Full Call for 2024 SPROUT Proposals

Cornell Engineering SPROUT Awards From the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies

Cornell Engineering is pleased to announce a continuing, internal funding opportunity directed at supporting teams of investigators pursuing novel research at the intersection of multiple fields. From early demonstrations of collaborative success through establishment of an external funding stream, these awards are intended to grow research partnerships that span disciplines within Cornell Engineering and university-wide. This investment is expected to result in submission of a proposal to an external agency.

For the upcoming year, annual funding of up to $75K-$85K, is available to demonstrated, but fledgling, collaborations to help mature these efforts to successfully pursue competitive, external funding to fully sustain the project. Teams will be eligible to receive two cycles of funding under the SPROUT award mechanism. Previous SPROUT-supported teams are eligible to apply for a second round of funding if you have submitted (or have made substantial progress towards submitting) a full proposal to an outside agency before the end of the first funding period, and it has not yet been supported. These previously supported SPROUTs have a shorter application.

Criteria for application: two or more faculty must be invested in the project. Each faculty member can be associated with only one submission. The faculty lead for the project must have an appointment in the College of Engineering. If the additional faculty participants have appointments in departments on the Ithaca campus, a maximum award of $75K per cycle can be requested. For teams comprised of faculty at other Cornell campuses, a maximum award of $85K per cycle can be requested.

What is a SPROUT?

A SPROUT award will provide support for an interdisciplinary project that was submitted to an outside agency, reviewed well, but was ultimately not selected for funding. Evidence of a positive review must be presented. Support will also be considered for collaborative projects that resulted in publication of a peer-reviewed article since 2022.

How can I use the funds?

Funds are intended to support researchers to advance the project to full proposal stage. Example uses include: graduate student support, postdoc support, and travel between institutions. If more than one researcher is supported, they must be in different labs. Faculty summer salary is not an eligible expense. The goal of this investment is to nurture interesting projects whose scope is outside of the work supported by presently funded sponsored projects.

How to apply?

Please visit Cornell Engineering SPROUT Awards for 2024 SPROUT applications and FAQs There, you will find a link to a form which asks for basic information and includes a place to upload your brief proposal text (page limits below).

Renewal requests for previously funded SPROUTs: Please prepare a 1-page request for additional support that details progress on the project. You must also provide the OSP number for any submitted (or soon to be submitted) proposal that was the intended outcome of the original SPROUT award. For planned submissions, include the name of your PRO team representative, the program you plan to submit to, and your target submission date in your 1 page summary.

For new applications, or those that did not receive prior spout support: Please prepare a 2-page proposal describing the project, its impact, and how the priority research directions in the College are advanced, paying special attention to these points:

Justify why the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and provide the approximate relative weight of contribution from each faculty member.

Explain how this project is interdisciplinary, and how this cross-disciplinary effort can advance the field beyond traditional approaches.

Articulate the planned path to compete for external funds to support the project in its next stages after the SPROUT funding. Please include specific funding opportunities that you will apply for.

Within the body of the proposal, please elaborate on your prior collaborative efforts. If you provided a link to a collaboratively published paper, please indicate how this funding will directly lead to a proposal submission. For a declined proposal, please provide a brief summary of reviewer comments that can be addressed through support from the SPROUT program.

Submit a budget through the on-line form. For internal awards, there is no F&A. We anticipate that the cost of a graduate student for the 2024-2025 academic year will be $60,397 though the cost of health insurance is estimated. Summer stipend rates are $11,590. If you wish to support a student for the full calendar year, please budget for $71,987.

Timing:

This SPROUT cycle runs for a full year. Funds will be available from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. Proposals are due on April 22, 2024.