In This Issue ...

CZI, NASEM launch Science Diversity Leadership Award

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine invite applications for the new Science Diversity Leadership program, which will support projects led by excellent early and mid-career biomedical researchers who—through their outreach, mentoring and teaching—have a record of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in their scientific fields. 

Each grant recipient will be awarded a total of $1.15 million over five years, with the first two cohorts of grantees selected in 2022 and 2023. Investigators leading the grantees’ projects will use funds to support research programs and outreach, mentoring and teaching activities. The PI must lead an independent research laboratory in a university, medical school or nonprofit research institution in the U.S. or a U.S. territory and have started their first independent laboratory no earlier than January 1, 2012. Applications are due May 19.

Learn more and apply.

Space Jam? Join brainstorming opportunity on space medicine

The U-M Space Institute seeks to spur campus-wide cross-disciplinary collaborations to address some of the most challenging problems in the field of space medicine. In addition to helping humans thrive in space, discoveries will have great potential to improve health on Earth, informing areas such as remote care, advanced surgical techniques, and the aging process, among many others. The emergence of a new era of space exploration, combined with funding opportunities from federal agencies and the private sector, provides a unique opportunity for us to develop shared research questions and agendas that will broadly benefit human health.

MICHR and the Space Institute will host a Research Jam in the first quarter of 2022 to collectively vision the future of space medicine at U-M and to begin building a diverse community of interested colleagues. We invite all who are interested in participating in this initial ideation session to complete a brief survey.

Apply for pilot funding from MIDAS

The Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS) is seeking applications to the 2022 Propelling Original Data Science (PODS) pilot funding program. Complete information can be found on the MIDAS website. 

Scientific scope: Proposals should align with the research “pillars” that are MIDAS focus areas for this round.

• Responsible Research Pillar - Enhancing Scientific and Societal Impact
• Data Pillar - Measuring and Improving Society
• Analytics Pillar - Transforming Health Interventions
• Emerging Pillar - Cultivating New Strength
• Methodological Foundations

Letters of intent are due March 4, with full proposals due April 15.

Explore 2021 funded projects

Understanding Cost Sharing 

Jill Jividen, Director of Research Development, OVPR; Andrea Anderson, Assoc. Director, ORSP

Cost sharing is defined as the financial and non-financial (also known as in-kind) resources contributed by U-M to support sponsored projects. Sometimes cost share is required by sponsors and should be itemized in a proposal budget; sometimes cost share is prohibited by sponsors, so applicants don't have an unfair advantage over lower-resourced institutions. Cost share details are usually spelled out in an RFP or a sponsor's general proposal guidelines. The typical U-M practice is to provide cost sharing only when required by the sponsor and only to the extent necessary to meet the sponsor's specific requirements.

Cost share may be quantified (e.g., a percentage of faculty or staff effort) or unquantified university commitments (e.g., services or resources that do not specify value). There may also be other agreements in place across units to support a project, should it get funded. When a U-M proposal states that it will provide a specific, quantified resource without asking for funding to cover the cost, it becomes mandatory or "committed" cost share when the proposal is awarded, regardless of whether the RFP required it. Committed cost share must be tracked and is often required to be included in financial reports to the sponsor.

Whenever cost share is anticipated for a proposal, it is important to plan ahead. Cost share agreements often take time to finalize:  developing budgets, meeting with leadership to get buy-in, drafting request letters to central offices and/or getting MOUs in place to ensure appropriate accounting and compliance.

Recommended steps:

• Read the RFP carefully. Is cost share required? What kind of cost share? Financial or some other support?
• Work with your research administrator early to develop a budget that incorporates needed cost share contributions. Have a good idea of total costs before you make a request to the appropriate leadership.
• Start with your unit leadership. Cost sharing is generally the responsibility of the U-M unit(s) proposing the work.
• Other potential sources of cost share: In some instances (e.g., large, complex, collaborative proposals), cost share may come from a number of sources, including other units, colleges/schools, central administration (e.g., OVPR, Medical School, Rackham) or third parties.

Compliance with federal cost accounting standards requires that cost shared expenses be treated in a consistent and uniform manner in proposal preparation and in the accounting and reporting of subsequent expenses in the financial reports to both federal and non-federal sponsors. Review ORSP's website for more guidance.

Internal Funding 

​All currently open U-M campus-wide internal funding programs are posted in Research Commons.

• OVPR Limited Submissions Policies and Procedures
• Medical School Limited Submissions Homepage
• Questions: UMORlimitedsubmissions@umich.edu

• U-M Library’s Research Funding & Grants Guide or PIVOT Database
• U-M Research Development 
• U-M Foundation Relations

Lessons from the Field: Perspectives on Catalyzing Convergence 

Myth Busting Prop 2: Challenges & Opportunities in Diversifying the Research Workforce

Ask an NIH Program Officer

Research impact metrics? What are they & how can I use them?

Digital Scholarship 101: Understanding Accessibility for Projects

Finding Funding: Identifying Opportunities & Scoping the Grants Landscape