Call for Proposals: UNC Galapagos Seed Grants

Seed Grants

“Seed” grants are available for research projects in the Galapagos Islands. Our goal is to promote research by UNC faculty in the Galapagos archipelago of Ecuador as part of a pan-university Galapagos Initiative and the newly formed Center for Galapagos Studies.

Applications are welcome from faculty throughout the university. The deadline for submission of a proposal is November 25, 2009. Seed grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded to support the development of research proposals to outside funding agencies within one year.

Evaluation Critieria

Each proposal for seed funds will be evaluated by a faculty committee based on the following criteria:

1. The quality of the proposed project,
2. development of a strategy for securing external funding,
3. and record of scholarly achievement of the faculty member(s), given the career stage of the applicant(s).

Proposal Elements

The proposal should include these elements:

1. Cover sheet:  Include a title as well as names and departments of faculty involved.
2. Project description:  A brief description of the project, including the approach/methods, expected outcomes, a research timeline, a plan for developing a research proposal for outside funding, and a proposal development time-line.
3. Budget:  Include a justification and description of any matching funds or resources from the PIs home department or other sources.  (Note that matching funds are not necessary for a successful seed grant application.)
4. Vita:  Include CVs for all faculty who are involved in the seed grant application.
   

Collaboration among faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill and/or the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), our partnering institution in Ecuador, is encouraged but not required. CVs should be included for any USFQ faculty involved.

Requirements

As part of the Center for Galapagos Studies committing seed funds to a faculty member or a group of faculty members, it is expected that a proposal for external funding be submitted through the Center for Galapagos Studies. Work conducted using this seed funding should be completed within one year.

Any work undertaken using funds from this seed grant that involves human subjects must obtain IRB approval, and research using any vertebrate animal requires prior IACUC permit approval. All funded projects working inside the Galapagos National Park and Marine Reserve must adhere to the field permit policies and procedures described on the Galapagos National Park web site.   Similar English-language information can be found at the web site for scientists visiting (PDF) the Charles Darwin Foundation.

Questions and Proposal Submission

Please contact Phil Page, Program Manager, Center for Galapagos Studies (philpage@unc.edu; 966-7668) with any questions and to submit proposals (by email).

A PDF version of this call for proposals is available here.