Greetings, faculty!
Please see the list of announcements, funding opportunities, and resources below. Archives of previous updates are available on ORSP’s blog.
Announcements
- ORSP will be closed on Friday, March 29 for the Spring Holiday. We hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!
- The April Meetup for Researchers will be held from noon – 1:15pm on April 12 in the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (2nd floor Mapp Building). The speaker is Dr. Charleson Bell, Hub Director of the NSF Mid-South I-Corps Hub and co-PI & State Director of the NIH Mid-South Research, Evaluation and Commercialization Hub at Vanderbilt University. Lunch will be provided. Click here to register.
- The Clarence E. Harris Chair of Excellence in Entrepreneurship is hosting AI Conversations: An Innovation Exchange between Campus and Community from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on April 17 at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Mapp Building. Lunch is included; click here to register.
- NIH is hosting a webinar from 1-2 pm ET on April 17 on the implementation and impact of the Simplified Review Framework for Research Project Grants on funding opportunities. Click here to learn more and register. The event will be recorded and the slides made available 24 hours before the webinar.
- ORSP, ORI and our campus and UT systemwide colleagues are working on a multi-phase roll-out of the DASH Researchsuite as a companion to the DASH financial enterprise system.
- DASH Research will replace Cayuse, current IRB procedures and other research administration solutions over the next three years. Incorporating a comprehensive suite of software modules developed by Huron, DASH Research will reduce the administrative burden on faculty researchers, research administrators and other support staff while also improving the effectiveness of our compliance programs.
- The DASH Research implementation process is guided by broad-based stakeholder groups representing key constituencies of UT. Please see the complete list of project team members for more information about colleagues participating in this effort.
- Current efforts are focused on preparation to implement the Employee Compensation Compliance (ECC) and Conflict of Interest (COI) modules by July. The ECC module will support effort certification, and the COI module will support the outside interest disclosure process and the creation of necessary COI management plans. These two modules replace functionality formerly within IRIS.
- In April, we will begin the implementation of the Grants and Agreements module, which will replace Cayuse. Work on the IRB module will kick off in November. Both modules are slated to go live by July.
- At your convenience, please review the DASH Research communications hub to see the latest updates and implementation timelines. We encourage you to join the community and stay informed.
Reminders
- All UTC employees are required to complete an Outside Interest Disclosure form after August 1 each year. For sponsored projects, all named project personnel (regardless of their role on the project) must have a current OID on file before the proposal can be submitted to the sponsor and before an award can be accepted. “Current” is defined as having been submitted after August 1 annually. See ORSP’s webpage for the OID preparation guide for researchers.
- The UT System has launched the Grand Challenge Grants program, soliciting proposals for innovative projects poised to impact one of three areas: Strengthening Rural Communities, Overcoming Addiction, and Advancing K-12 Education. The program is open to faculty and staff at all UT campuses. Visit the program webpage to learn more. Applications are due April 30. Register here to be added to the contact list for upcoming virtual information sessions.
Funding Opportunity Interest Surveys
| Sponsor/Program | Internal Deadline | Limitations or Special Considerations |
| NIH R15 Interest Survey | April 15, 2024 | See the description in InfoReady Review for PI eligibility. There are three deadlines per year February 25, June 25, and September 25. |
| NSF REU Interest Survey | April 15, 2024 | There are no PI eligibility limitations; see the description in InfoReady Review for REU Site project requirements. Full proposals are due to NSF on August 21, 2024. |
Other Funding Opportunities
If you are interested in applying to any of the opportunities below, please notify ORSP at least 4-6 weeks in advance of the deadline. Proposals with fewer than 5 business days notice may face barriers to submission. More information about ORSP’s proposal development timeline and services is available here.
| Sponsor/Program | Deadline | Limitations or Special Considerations |
| NSF Confronting Hazards, Impacts and Risks for a Resilient Planet (CHIRRP) | Concept Outlines: May 6, 2024 | Full proposals (all types) are due June 6, 2024. |
| NSF Mathematical Foundations of Digital Twins | June 20, 2024 | Awards are for collaborations involving at least two PIs or co-PIs for 36 months. An individual may serve as PI or co-PI on only one proposal OR award at a time. |
| NSF Data Science Corps | June 21, 2024 | An individual may serve as PI, co-PI, or other Senior Personnel on only one proposal per competition deadline. |
| NSF Foundations for Digital Twins as Catalyzers of Biomedical Technological Innovation (FDT-BioTech) | June 21, 2024 | An individual may serve as PI or co-PI on only one proposal per competition deadline. A minimum of two collaborating Senior/Key Personnel, with participation from both the mathematical sciences and at least one of the domain knowledge disciplines such as the biomedical sciences or computer science with cyberinfrastructure development expertise is required. |
Sponsored Projects Policy Spotlight: Intellectual Property
The Intellectual Property: UT Statement of Policy covers your rights and what to do if you invent or create something while working on a university grant, contract, or other externally-sponsored activity. Intellectual property include inventions, discoveries, products, computer code and software, written materials, methods, recordings, arts, crafts, and technology-based academic materials. See more information at the Walker Center for Teaching and Learning’s IP webpage.
The University of Tennessee Research Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes the commercialization of UT intellectual property, encourages an entrepreneurial culture, contributes to state and regional economic development, and promotes research and education to benefit the people of Tennessee and beyond. While UTRF is a separate entity from UT, it provides assistance and resources to the research activities of faculty, staff and students of the UT system (including campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Martin, the Health Science Center in Memphis, the state-wide Institute of Agriculture, the UT Space Institute in Tullahoma, and the UT Institute of Public Service). UTRF works to help move ideas to the marketplace.
Best,
Ashley Ledford,
Director of Pre-Award Services
Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
Book a meeting with me!