Office of the Provost | NYU - Polytechnic Seed Grant Competition

NYU - Polytechnic Institute of NYU
Seed Grants for Collaborative Research

NOTICE: ROUND 2 Updated Guidelines and Application Package are now available. Applications will be accepted from March 23 through April 3, 2009.

Deadline: April 3, 2009 (Round 2)

If a deadline falls on a weekend or a holiday, the application is considered on time if it is submitted by 5 pm on the next business day.

Download Forms

NYU - POLY Application | NYU WS Synopsis Form | NYU SOM Proposal Authorization Form | POLY Proposal Authorization Form

Submit

The competition is now closed

I. Background

The Office of the Provost of New York University has announced the establishment of this program to support collaborative research projects between NYU and Poly. A fund of $5 million will be available over five years, beginning with Academic Year 2008-2009.

II. Highlights

  • NYU anticipates making 10-20 awards each year.
  • NYU anticipates making about 10 awards with an average amount of about $50,000 for the April 3, 2009 deadline.
  • Standardized application packages may be downloaded at http://www.nyu.edu/osp/funding/nyu-poly.php. Instructions for uploading the completed proposal to this Seed Grant site may be found in Section V. B. of these instructions.

III. Eligibility

Eligibility is limited to either regular faculty or research faculty who are eligible to serve as principal investigators on sponsored programs (e.g., Research Professors, Research Associate Professors or Research Assistant Professors).

IV. Review Criteria

Successful proposals will support research projects that initiate or significantly enhance existing collaborations between NYU and Polytechnic Institute of NYU faculty. Projects require one Co-Principal Investigator from each institution.

Evaluation of proposals will consider the following criteria:

  • Potential for strengthening or expanding NYU's existing and future research initiatives
  • Potential for strengthening or expanding Poly's existing and future research initiatives
  • Prospects for future funding
  • Methodology
  • Budget

V. Proposal Process

Proposal Assistance

A. Components

  1. Completed Proposal Application Package (see Section VI for instructions.)The .pdf Forms package may be found at http://www.nyu.edu/osp/funding/nyu-poly.php. This one package contains the application and budget forms.

    When saving this file for upload, filename should begin with the word “Application”.

  2. Project Description & Related Documents (7 pages total)

    a.) Project Narrative (5 pages), Including

    1. details of the proposed research plan, products or resources (maximum 3 pages);
    2. a statement of how the award will reinforce longer term interactions between NYU and Polytechnic beyond the award period;
    3. a description of existing infrastructure and resources which will support the project;
    4. anticipated staffing levels, and
    5. plans for subsequent extramural funding for the project (name funding agencies and programs if known and required level of extramural funding to sustain the project beyond the seed funding stage).

    b.) Literature cited (1 page optional)

    c.) A list (1 page) with names and contact information of 5 individuals whom the proposers consider qualified to evaluate their proposal and with whom they have not collaborated in the past 3 years.

  3. Biographical sketches

    Each submission must be accompanied by a 2-page biographical sketch for each co-PI.  This should be prepared following essentially the format required for by the National Science Foundation for Senior Personnel. See outline below. These should be prepared as one document and saved as one .pdf document.

    Biographical Sketches (limited to two pages each)
    For each Co-PI, list only (NO personal information):

    • Professional degrees and training, from undergraduate to postdoctoral, indicating institution, major or area and year
    • Academic/professional appointments, beginning with the present
    • Five publications most closely related to the project, and up to five others
    • Up to five examples of “synergistic activities” which integrate and transfer knowledge, such as innovations in teaching and training, development/refinement of research tools, problem-solving methods, databases, or service on national boards or committees
    • Collaborators (with institutional affiliations) within last 48 months, including co-editors (on a journal, compendium or conference proceeding) during the preceding 24 months.
    • Graduate and postdoctoral advisors, with current institutional affiliations
    • Thesis advisees and postdocs sponsored during past five years, with total number advised or sponsored.

    Biographical sketches should be uploaded as one .pdf document.  When saving this file for upload, filename should begin with the word "Bios". 

  4. Written Approvals

    Proposals must be accompanied by the written approval of NYU and Poly officials following normal procedures for internal review of proposals for externally funded research.  NYU Washington Square co-PIs may retrieve the NYU Synopsis form at http://www.nyu.edu/osp/pdf/synopsis.pdf.  NYU School of Medicine PI's may retrieve the proposal transmittal form at http://www.med.nyu.edu/spa/assets/transmittal.doc. Poly co-PIs must complete Poly’s Proposal Authorization Form, which can be retrieved at www.nyu.edu/osp/word/PolyProposalform.doc.

    Scan signed approval documents together as one .pdf document.  When saving this file for upload, filename should begin with the word, "Approvals". 

All components, must be received by 5 pm, on the deadline date.

B. Uploading Files

Only individuals with a valid NYU netId may log into this system. If a Polytechnic co-PI does not yet have an NYU netId, the proposal may be submitted by the NYU Co-PI. As an alternative, the Polytechnic Co-PI may submit all of the required attachments via email to nyupoly.info@nyu.edu.

Total file size for all components can not exceed 15mb

1. Complete the three required Components.  Save these documents as noted above.  The Application Form is a .pdf file. 

2. To Submit: The PI should go to the NYU-Poly Seed Grants for Collaborative Research Page at www.nyu.edu/osp/funding/nyupoly/. A prompt will request the PI’s existing NYU username and password.

Step 1. Complete Personal Information – Click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page.

Step 2. Enter Application information – Form will automatically fill in the date and netid.  The application number will be assigned by the system.

Enter Title: Do not exceed 85 characters

Upload the files identified above

Click the “Continue” button at the bottom of the page

Step 3. Verification and Submission

This page will display PI personal information from Step 1 and Application Information from Step 2. 

Review to ensure accuracy and that the uploaded files are correct and ready for submission.

IMPORTANT: At this point, if you wish replace files or make corrections, revisions can be made by clicking on Step 1, or Step 2 and making corrections prior to submission.

When all information has been verified, click on the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page.

The submission process is complete.

3. Corrections

Once a proposal has been submitted, the application may be updated at any time until the deadline of 5 pm on the deadline date.

To update the application, login with your NetID and password at http:www.nyu.edu/osp/funding/nyu-poly.php.  The system recognizes that you have a proposal on file and will take you to the status page.  From there, follow the link near the bottom of the page that says "Update Information".  This will take you to a page displaying all the information currently on file.  Information may be updated and files replaced until the deadline for submission. 

C.  Review Procedures

Awards will be made on a competitive basis of external peer review and internal review by a joint committee of NYU-Poly faculty and administrators. Decisions (fund/not fund) are expected to be made in mid-January (Round 1) and early June (Round 2).

D.  Awards

Awards for an initial one-year period start no earlier than February 1 (Round 1) or June 1 (Round 2). Once the award is acknowledged, and conditions set forth by the review Committee are accepted,  an account will be established by the Controller’s Division.

E.  Reporting

All award recipients are asked to submit a final report on the outcomes of their research to nyupoly.info@nyu.edu. 

VI. Proposal Format

The Application Package may be found on the NYU-Poly Seed Grants for Collaborative Research website at http://www.nyu.edu/osp/funding/nyu-poly.php

PLEASE READ ALL DIRECTIONS BEFORE COMPLETING AN APPLICATION.

For all proposals:

  • Erasing existing headers on pages is not allowed.
  • No appendix material is allowed, other than described above in Section VA “Components”.
  • Write clearly and concisely for an educated lay audience.
  • Avoid jargon, and spell out acronyms when used for the first time.

A. Proposal (Forms)

The application is formatted for appropriate typeface and spacing requirements.

1.0 Face Sheet (1 page)

  • List name and contact information for both Principal investigators.
  • Project Title should not exceed 85 characters..
  • Indicate current or pending support from any source, including start-up funding from NYU or Polytechnic. If yes, complete Current & Pending form for both PIs.
  • Requested amount should match budget total.

2.0 Biosketches - Upload separate .pdf file

3.0 Current & Pending Support

  • Identify sponsor, project title, role on the project, project period, and total amount. (Approximations are adequate.)
  • Check type and status boxes; provide additional information, if applicable.
  • Report all institutional sources of support, including start-up funding and summer salary provided by the school or department.

4.0 Project Description & Related Documents - Upload a single .pdf file

B. Budget

Instructions are included in the application form. Separate budgets will be required for NYU and Poly components. The application form provides a separate template for each of these budgets.

5.0 Budget & Justification

  • Specific constraints:
    • Salary is not permitted for co-Principal Investigators, or collaborating faculty or others with PI status.
    • Equipment

The Committee will consider requests for acquisition of special purpose equipment critical to the research, but not for related installation or O&M.  Costsharing from other sources, internal or external to the institutions, is strong encouraged.

    • Travel

Funds requested for travel must be justified by project objectives, and not for routine meetings to present results.

    • Do not include indirect costs.
  • Justification:
    • Explain the responsibilities of the person(s) for whom salary is requested.
    • Provide detail on travel, including destination(s) and relation to proposed project.
    • Explain briefly ALL other-than-personnel-services (OTPS) expenses.
    • Any cost items not obviously necessary to the success of the project are at risk of being deleted by the Committee if not carefully justified.


If you have any questions about the procedures or forms, please email nyupoly.info@nyu.edu or call (212) 998-2121.