Strategic Collaborative Research and Innovation Fund

The vision of the Wilson College of Textiles is a compassionate world in which textiles enhance sustainability and quality of life for all. We exist to advance the success of our students, and the textile industry in North Carolina, the U.S., and around the world, through teaching innovation, research excellence, strong partnerships and service. The Wilson College Strategic Collaborative Research & Innovation Fund (SCRIF) is intended to support strategic research and innovation initiatives that help Wilson College to remain globally competitive, to secure and nurture research leadership, to enter new research areas, and to address major research challenges with the following three college priorities:

A hyper-collaborative culture rooted in equality of opportunity,
Sustainability in all of our work,
Enhance quality of life for all.

SCRIF fosters collaborative efforts among faculty from different departments/units and disciplines within Wilson College that lead to sustained interdisciplinary research programs and projects. This competitive funding opportunity helps identify areas of Wilson College interdisciplinary strengths that present opportunities for cross-department/unit collaboration and sustainable future external funding. We invite applications from faculty teams across Wilson College. Applying teams must show their qualifications, creativity, and ability to make Wilson College a leader in a significant area of study, as well as the sustainability of the proposed research with external funding.

Eligibility

Proposals may be submitted by teams of tenure-track and/or tenured Wilson College faculty members, who are eligible to submit proposals to external funding agencies. Research professors, postdoctoral research associates and other researchers are not eligible to lead SCRIF awards, but they may serve as co-principal investigators. Each faculty member can only lead one proposal, but may serve as co-principal investigators on multiple proposals.

Award Amount and Duration

One award will be made available for this FY2025 Call, renewable for up to three years. The start date for the selected award will be July 1^st, 2025. The award can be up to $50,000 per year, including financial support for one PhD student.

Proposal Submission Procedure

Proposals for funding should be submitted directly to Xiangwu Zhang, Associate Dean for Research, and Jennifer Clark, Director of Research Administration, by email, no later than January 31, 2025. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted. Applications should be prepared with the specifications noted below under “Proposal Guidelines”. Selections will be announced by March 31, 2025.

Proposal Guidelines

Proposals should consist of the following materials in this sequence by using the provided Proposal Template (submitted as ONE pdf file):

Cover page: Include title, project period, budget request, names of lead PI and co-PIs, and the departmental/unit affiliation of lead PI.
Project description. Up to five (5) pages of text MAXIMUM describing the project. If a Project Description is longer than 5 pages, only the first 5 pages will be reviewed. The project description should be written such that it can be understood by an interdisciplinary research committee. PIs must keep in mind that their proposals are not being evaluated by a discipline-specific committee, but rather by an interdisciplinary one.

The project description should clearly explain how the proposed project will help Wilson College to remain globally competitive, to secure and nurture research leadership, to enter new research areas, and to address major research challenges with a focus on interdisciplinary sustainability research and innovation. The project description should include the following:

Specific Goal(s)/Objective(s)
Background and Innovation/Potential Impact of the Proposed Research Activities
Approach/Tasks
Preliminary Data (if applicable)
Succession plan for receiving future support from external sources (1 Page MINIMUM). The proposal must specifically list the programs and agencies to which future external proposals will be submitted, delineate how the Strategic Collaborative Research & Innovation Fund project will result in competitive external proposals, and include a timeline for submission to external funding organizations.
References cited (no page limit)
A budget and justification of expenses.
The budget should not exceed $50,000 / year.
The budget should include one PhD student, for up to three years. Suggested stipend, fringe and tuition for Year 1 of the project are $23,000, $5,292 and $15,782, respectively.
The budget may include other normally allowable costs of research with the exception of faculty salaries and indirect costs. The fund is to be expended on campus. Exceptions will be allowed in instances where specific techniques/equipment to be used in the research are not available on campus. F&A is not allowed for SCRIF awards.
In addition to budgeted items, other resources can be used to help carry out the proposed work.
Biographical sketches of lead PI and Co-PIs. (NSF-style biographical sketches suggested).
A list of current and pending research projects of lead PI and co-PIs.
Signatures of the Department/Unit Heads for lead PI and co-PIs. Additional signature pages or copies of emails may be submitted if more convenient to demonstrate approvals in different departments/units.

Proposal Review Process and Criteria

Proposals will be reviewed by the Wilson College Research Committee. The Research Committee will make recommendations to the Associate Dean for Research and a decision will be finalized. The selection will be made based on the following criteria:

Strategic – The project is intended to support a strategic initiative to start a new, or significantly develop an existing, area of research activities, which would position Wilson College to be the global leader in a significant field of research and innovation. (25%)
Collaborative – The project is multi-/interdisciplinary and contains lead PI and co-PI(s) from multiple departments/units within Wilson College, i.e., at least one faculty member from TECS, at least one faculty member from TATM, and possibly members from other units. Co-PIs from other colleges are allowed, but the supported PhD student must be from the Wilson College. (25%)
Feasible – The project should have clearly-defined goals and objectives, and well-planned approach and tasks, reasonable time frame for completion of the project, and appropriate budget. The backgrounds and past activities of lead PI and co-PIs are consistent with the proposed project. (25%)
Sustainable – The project should build research capacity and have a succession plan for receiving future support from external sources. The project should identify the programs and agencies to which future proposals will be submitted, delineate how the proposed activities will result in competitive external proposals, and a timeline for submission to external funding organizations. (25%)

Reporting Requirements

Funding success related to the Strategic Collaborative Research & Innovation Fund award will be tracked.

Annual reports must be submitted by the lead PI to the Associate Dean for Research within 30 days of the end of each project year. The report should be prepared by using the provided template. The report should outline the work that was accomplished and describe the proposal(s) submitted to external sponsor(s) as a result of this award in that project year. The award may be terminated if there is a lack of external proposal activities. The following are expectations of external proposal activities.
- End of Year 1: The team should at least be preparing sizable external proposal(s),
- End of Year 2: The team should have submitted sizable external proposal(s),
- End of Year 3: The team should have received external funding to continue and expand the research areas of the proposed area(s).
A final report must be submitted by the lead PI to the Associate Dean for Research within 30 days of the end of the final project year. The report should: 1) outline the work that was accomplished, and 2) describe the proposal(s) submitted to external sponsor(s) and external funding received as a result of this award during the entire project period.
The Associate Dean for Research will also contact the PI via email one year after the end of the approved project period to request information on additional external proposal efforts.

Non-compliant PIs may not be allowed to submit future requests to SCRIF.

Questions regarding this solicitation may be directed to:

Xiangwu Zhang
Associate Dean for Research
(919) 515-6547
xzhang13@ncsu.edu