We are pleased to announce the launch of the 2022 One Health Initiative Research Seed Program (Small Grants) competition. Click on the link below to view more information. Thank you!
 

• Internal Submission Deadline: Tuesday, February 1, 2022
• Award Cycle: FY 22
• Discipline/Subject Area: Seeds
• Description:

2022 One Health Initiative Research Seed Program

Purpose

The University of Tennessee’s (UT) One Health Initiative (OHI) announces the 2022 call for proposals for the OHI Research Seed Grant Program. This grant program offers internal funds to support and grow collaborative One Health research projects across the University of Tennessee system. The goal of the program is to create transdisciplinary synergies among faculty, staff, students, and external collaborators that embrace a One Health approach to investigations.

The 2022 program will distribute awards (multiple of up to $40,000 each) that foster/stimulate cross-cutting research, education, or outreach efforts in any of the following focal areas: (1) wildlife, livestock, plant, and human health, (2) real-time monitoring of farm and environmental conditions, (3) smart data analysis and multi-scale mathematical modeling, and (4) quantifying economic impacts of current issues requiring a One Health solution. Additionally, one award (up to $40,000) will be available in partnership with the Tennessee RiverLine exploring healthy, living shorelines on the Tennessee River; and another award (up to $40,000), which is globally-focused, will be available in partnership with UT’s Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture and the Center for Global Engagement to address one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Preference will be given to studies conducted on one of the UT AgResearch and Education Centers or similar UT stakeholder property. Awards will support pilot transdisciplinary research endeavors that acquire novel data, as well as projects with a link to One Health education or outreach initiatives. Awards are expected to lead to publications and increase the team’s likelihood of acquiring new external funding. To qualify, there must be logical transdisciplinary collaborations between two or more UT colleges or affiliates. Proposals that include modeling work are encouraged to partner with NIMBioS as well.

The seed award must generate at least one proposal submission to an external funder no later than six months after the seed award end date. To satisfy this deliverable, the seed award team members must jointly submit a proposal to an external funder (e.g., NIH, USDA, State of Tennessee, American Cancer Society), and the lead submitting institution must be UT or UT Institute of Agriculture (UTIA). Examples of proposals that do not satisfy this deliverable include proposals submitted to other internal University of Tennessee funding sources (e.g., One UT, Science Alliance, UT Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, any other UT seed opportunity) or subawards on another institution’s submission (i.e., not led by UT or UTIA). Seed proposals that commit to pursue external funding targets with budgets of $500,000 or more are strongly encouraged.

Proposals are due by 11:59 (Eastern) PM on 1 February 2022.

Eligibility

Proposals are invited from all UT system faculty. Each proposal must have one PI and either an additional PI or one or more co-PIs representing two or more UT colleges or affiliates.

The PIs and co-PIs must:

• Be UT system faculty or research scientists, including tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure-track.
• Be eligible to apply for external funding.
• Serve as lead PI on no more than one One Health Initiative Research Seed application.

External Collaborations

Eligible applicants are encouraged to collaborate with faculty from other higher education institutions, researchers from ORNL, state agencies, or researchers from corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). However, the OHI funding can only be allocated to UT department(s). If any external collaborators are involved, the roles of each must be clearly articulated in the proposal. Proposals should demonstrate how each contributor’s research is integrated to accomplish the research objectives and how the collaboration is important in the context of One Health.

Budget and Project Duration

Period of Performance: Projects will have from 1 April 2022 to 1 August 2023 to complete the project.

Award Amount: Maximum total budget of up to $40,000. Six grants are expected to be awarded.

Use of Funds

Funds may be used for activities directly related to the research: salaries and benefits for research trainees (students, postdocs), research supplies, equipment/facility recharge, some travel, etc. Travel to federal agencies and proposer workshops is strongly encouraged and is likely to help obtain further external funding. Funds will be available soon after awards to a PI’s new budget account created by the business manager of the affiliated department. Allocation of funds to the Co-PI’s account can be arranged and should be clearly presented in the budget template (see Primary and Co-PI budget worksheets).

Funds may NOT be used for faculty salary, course buyouts, administrative staff, seminar speakers, or conferences. Consultant costs may be considered. No indirect costs (or F&A) will be allowed. All funds must be expended by the end of the project period unless an extension is approved by the OHI leadership team.

Deadlines

The internal proposal submittal deadline is 11:59 PM (Eastern) 1 February 2022. The estimated date for notice of award is 15 March 2022, and projects will have a start date of 1 April 2022.

Application Instructions

Format: Single-spaced, 12-point font with one-inch margins. (Please note the maximum page limits for each section.) Proposals should include the following sections:

4.  Research Plan (three-page limit):

1. Background. What is the One Health problem that you are investigating and what is known about it?
2. Hypothesis and Objectives. What are you trying to do? Articulate your objectives using minimal jargon.
3. Methods. How will you test your hypothesis(es)?
4. Significance. To whom would this project be important (in the context of One Health)? If you are successful, what difference will it make? Explain the high-level importance of the problem or critical barrier that the project addresses.
5. Expected Outcomes. Summarize the expected outcome(s) of your study.
6. Broader Impacts. What are the broader impacts of your study? This might include things such as training and outreach.
7. External Funding Strategy. What external funding agency are you planning to target? Please provide program name, focus area, funding level, expected deadline (month/year), and likelihood of success.

5.  Budget with breakdown of cost categories (see Budget Template).

6.  References (one-page limit).

7.  Current and Pending Support for PI and senior personnel (see PI Current and Pending Support List template).

8.  CVs (two-page limit per investigator).

If you have any questions about the application process or the seed program, please contact Alyssa Merka ([log in to unmask]).

Review Criteria

Proposal reviews will be conducted by UT system faculty members who will be identified by the OHI leadership team. Deans, Directors, or Department Heads of the PI and Co-PIs may also be asked for input on the importance of the project for their college or department. Evaluations will be based on these criteria (see rubric for how each is weighted):

9.  Merit and Significance: Does this project promote research and training in One Health? Will it broaden the horizon for future One Health research? Is this a One Health question or problem for Tennessee? Is a collaboration between multiple UT campuses/units involved?

10.Feasibility and Approach: Are the proposed research plans, methods, and analyses appropriate? Will the methods and analyses achieve the objectives of the project? Are adequate resources (expertise, tools, equipment) included in the proposal?

11.Innovation and Differentiators: Does the project leverage new theories, tools, or applications to advance the field of One Health? Will the project shift the current paradigm in the field of One Health? Are technical or intellectual innovations included in the proposal?

12.External Funding Strategy: Does the project align with the funder identified? Is it reasonable to expect that, in addition to alignment, funds will be available in the future (i.e. targeted program is not sunsetting and is of continued interest to the funder)? Is the PI viable from the target funder’s perspective? Is there potential alignment with other funders not mentioned in the proposal?

OHI participation, Progress Tracking and Reporting

Awardees are expected to participate in OHI activities, including a seminar series, for the duration of their funding and up to three years post-funding. Awardees will be expected to deliver at least one OHI-sponsored presentation on their study to the UT and/or community-wide audience.

Awardees are expected to submit at least one external proposal based on the research six months from the end of the project. Awardees are expected to provide monthly updates to the OHI for updating website information (all awardees will be featured on the OHI website). Awardees must submit a brief progress report (template to be provided) to OHI leadership team at the end of the first year and a final project report within 60 days of the award period end. The final report should include results of the research, new funding targets identified during the process, efforts underway to obtain external funding, and efforts to generate publications. Also, the PI of the funded project will be asked to submit brief follow-up reports annually for three years regarding extramural funding, publications, and relevant training/outreach activities.

Project timeline:

Activity	Date(s)
Announce 2022 One Health Initiative Research Seed Program	29 November 2021
Proposal due	1 February 2022
Proposal review	1 February 2022 to 1 March 2022
Administrative proposal review and final approval	1-15 March 2022
Award notices issued	15 March 2022
Start date	1 April 2022

 

View competition