Skip Navigation
Search
Office of the Vice President for Research
Office of Proposal Development
HomeFind FundingOVPR Seed Grant ProgramSpecial Initiative Seed Grant ProgramsClimate Change Seed Grant Program

Climate Change Seed Grant Program

 Seed Grants for Interdisciplinary Research Teams

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS

The Office of the President, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Executive Vice President of Health Sciences, and the Office of the Vice President for Research invite applications for a seed grant program to fund collaborative efforts between climate change researchers at Stony Brook University seeking to apply to externally funded research and training initiatives.

This seed grant program is a direct result of the Climate Change Tiger Teams initiative and will award proposals in the following areas of interest:

  • Climate and Environmental Medicine
  • Community and Ecosystem Resilience
  • Green Technologies
  • Human Behavior and Decision-Making Related to Climate Change Mitigation
  • The Economic and Policy Challenges of Climate Change
  • The Warming Oceans, Modeling the Climate, and the Effects of Climate Change

The program will fund up to five multidisciplinary teams that commit to submitting proposals for medium/large scale grants in the following categories: multi-PI grants, center grants, instrumentation grants, and training grants. Proposals should be multi-investigator and multidisciplinary with collaborations across disciplines and academic departments as well as Stony Brook schools/colleges. Awarded projects will receive up to $100,000 for a maximum award period of two years.

HOW TO APPLY

The deadline is October 1, 2024, at 11:59 PM EST.

Eligibility Requirements

Review carefully to determine whether you need a letter from your Department Chair. 

To serve as Principal Investigator, an individual must have a current full-time faculty appointment at Stony Brook University. Titles that require no prior approval from Chair to serve as PI include: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, Distinguished Professor, Clinical Assistant Professor, Clinical Associate Professor, Clinical Professor, Research Assistant Professor, Research Associate Professor, and Research Professor.

Individuals with different titles are required to submit a letter from their Department Chair. 

If needed, the letter should

  • Define how the research will be used to advance collaborative efforts among climate change researchers at Stony Brook University.
  • Emphasize how the proposal will contribute to supporting multidisciplinary climate change research at Stony Brook University.

 

Additional eligibility information:

  • Individuals may only be PI on one application.
  • Individuals may only be a Co-PI on two applications. 
  • There is a limit of four Co-PIs on any application.

 

Application

All documents should be combined in the following order and uploaded to the application submission portal in InfoReady as ONE PDF file. Please note that applications must be submitted through the InfoReady portal for consideration. Each section must start on a new page (the page limits for each are listed below). Font size must be 11 points or larger with 1-inch margins. Smaller text in figures, graphs, diagrams and charts is acceptable as long as it is legible when the page is viewed at 100%.

  1. Abstract (300 word limit);
  2. Description of Aims/Goals/Objectives (1 page limit);
  3. Significance Statement (1 page limit), describing how the project will advance collaborative, multi-investigator, multidisciplinary research at SBU in the areas of interest. This section should include a timeline for submitting at least one proposal to an external sponsor. It is advisable to indicate the specific sponsor/program and RFP targeted. When developing the timeline for external submissions, please keep in mind that award periods will be no more than two years, and PI teams are expected to apply for external grants within the award period.
  4. Project Description (3 page limit), explaining the project goals and design, and how they align with the seed grant objectives. For training grants, this section should include a description of the potential trainees as well as the anticipated pool of potential trainees.
  5. References (no page limit);
  6. Research Team and Roles (500 word limit), describing the strength of the team, the unique expertise of each member, prior experience with collaborative efforts and any shared grants or publications among the team members. For training grants, this section should feature a description of the PI/co-PIs and pool of training mentors.
  7. Current and pending funding for all PIs and Co-PIs (no page limit);
  8. Biosketch/CV for all PIs and Co-PIs (3 page limit per investigator);
  9. Budget Justification (no page limit) that includes:
      • A budget that does not exceed $100,000. Salary requests for PI/Co-PIs must present strong justification, and all personnel-related expenses must include fringe. Travel funds may be requested but must be necessary to perform the proposed research/training. Given that these are internal funds, F&A costs should not be included in the budget;
      • A timeline for spending the funds that is no more than two years.

Please note, myResearch is not required.

 

Evaluation

Applications will be peer-reviewed by a panel selected by the Office of the Vice President for Research. The following criteria will be used for evaluation:

  • Innovation and Excellence: For teams targeting research grants, what is the potential for the proposed project to advance knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields? For teams targeting training grants, what is the potential for the proposed program to ensure highly effective education and training of students/scholars in a multidisciplinary research area focused on climate change?
  • Match: How well does the project fit the areas of interest and the purpose of the seed grant?
  • Overall Impact: To what extent would the proposed program benefit SBU’s research community?
  • External Funding: To what extent would the proposed research create opportunities for attracting external funding? How likely is it that the research team would submit at least one proposal to an external sponsor within the award period? Would the targeted funding opportunities be considered medium/large scale for the disciplines involved?
  • Multidisciplinary Research Team: How well qualified is the team to conduct the proposed research? Is the team sufficiently diverse? Does the team have the necessary track record for the targeted external funding opportunities? (Teams targeting multi-PI and center-scale research grants should show a history of collaborative efforts. Teams targeting training grants must have experience with training mechanisms and/or training program-level leadership. Teams targeting instrumentation grants must have experience managing shared equipment and/or should have a history of success with external equipment grants.)
  • Budget: To what extent is the budget clear, efficient, and well-justified?

Progress Report

Awarded projects will be required to submit a progress report 12 months after the start date of the award and a final report at the end of the award period. A template will be provided.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/QUESTIONS

For more information, please contact the Office of the Vice President for Research at OPD_OVPR@stonybrook.edu.

Special Initiative Seed Grant Programs
Special Initiative Seed Grant Programs