Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environment's (ICTE) Faculty Research Awards
ICTE is now soliciting proposals from all SBU faculty* for research with datasets
gathered at ICTE's Centre ValBio campus in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. Faculty
who are interested in working with any of these data for the purposes of starting
up a broader project at Centre ValBio are encouraged to apply for a Faculty Research
Award.
The seed grant program aims to give Stony Brook University faculty a competitive edge
in securing external research funds for work at Centre ValBio by supporting and fostering
innovative scientific and scholarly activities that will lead to the development of
proposals with a greater likelihood of success. Successful applicants will be eligible
for up to $15,000 in funding per PI; each award may be shared by a PI and Co-PI, for
up to $30,000.
The application period is open from April 1st, 2024 until June 30th, 2024 at 5PM EDT.
Proposals will be evaluated by SBU faculty reviewers**, and top-scoring proposals
will be notified of their success on or around August 1st, 2024. Once PIs on these
proposals commit to accepting these funds, they will receive their funds and the data
they have requested.
PIs will have 18 months to spend the funds on the proposed activities, including applying
to the external funders identified in the initial proposal. Any funds unspent by that
point will be reclaimed by ICTE. Awardees who fail to secure a grant with their seed
funds will still be eligible to apply for future funds from the ICTE Data Crucible,
so long as they submitted proposals to the external funders identified in their initial
application or an equivalent granting body. Awardees who do not apply for a grant
within 18 months of receiving their award will be ineligible for future funding by
the ICTE Data Crucible.
The instructions to applicants can be found at this link
The evaluation rubric for submissions can be found at this link
The application submission form can be found at this link.
Summaries of the relevant datasets can be found at the following Google Drive link**.
If there are data other than those that are described in the above Google Drive link that you would be interested in working with for the purposes of this proposal, please reach out to ICTE’s Biological Data Manager at data.awards@valb.io as soon as possible in order to determine project feasibility.
Timeline of Data Crucible Seed Grants:
-
- Application period opens: April 1st, 2024 at 12PM EDT
- Application period closes: June 30th, 2024 at 5PM EDT
- Reviews begin: July 8th, 2024
- Reviews end: July 22nd, 2024
- Money and data are disbursed: August 1st, 2024
- Mid-term report due: May 1st, 2025
- Final report due: February 1st, 2026
FAQ
What sorts of data are available for me to work with?
There are a number of datasets that have been cleaned and prepared for use for applicants to this seed grant program, including behavioral ecology data for Propithecus edwardsi (Milne-Edwards’s sifaka), demography and life history data for the same, climatological records (rainfall, humidity, insolation, temperature ranges), insectarium and herbarium collections from around Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar, camera trap data and associated vegetation plots, videographic recordings, and phenological records. To explore a sample of these datasets and more in-depth information on them, check out the data and presentation in the Google Drive at this link.
What sorts of analyses can I do with these data?
You are welcome to use these data in any way you see fit, so long as it is in service of building a novel research project that might plausibly attract future funding from external grantors. Data from these sources can be used for standalone analyses, as part of larger aggregate datasets, as the nucleus around which you collect further data, as ground-truthing for simulation modeling, or any other scientifically valid way.
What kinds of expenses can I spend this grant on?
You can spend the money from seed grants on any justifiable expense for your proposal except summer salary for the PI/Co-PI. Salaries for Ph.D. students and Postdoctoral scholars can be funded in part by these seed grants so long as they work on the work described in the proposal and said work is germane to their course of study and/or professional development. Otherwise, instrumentation, server time, salaries for research assistants, travel and lodging, or any other relevant expense may be included in your proposal’s budget.
Can I support student research with this grant?
Undergraduate and graduate students can be employed with grant funds to collect data or otherwise participate in the execution of the proposal. However, given the requirement that the PI apply for further funding from external grantors, the PI (and Co-PI, if applicable) must take the lead in designing and carrying out the research.
How will funds be disbursed to awardees?
Awardees will receive the funds requested in their budget as a lump sum deposited into a special-purpose Stony Brook Foundation (SBF) account. Funds will be made available to awardees on the 1st of August, 2024, after which PIs/Co-PIs will have 18 months to spend them in pursuit of the research they proposed.
What are the reporting requirements for this grant?
Successful applicants will be required to complete two reports: one (1) at the 9-month
(halfway) mark after the funds have been disbursed, and one (1) at the conclusion
of the grant period. Templates for these reports will be provided to awardees at least
three (3) months before they are due. The reports are intended to track the progress
of research supported by these awards. Failure to complete either report will render
PIs/Co-PIs ineligible for support from this or other future grant opportunities managed
by the Centre ValBio Data Crucible.
What other obligations are incumbent upon seed grant recipients?
Successful applicants will be required to serve as reviewers for 3 future granting
cycles by the Centre ValBio Data Crucible. Awardees will be required to apply for
at least one larger external grant within the 18 month period following receipt of
their awards. Applications for external support are required to include a line item
for funding for the Centre ValBio Data Crucible’s ongoing operations with 10% of the
direct costs requested in the proposal budget, unless such support is prohibited by
the external grantor. Failure to serve as reviewers in future grant cycles, to apply
for external grants, or to include funding for the Data Crucible in the budget of
the external grant solicitation will render PIs/Co-PIs ineligible for support from
this or other future grant opportunities managed by the Centre ValBio Data Crucible.
Can I cost match with other funds available to my research group?
Yes, you are welcome to supplement funds awarded through the Centre ValBio Data Crucible with those available from other sources, so long as the success of the project you propose is not contingent on receiving future grants (i.e. grants that were not awarded prior to the submission of your proposal cannot be relied upon within the proposal).
Can I include more than one co-PI on the project?
No, only one Co-PI can be included on a given grant proposal, and any one faculty member can only serve as PI and/or Co-PI on up to two proposals.
I’ve been awarded a CVB Data Crucible seed grant, but I was unsuccessful at garnering external support. Can I apply again?
Yes! As long as you made an effort to secure external funding, your ability to reapply in future funding cycles is not impacted.
Are there restrictions on how many times I can apply for this grant?
There are no restrictions on the number of funding cycles in a row that you can apply for these seed grants. However, if you are re-applying with the same proposal as you unsuccessfully used in a prior cycle or another grant program, you will need to explain how your proposal has addressed reviewer feedback from previous cycles.
* Titles that require no prior approval from Chair to serve as PI include: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, Distinguished Professor, Clinical Professor, Research Assistant Professor, Research Associate Professor, Research Professor. Individuals with different titles are required to submit a letter from their Department Chair.
** You must be signed in to your Stony Brook account to access this link. Do not share the contents of this link with external persons.
*** Serving as a reviewer will not preclude faculty from applying for funds themselves. Reviewers will be asked to review a maximum of 3 proposals each, and will be use the standard rubric supplied above for quantitatively evaluating proposal quality and the likelihood of receiving external support, with optional spaces for qualitative feedback. To volunteer as a faculty reviewer, please contact ICTE's Biological Data Manager at data.awards@valb.io.
