Textiles Research Opportunity Seed Fund

The Wilson College Research Opportunity Seed Fund targets interdisciplinary, faculty-initiated research projects with potential for extramural support. It is expected that competitive proposals for sizable projects will be submitted to external funding organizations within a year of the completion of the Research Opportunity Seed Fund period.

Research Opportunity Seed Fund projects should be innovative, support institutional missions, align with the Wilson College Strategic Plan, and have strong potential for receiving future funding from external sources. Research Opportunity Seed Fund awards are not intended to support on-going projects. Instead, they should support new projects (not a supplement to current research) and/or new collaborative partnerships. Research Opportunity Seed Fund proposals should identify the programs and agencies to which future proposals will be submitted, delineate how the proposed activities will result in more competitive external proposals, and a timeline for submission to external funding organizations. To encourage collaboration, proposals must be multi-/interdisciplinary and contain lead PI and co-PI(s) from at least two departments/units or from the same department/unit, but different disciplines.

Eligibility

Proposals may be submitted by any tenure-track or tenured Wilson College faculty member, who is eligible to submit a proposal to an external funding agency. Research professors, research associates, as well as postdoctoral research associates, are not eligible to lead Research Opportunity Seed Fund awards, but they may participate as co-principal investigators. Each Faculty member can only submit one proposal.

Award Amount and Duration

Awards can be up to $10,000 per project and will become available in Spring 2025. The maximum number of awards for the Spring 2025 competition is two (2). Although awards are for Spring 2025, the funds would be available for use until the end of June 2026. A no-cost extension for one additional year until June 2027 may be approved with appropriate justification.[1] After that time, any balance will revert to the College ROSF fund.

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 5:00 PM, Friday, November 15th, 2024. 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 the end of January 2025. PINS records will be created for the proposals that are selected for funding.

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 three (3) pages of text MAXIMUM describing the project. If a Project Description is longer than 3 pages, only the first 3 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 include the following:
Specific Goal(s)/Objective(s)
Background and Innovation/Potential Impact of the Proposed Research
Approach/Research Design
Preliminary Data (if applicable)
Plans for continuing external support (1 Page). Proposals must specifically list the programs and agencies to which future external proposals will be submitted, delineate how the proposed Research Opportunity Seed Fund project will result in more competitive external proposals, and a timeline for submission to external funding organizations.
References Cited (no page limit)
A budget and justification of expenses.
Budgets should not exceed $10,000.
The budget may include all normally allowable costs of research with the exception of faculty salaries and indirect costs. Research opportunity Seed Fund awards are 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. There are no Indirect Costs associated with Research Opportunity Seed Fund 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:

New research – The project is not intended to support on-going research of the PI and co-PIs. Instead, it should support new research area (not a supplement to current research). (15%)
Interdisciplinary research – The project involves faculty from at least two departments/units or from the same department/unit, but different disciplines. (15%)
Specific goal(s)/objective(s) – The goals and objectives of the project are clearly defined in terms of research focus. (10%)
Background and innovation/potential impact of the proposed research – The project contributes and does not duplicate former research pertaining to the problem area. (10%)
Approach/research design – The proposed approach and research design are adequate to address the topic of interest. This section should include design description/analysis, time frame for completion of the project, and resource requirements availability. (10%)
Plans for continuing external support – The proposed project has high potential for receiving future funding support from external sources. (20%)
Budget – The proposed budget is appropriate for the project and all line items are sufficiently justified. (10%)
Qualification of lead PI and co-PIs – The backgrounds and past activities of lead PI and co-PIs are consistent with the proposed project. (10%)

Reporting Requirements

Funding success related to the Research Opportunity Seed Fund award will be tracked.

A final report must be submitted by the lead PI to the Associate Dean for Research within 30 days of the end of the approved award period. 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.
The Associate Dean for Research will also contact the PI via email one year after the end of the approved award period to request information on additional external proposal efforts.

Non-compliant PIs may not be allowed to submit future requests to Research Opportunity Seed Funds.

Questions regarding this solicitation may be directed to:

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

[1] The seed funds are Facilities and Administrative (F&A) receipts. Please understand, as Institutional Trust Funds, the F&A receipts are generally available for carry forward from the current fiscal year to the next fiscal year with approval by the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation or the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration. Therefore, we ask that you plan your expenditures carefully between the time your funds are awarded and the end of the fiscal year June 30th. If it looks like you will not spend all of your funds by June 30th, we will make every effort to request they be carried over, but please understand that there is no guarantee.