University Libraries Collaborative Research Grant 2024 Fall Round Call for Proposals

Purpose

This program supports collaborative research projects between researchers at the University Libraries and the University of Colorado Boulder academic departments, institutes, and centers. These projects will leverage the library's resources and expertise to explore research questions of significant interest to University of Colorado Boulder researchers. The selection of this program will be through a weighted lottery instead of a formal merit review.

Funding

University Libraries will provide two levels of funding:

$5,000

for each funded project to be completed by the end of June 2025

$5,000 to $10,000

for each funded project to be completed by the end of December 2025

Examples of appropriate use of funds include:

library collections, student wages, materials, and travel expenses critical to research activities. Salary and indirect costs to University of Colorado Boulder employees cannot be charged to this fund. This funding is not intended to supplement University of Colorado Boulder employees' income. For assistance with computing infrastructure, please reach out to program co-directors or directly contact library CTA. We will not accommodate project extensions. By the end of the performance period, all unspent funds will need to be returned.

Guidelines

Each proposal must be submitted by at least two co-PIs: one is a full-time employee at University Libraries, and the other a full-time employee at a University of Colorado Boulder academic department, institute, or center. Postdocs are also eligible. A co-PI on a fixed-term contract must be able to complete the project within the corresponding University of Colorado Boulder employment contract period.

  • Proposals should clearly state what the team is proposing and how it leads to the intended next steps.
  • Proposals should describe how library resources and/or expertise will be leveraged to explore research questions of significant interest to your research area.
  • Project deliverables should be specific, measurable, and achievable within the project period. We encourage deliverables and subsequent research outputs to be made available through open access methods (e.g., CU Scholar).
    • When applicable, we also encourage proposals to take into consideration 1) issues of equity and inclusion and 2) how including a community partner may benefit the project.

By the end of the project, co-PIs will submit:

1. A final spending report.

2. A recorded presentation video and associated slides to showcase project deliverables and research impact.

Additionally, co-PIs may also receive solicitations for surveys and interview requests related to data collection, management, and continuous improvements of this grant program.

Unless specifically requested and reasonably justified, proposals of funded projects will be openly shared via this website when the funding is accepted. Final project presentations will also be openly shared via this website.

Each eligible co-PI may submit at most 2 proposals in each funding cycle. In addition, any co-PI should not expect to work on more than two funded projects in this program in parallel.

All eligible proposals will be entered into a random draw. Proposals not selected for the current funding cycle are encouraged to participate in the next round.

Proposals submitted by the same co-PI teams of previously funded projects or related to previously funded research projects will be put in a low-priority pool for drawing. These projects will have opportunities to receive funding after all new research collaborations are funded.

Program co-directors reserve the right to request additional clarifications on the proposals and decline proposals deemed out of the stated scope of this program.

Failure to fulfill the proposed deliverables within the project performance period may result in co-PIs being temporarily excluded from applying for funding in the next two funding cycles.

Researchers interested in collaborating in this program are encouraged to submit a collaborator profile and reach out to potential collaborators, or reach out to program co-directors at jamie.wittenberg@colorado.edu and vanessa.seals@colorado.edu

Proposal Requirements (3 pages)

  • Title Page (1 page): Title of project, names, and affiliations of co-PIs as well as all other participants
  • Proposal Narrative (2 pages)
    • Problem Statement: What research question does your project address? Describe your overall vision for your project and incorporate a summary of your goals. Why does your proposed project address a research question of significant interest to your research area? How does your project leverage the library’s resources and expertise?
    • Description of the Proposed Project
      • Describe 1) needs in the area you’ve chosen, 
      • 2) deliverables and timeline of the project, and 
      • 3) future publication and funding opportunities and next steps resulting from the project.
    • A brief Budget Breakdown

In addition, please include biosketches or CVs of co-PIs (these do not count towards the proposal page limit).

Important Dates

  • October 2, 2024: Hybrid Open House from 1:30-3pm
  • October 15, 2024: Proposals due. Submit proposals here.
  • November 5, 2024: Awards announced (expected).
  • January 1, 2025: Project starts.
  • June 30, 2025, or December 31, 2025: End of project, funding must be fully spent. Deadline to submit the spending report, presentation video, and associated slides.

Additional Information

Proposals will undergo an eligibility and feasibility review. They will be screened by program co-directors, Jamie Wittenberg and Vanessa Seals, to ensure the proposals are within the scope of this program.

Frequently Asked Questions

All full-time employees at the University Libraries, and all full-time employees at a University of Colorado Boulder academic department, institute, or center. Postdocs are also eligible.

Prospective applicants who are interested in participating but do not have a collaborator can complete our collaborator profile and be matched with an appropriate potential Co-PI.

Yes, if the travel is essential to the proposed research activity, and the University of Colorado Boulder's travel policy applies. Please note that all travel expenses must be incurred within the performance period. Due to various uncertainties associated with travel, we recommend applicants to have a contingency plan if the travel budget cannot be utilized as planned.

Yes, for publications resulting from the proposed research activity. However, all budgeted expenses must be incurred within the performance period. Because the manuscript draft, submission, review, revision, and acceptance process can be lengthy and unpredictable, we recommend applicants have a contingency plan if the publication budget cannot be spent as planned. Additionally, the library has an open access subvention fund that can assist with publication costs.

No. Salary, benefits, and indirect costs for full-time CU Boulder employees cannot be charged to this fund.

Yes, part-time CU Boulder affiliates may participate in and be compensated for projects where two full-time CU Boulder employees serve as co-PIs. Note: this program is not intended to supplement CU Boulder employees' income. Therefore, part-time CU Boulder affiliates' participation period for this program should not overlap with their other CU Boulder contracts.

You should break down the larger project into smaller pieces and use this grant to fund a specific smaller piece of work that fits within the budget and timeline. Putting your project in the context of the larger project indeed shows the potential impact of your proposal.

Yes, both the co-PI collaborators and the substance of the projects need to be different from each other. You cannot submit the same proposal or multiple closely related proposals twice in the same funding cycle. Additionally, any co-PI should not expect to work on more than two funded projects in this program concurrently (except for the summer due to funding cycle overlaps).

No. If you already know your collaborator and what idea you will be submitting, you may directly submit the proposal. However, you are encouraged to submit a profile and/or participate in the Open House to get acquainted with other potential collaborators.

International students' working hour limits are set by immigration law. Please double-check with the ISSS to determine eligibility and include details of that conversation in your proposal.

We hope so, but at this point we do not have a dedicated budget for this pilot seed grant program. The IMLS grant funding will be expended in this round. If we do have future rounds of funding, any proposals that are not funded in round 1 will be prioritized in round 2.