As a central pillar of our strategic partnership, Durham University and the University of Notre Dame are delighted to announce the second round of the DU-ND Seed Grant Programme for the 23/24 academic year. Through this jointly funded, jointly advertised programme both institutions are inviting proposals for joint research projects with the potential to both achieve international recognition and to generate continued external research funds for both partners. Project selection for the Seed Grant Programme will be competitive and made jointly by ND and DU.

This call will open on 8th January 2024 and will close on 22nd March 2024. The call is open to all disciplines though both institutions have identified the following priority themes: Health & Wellbeing; Environmental Sustainability; Social Justice; and Security. Further information on these priority themes, call guidelines and how to apply are available below. 

For DU applicants: Please note, all projects should be costed and approved by your department via Worktribe before the submission of your application. Please contact ris.funding@durham.ac.uk for support with this. Any general enquires about the scheme can be directed to international.partnerships@durham.ac.uk

Funding and Awards

• Awards up to $25,000 (£20,000) will be made for each joint research project.
• It is anticipated that there will be up to 6 awards.
• The funding will be available for joint research projects of between 12 months to 24 months duration.
• The ND-DU Seed Grant projects can run anytime during the period from 1 August 2024 to 31 July 2026.

Priority Research Themes

This call is open to applications in all disciplines. However, applications aligned with the following pillars will be prioritised. These pillars may be interpreted broadly, with the indicative sub-themes representing areas of DU-ND synergies and/or bilateral US-UK research priorities:

1. Health and Well-Being
   1. Health beyond the clinic, including the social determinants of health, health disparities and inequities, and everyday experiences of health and illness.
   2. Global and planetary health: the interface between human health, environmental sustainability and social justice.
   3. Bioengineering and life sciences

2. Environmental Sustainability
   1. Clean energy transition
   2. Impacts of climate change and extreme weather
   3. Environmental sustainability and resilience

3. Social Justice:
   1. Causes of poverty and inequality
   2. Policy solutions to address inequities
   3. Religion and social justice

4. Security
   1. Food security, including agri-tech.
   2. International security, including defence, development and diplomacy.
   3. Cybersecurity
   4. Health security

Criteria and Outcomes

It is expected that the Seed Grant funding will lead to an application for external funding and the proposal should therefore address the following:

• The anticipated external funding body
• The anticipated value of the current grant application and anticipated research output to that external funding application
• Timeframe for submission to that external funding body

Plans for international dissemination of the research output should be outlined in the proposal.

Proposals should be in keeping with the strategic plans of both institutions:

• DU: University Strategy - Durham University
• ND: https://strategicframework.nd.edu/notre-dame-2033-a-strategic-framework/

Expenses for the ND Seed Grant Programme

Full details of all anticipated costs/activities must be clearly itemized. The budget plan should indicate spending over the full duration of the proposed project. Budget justification will be required. Application review will include a review of eligibility, scale and appropriateness of requested expenses.

Expenses for the ND Seed Grant Programme can be used for the following:

• Consumable costs for a proof-of-principle study
• Travel expenses* for faculty and students to meet, plan research and review research results
• Costs associated with organizing meetings and workshops (e.g., rooms, catering, etc.,)
• Assistance from a research assistant **

Exceptional eligible expense

• External Consultancy Fee (the applicants must provide a very strong argument/justification for the inclusion of these costs)

Ineligible expense

• Computers, Software, Equipment***
• Faculty Salary
• Teaching buy-out
• Business start-up costs
• Tuition fees or stipends

*For budgeting purposes, the average cost of accommodation (per room per night) is $140 at Notre Dame and £95 in Durham. Flights between Indiana (ND) and Newcastle airports (DU) vary in cost throughout the year but are on average around £900/$1150 per person (return) when booked in advance.

**Where short-term assistance from a research assistant is requested on a taxable fee basis, the name of the research assistant must be provided, the scope of their engagement detailed, and the proposed dates of engagement provided. Employment contracts must be in line with the host university’s recruitment procedures and policies. It is expected that the research assistant will be fully directed by the lead applicant. The engagement of an RA must be fully justified in the proposal.

***By exception only requests for items of equipment are considered though not encouraged. For any such requests the applicant must be able to demonstrate that the items are both absolutely necessary and not available from other sources.

Eligibility

Applicants must hold an academic position at either Durham or Notre Dame. Lead applicants must be eligible to be a PI as per internal guidelines at their institution.

Projects incorporating Early Career Researchers (ECRs) or postgraduate research students are encouraged.

How to Apply

Proposals are to be prepared jointly and submitted by the Lead Applicant (Lead Principal Investigator). To initiate the proposal development effort for the Seed Grant Programme, Notre Dame faculty and Durham faculty must take the lead in reaching out to each other in their area of expertise. Applications are to be submitted through the joint Application Form and will need to include the following information:

• Title
• Project Dates (Start and End Date)
• Lead PI Information (Name, email, position held and college/school affiliation)
• Lead PI Institution (ND or DU)
• Co-Lead PI Information (Name, email, position held and college/school affiliation)
• Co-Lead PI Institution (ND or DU)
• Abstract (100 words maximum)
• Project Description:
• Overview of the project activities, including its goals, purpose and core (research) area into which this project fits (max 200 words)
• How and when will project take place (max 100 words)
• Briefly outline the expertise of the faculty participants for the project. (maximum 200 words)
• Description of how this project will lead to future grant success including time scales for future external grant applications and approximate value of any identified call (max 200 words)
• Description of how joint working between Durham and Notre Dame Universities adds value to this particular project and how it aligns to the research strategies and enhances our universities’ collaboration overall.
• Budget and Budget Justification (Budget Sheet within application)
• ND and DU CVs (maximum 2 pages each)
• Communication of support from Chair/Head of department of both Lead PI and Co-PI

For DU applicants: Please note, all projects should be costed and approved by your department via Worktribe before the submission of your application. Please contact ris.funding@durham.ac.uk for support with this.

Application Documents

To access the joint application portal, please see here.

For a full list of application questions, please see DU-ND Seed Grant 23/24 Application Questions. 

Application Timeline

Launch: 8 January 2023

Deadline: 22 March 2024

Selection Panel: April 2024

Notifications expected May 2024

Selection Process

Proposals will be jointly evaluated by a senior faculty panel from both ND and DU. Where possible, it is hoped to select an equal number of ND-led and DU-led projects.

Applications will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• Academic quality of the proposed joint research including scope, significance and originality
• Importance of funding for the anticipated future success of external funding grant applications
• Clarity of goals, including the potential external funding source(s) and timeframe for submission
• Alignment with the strategic goals of both universities

Reporting Requirements

A Project Completion Report must be completed by award holders on completion of the work defined in the funding application. . For 2-year projects, a progress report is due at the end of the first year. Submissions to external funding agencies are to be reported and provided to the contacts at the respective institutions.

External Joint Funding Opportunities

For a non-exhaustive list of potential UK, US, and bilateral UK-US funding opportunities, see here

Contacts

Durham: international.partnerships@dur.ac.uk

ND: geraldine.meehan@nd.edu