Context and Rationale
The College wishes to encourage and support the development of faculty research programs. This year’s seed funding program is designed to encourage and support research collaboration in many forms. This may include faculty collaborations: (1) with another COE colleague within the same department or across departments (same or different ranks); (2) with other campus units; and/or (3) with outside community organizations and schools.
Funding Opportunity
The Bureau of Educational Research and the College Research Committee, honoring faculty research and scholarship, invite College of Education faculty researchers to apply for Seed Grants. This opportunity is made possible, in part, by an endowment from Charles Dunn Hardie to support faculty scholarship.
Eligibility and Funding Priorities
The purpose of these funds is to promote new research efforts and to enhance the collaborative research culture in the College, providing initial support necessary to undertake research collaborations that will continue beyond the funding period.
Project Types: The following project types are eligible for funding:
- Planning projects likely to be competitive for external research funding.
- Examination of a topic where external funding is unlikely, but a sustained research program would be possible and productive.
Competitive Preferences: Proposals on any research topic area will be considered, but competitive preference will be given to one or more of the following:
- Projects designed as collaborations with other academic or interdisciplinary campus units and institutes (e.g., NCSA, iSchool, IGB, HRI, CSBS, Siebel Center for Design).
- Projects designed specifically as collaborations between the Colleges of Education, Engineering, and Medicine (particularly those motivated by the Innovation Through Collaboration initiative organized in 2023-2024 to support pre-tenure faculty research).
- Projects organized to establish sustained collaborative research relationships with community organizations or school settings (schools, districts or other organized units).
- Research that works toward addressing a societal grand challenge or transformative research opportunity (as defined by an identified policy or funding organization, such as the Spencer Foundation).
Applicants can request funds of up to $10,000. The project is expected to be completed by May 2026; where a longer project period is necessary, this should be clearly explained in the proposal. The PI should be a faculty member in the College of Education with an FTE appointment.
Funds may be used to support: (1) Undergraduate and graduate student hourly wages; (2) Other research expenses, including materials and supplies, participant incentives, data access expenses, programming costs, meeting expenses, and travel costs; (3) Costs for collaborating organizations to participate. Fringe benefits will be assessed on all student hourly salaries budgeted. Indirect costs (F&A) will not be assessed.
Proposal Contents
Proposals must include:
- Title of the proposed project.
- Team Member names, titles, affiliations, and contact information, project roles.
- Abstract: 250 words.
- Project Narrative: 3-page single-spaced project narrative outlining the proposed project (motivation, research plan, and an outline of how future work might grow beyond the efforts funded by this program).
- Excel Budget, with Budget Narrative, that breaks down a proposed use of funds, with dollar amounts for each item. Anticipated costs for collaborating organizations should be specific.
- Plan for Collaboration: 1-page single-spaced plan.
- Address each person’s role in the project and how you will structure the collaboration.
- Describe how your collaboration will aid each team member in acquiring new perspective and expertise, and guide the development of shared outcomes.
- If the project intends to work with an external organization, describe how the relationship would be documented. How you (1) already have, or (2) will work to develop, negotiate, and document the key benefits, responsibilities, and expectations to be observed and undertaken by both UIUC researchers and the collaborating organization.
- Work Beyond the Funding Period: 1-page single-spaced plan.
- For projects targeting external funding proposals, indicate what future external funding will be pursued, including (if known) identification of intended funder(s), program(s), and submission due dates.
- For projects not readily aligned with external funding sources, provide a projected timeline to pursue sustainable research activity beyond the seed-funded period.
Proposal Submission and Review
Proposals will be submitted to BER’s Seed Funding interface. Click here to access and submit.
Proposals must be submitted by December 2, 2024, 11:59pm. Bureau initial screening and support will be available prior to the submission date to provide submitting teams the opportunity for improvements and modifications to meet the funding criteria.
College Research Committee proposal review will be conducted during December 2024, with funding decisions announced in January 2025, for award funds to be made available beginning May 16, 2025.
Submissions will be reviewed according to the following process:
- Proposals will be received by BER and then presented directly to the College Research Committee (CRC) for review and funding recommendations. CRC recommendations will be made within one month of receipt by the Committee.
- The Associate Dean for Research and the Bureau will resolve any questions arising during CRC review. Follow-up communications with the submitting teams will be made by the ADR, CRC Co-Chairs, or by BER, as appropriate; BER will prepare funding recommendations to present to the Dean.
- Final decisions for funding rest with the Dean.
Review Criteria
Proposals will be reviewed by the College Research Committee along the following criteria:
A. Required Elements:
- Intellectual merit: To what extent does the proposed work advance knowledge?
- Innovation potential: Does the proposal clearly articulate theoretical and/or methodological innovation?
- Research quality: Is the proposed plan feasible in the given time frame? Is it clearly described and logically organized?
- Impact: Does the proposal address the needs of the field of education (students, the COE, the State of Illinois, and society)? Is the work consistent with the mission of the College of Education?
- Quality of resources: Are sufficient resources available to conduct the proposed work? If the proposed work will involve human subjects, are intended tools consistent with the latest campus technology guidance? (See Seed Funding FAQ for details and latest guidance updates.)
- Plans for collaboration:
- Are collaborator roles well-articulated?
- Does the plan, as presented, encourage meaningful contributions from all members of the team?
- Does the plan clearly articulate how shared outcomes for university researchers and external collaborators will be developed (e.g., future grant writing, and publication)?
- Plan for work beyond the funding period (as applicable):
- Identified external funding sources: Is the proposed project aligned with the priorities of the identified external funders?
- Projects for non-funded sustained efforts: Are the arguments presented for the growth and sustainability of the proposed project detailed and compelling?
B. Competitive Preferences:
- For projects designed as collaborations with other academic or interdisciplinary campus units: Will the proposed collaboration enable outcomes greater than those possible within Education only?
- For proposals between the Colleges of Education, Engineering, and/or Medicine (CI-MED); Is leadership by an Education faculty member logical for the development and growth of the proposed research?
- For research collaborations proposed with outside organizations: If a robust relationship has yet to be established with the prospective partner organization, does the proposal describe a credible plan for initiating communication, developing trust and buy-in, securing organizational support, engaging in a mutual design process, and then documenting how this will be mutually beneficial for all parties of the partnership, to guide further collaboration?
- Grand Challenges: Does the proposal identify a specific challenge or opportunity put forth by a named body, and does it propose an approach for producing new findings or practices?
Expected Outcomes
- Awarded applicants will be expected to present a talk, based on their findings, in a College venue within six months of completion of specified project activities in the proposal. Research product(s):
- For projects targeting external funding: One or more ready-to-submit external funding submissions will be expected to further the work of the project.
- For projects organizing a sustained research effort: a creative product (e.g., academic publication, podcast series, video) to engage audiences with emerging research findings.
For additional information
- Visit the Seed Funding FAQ for relevant information as it emerges.
- Contact: Elizabeth (Beth) Niswander, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Bureau of Educational Research with questions.