreaking Publications
• New Proposal Submissions

Example costs supported

• Research related travel
• Course buyout
• Student and postdoc stipends and OPE
• Materials, supplies, and services
• Publication costs related to the project
• Informal Science Education / Broadening Participation training

SciRIS - ii Guidelines

Award: $10,000

Terms: Funds must be expended within one year of award date.

Eligibility

Tenured and tenure-track faculty in the College of Science. Applicants may serve as PI or receive major funding for only one funded project (SciRIS-ii, SciRIS Stages 1-3, DMPF, Industry Partnership award, etc) at any time. Applicants may serve in support roles on one or more funded grants.

Proposal deadline

October 15

If the 15th falls on a weekend, the proposals will be due the next business day.

Anticipated start date: Fall or winter term

Proposal guidelines and reporting

The proposal must adhere to the following guidelines. Incomplete proposals will be returned without review.

The project description is limited to two pages for Project Narrative, 1 page budget & budget justification, 2 page bio-sketch, Current & Pending (no page limit). It must be formatted 1-inch margins and 10pt font or larger, with the exception of figure legends (as applicable).

1. The Project Narrative is limited to two pages, 1-inch margins and 10pt font or larger, with the exception of figure legends (as applicable). It should include the following sections:
   1. Title, short abstract, names & affiliations of all participants
   2. Project plan and timeline
   3. Vision addressing originality of idea and transformative potential of research and/or innovation.
   4. Description of broad impacts including student research
   5. Anticipated outcomes, e.g., manuscript, proposal submission, subaward.
   6. Statement on Inclusive Excellence goals (examples: broadening participation, fostering equity, access & inclusion)
2. Append 2-page biographical sketch of PI to the project description.
3. Budget & budget justification (including any cost-share) (1 page)
4. References (optional, but limited to 1 page)
5. Current & Pending (no page limit, do not list expired awards)

Reporting: Awardee must submit a report describing how the award contributed to advancing a partnership toward concrete outcomes. The report is due within one year of the award date.

No Cost Extensions: The College of Science Internal Funding Program provides seed funds for one year. We anticipate that some projects may experience challenges that could delay outcomes and deliverables. If your funded project meets this criterium and you would like to request a no cost extension (NCE), you’ll need to fill out the following form: https://beav.es/cew (Note this requires ONID login). The NCE request will be reviewed by the College of Science Research Development Unit (RDU) and a recommendation will be sent to the Dean of Science by the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. If approved by the dean, an appropriate NCE will be provided. Note: Filling out the form does not guarantee that an NCE will be granted. Please contact the COS RDU for further details at research.development@science.oregonstate.edu

Reporting

Awardee must submit a report describing how the award contributed to advancing a partnership toward concrete outcomes.

The report is due within one year of the award date.

Acknowledging the grant

The acknowledgement should include the web address https://internal.science.oregonstate.edu/rdu/internal-research-funding-program or https://beav.es/ihi on any documents about the project, including but not limited to video productions, press releases, brochures, publications, posters, etc. and include the phrase:

This project has been made possible with support of the College of Science Research & Innovation Seed (SciRIS) program, https://beav.es/ihi

Submission process

Use of the InfoReady portal is being piloted for application submissions. At first login, please create an account with your ONID email. User guides are available on the associated Home page. Questions on InfoReady can be submitted to research.development@science.oregonstate.edu

Proposal review criteria

SciRIS supports transformative research that will lead to extramural funding. Such research involves ideas, discoveries, or tools that radically change our understanding of an important existing scientific or educational practice or leads to the creation of a new paradigm or field of science or education.

Proposals will be judged on scientific merit, significance of the proposed research, development of new or existing partnerships with industry, potential impact on future funding, creativity in the use of emerging technology and the potential to broaden participation, equity and access. Proposals must demonstrate

• Originality & Transformative Potential: How original is the proposed idea? Does the research challenge current understanding? What is the transformative potential of the proposed work? Does the research open pathways to new frontiers of science?
• Inclusive Excellence: How well does the project promote equity, inclusivity, and access? Does It provide opportunities for broadening participation of under-represented groups?
• Intellectual Merit: What is the potential of the work to advance knowledge both within a discipline and across disciplines? What are the tangible outcomes?
• Broader Impacts: What are the benefits to society? Does the plan incorporate training of graduate students, mentoring postdoctoral researchers and junior faculty or involves undergraduates in research experiences.
• Effective Teamwork: Are resources aligned with proposed work and outcomes? Is the PI (and integrated team if there are collaborators) poised to succeed? Are there plans in place for extramural funding?

Cost Sharing

Cost sharing is not required, but it is encouraged.

Examples of potential cost sharing include the following:

• Department support for travel and students
• Uncommitted 201 and start-up funds
• University venture development funds
• Seed grant from Oregon Signature Research Center
• Seed grant from other colleges or Research Office
• NSF EAGER grant or similar award from federal agency or foundation
• Aligned OSU Foundation gift
• New, aligned grant or contract from industry

What has been Funded in the Past

• February 26, 2021 - New grants to expand research on cancer imaging and quantum materials
• February 27, 2020 - New grants to advance science that benefits humankind
• February 28, 2019 - Physicist receives innovation award for cancer research

Learn more about

• SciRIS (Stages 1-3) - awards seed funding for high impact collaborative proposals that build teams, pursue fundamental discoveries, and create societal impact (deadlines in April, July)
• The Disease Mechanism and Prevention Fund - supports research into the mechanism, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of (human) disease (deadline in December)
• The College of Science Industry Partnership Award - This award provides critical resources for projects that take a new direction, utilize a new technology or are in the “proof-of-concept” phase. Undergraduate & graduate students and faculty researchers can participate in the research, with a preference given to graduate students and faculty who are developing new areas of research AND establishing or augmenting research partnerships with external industrial partners(deadline in July