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• The funding level is between $10,000 and $20,000 per award.

• Awardees will receive a college budget for the awarded amount and will be the budget manager.

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3  Eligibility & Requirements

• Faculty Seed Grants are open to all full-time faculty, including faculty on multi-year appointments.

• Faculty teams may apply.  Inter-departmental teams or teams that include faculty from another AUC institution are particularly encouraged.  In the case of cross-institution teams, the lead must be a qualified Spelman faculty.  Please note that funds from this seed grant cannot be used to support external collaborators.

• Submission of a grant proposal is required (see the “Submission” section for details)

• Prior awardees may not participate in subsequent rounds.

• Funds may not be used to support existing work.  Funds may be used to build on or branch from existing work.

• The budget should clearly support the proposed activity and may include significant personnel support, training, equipment, consultants, and other customary, research-supporting expenditures.  Travel expenses should be avoided unless they can be strongly justified.  Contact the program directors if you have specific questions. 

• These funds cannot be used to support external collaborators, though such a collaborator may be part of the team that eventually targets the larger, external funding opportunity this seed grant aims to encourage.

• Funds may be used to pay (non-collaborator) consultants.

• Applicants agree that if awarded, the funds will be used for the described activity/project only.  Significant deviations from the stated plan should be cleared with the Innovation Lab directors.  Funds must be encumbered by the end of the grant period.  Unused funds should be returned to the program funding pool.

•  Awardees agree to complete a pre- and post- survey  (<15 minutes) conducted by the Innovation Lab.

• Awardees agree to appropriately acknowledge the Innovation Lab and the grant funder (Unity Corporation) in all presentations, publications and communications that directly result from their award.  Poster-quality logos of both entities can be found here. 

• Preference may be given to fund proposals from early and mid-career faculty who do not currently have external funding.

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4  Submission

Applicants must upload a (5-7 page) project proposal that includes an abstract, project narrative, budget, budget justification and suggestions for possible follow-on funding.  The proposal must be in PDF form and should be submitted through the application portal by midnight of the submission deadline.

 

The proposal should adhere to the following content and page  guidelines

 

Cover Page (1 page)

• Proposal title

• Principal Investigator: Full Name, Position/Title, Department, Email

• Co-Principal Investigator(s): Full Name, Position/Title, Department, Email

• Additional Key Personnel: Include First, Middle & Last Name, Position/Title, Department, Email

• Project abstract

 

Project Narrative  (3 page max)

• Describe the proposed area of research inquiry and/or exploration and its alignment to gaming.  What is the area of scholarly inquiry you seek to explore?  For example, “This grant will provide the opportunity to begin our exploration into the uses of mixed reality in early childhood education...”

• Provide a general description of the proposed pilot/exploratory study and how it could lead to further funding. 

• Clearly state why external funding is unlikely apart from receiving seed funding.

• Describe  work done to date if applicable.

• Briefly, describe the project team.

 

Research Strategy (2 pages max): 

• Include an overview of the methodology (detailed methodology is not required) and expected results.  How will you use the funding?  Will it be used to train the PI Team?  Will you be setting up an experiment?  Will you be purchasing equipment?  etc.

• How will these efforts and the resulting data prepare you to procure a larger grant?

• If applicable, describe any preliminary data to be collected, and how this data will strengthen the proposed subsequent grant application.

• Name and describe the potential contributions of all collaborators.

 

Sustainability Plan (1 page max)

• Indicate potential funding sources and types of funding (e.g. NSF, NIH, private foundation, industry, etc.) to be pursued using the preliminary data obtained with this seed grant.  This does not need to be an exhaustive or finalized list.

• Include a timeline for preparation and submission.

 

Budget (no page limit)

• Use the categories below for the budget and justification.  Funds may be used in any customary way to support research, including salary for key personnel. However, these funds are not intended to support external collaborators.  Travel expenses are not encouraged, but permissible with sufficient justification.

• If you are receiving others funds to augment the requested support, please describe the source, amount, and how these funds are used. Matching funds are not required.  

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