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NSF Support for Sponsored Research Offices at PUIs
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Dear colleagues,
I wanted to share a little more about the award you may have read about in other recent CC publications.
Early in 2023, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the GRANTED initiative (Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity), a new program designed to support the research enterprise by supporting sponsored research officers and others – often staff – who support faculty in developing competitive research proposals.
As NSF explains in its overview of the program, “Principal investigators from emerging and developing research institutions — including R2, R3, and primarily undergraduate institutions and community colleges — often lack the support to help develop meritorious ideas, contact federal program staff, keep updated on federal funding priorities, and assist in the pragmatics of grant submission and award management. This puts talented PIs at these institutions at a disadvantage and prevents the nation from benefiting from numerous impactful scientific advances and the advancement of STEM talent.”
In an effort to address precisely this challenge, CLASP (Colleges of Liberal Arts – Sponsored Programs) was formed in 1996 as an informal email discussion group for liberal arts college professionals whose responsibilities include aiding faculty and staff in the search for and management of external funding support. While CLASP began with representation from only six institutions, there are currently more than 600 subscribers representing 330 institutions.
In March 2023, eight members of CLASP leadership, including yours truly, submitted a conference proposal to the GRANTED program, the bulk of which was based on the preparation for and lessons learned from the in-person CLASP conference hosted at Colorado College in November 2022. A $100,000 award was announced in September! The funding will allow us to hold a series of convenings in 2024 in order to “bring together [Primarily Undergraduate Institution Liberal Arts College] sponsored programs professionals, often the only such professional at their institution, to develop strategies for building the capacity and effectiveness of research administration for a diverse range of institutions; improving outreach to and support for institutions that serve students underrepresented in the sciences (MSIs, women’s colleges); and more effectively representing and advocating for the research contributions of this important subset of Emerging Research Institutions.” Our proposal laid out several ways that the conference grant would provide a foundation for a much larger implementation grant, and NSF program staff have indicated they are eager to receive that.
Importantly, strengthening the CLASP network will allow us to better develop and share information and resources on external research funding for all disciplines, not solely disciplines of interest to the NSF.
If you would like to discuss how to better leverage this network for the benefit of faculty from all small liberal arts institutions – in all disciplines – please reach out.
~Tess
Tess Powers
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More Proposal News!
Assistant Professor Maybellene Gamboa and her collaborator Dr. Meena Balgopal at Colorado State University have been awarded a $299,493 grant, of which $39,637 will be awarded to Colorado College.
Although reading and writing are at the center of scientists’ professional activities, undergraduate students still struggle to evaluate scientific argumentation, resulting in reduced scientific literacy upon graduation. To improve scientific literacy among undergraduates, many courses incorporate analyses of primary scientific literature in their assessments. Yet, little is known about the efficacy of assigning primary scientific literature in improving students’ understanding of biological concepts and scientific reasoning.
In their project, “Reading to Reason in Science (RtRiS): Teaching scientific processes through reading-to-learn in undergraduate biology lecture-based courses,” Drs. Gamboa and Balgopal are testing a reading-to-learn model to understand how deeply reading primary literature may improve students’ critical reasoning in the sciences. Specifically, Drs. Gamboa and Balgopal are working with ecology, evolution, and other introductory biology classes at higher education institutions, including community colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions, and research-intensive, doctoral universities, to help students develop a better understanding of scientific processes and argumentation thought different RtRiS interventions. RtRiS interventions require students to think critically about how evidence is presented in primary literature and are asked to identify support for scientific arguments presented by the authors. In designing, modifying, and implementing RtRiS interventions, Drs. Gamboa and Balgopal aim to determine whether, and to what extent, reading intensive interventions in lecture-based biology classes improve students’ ability to interpret and practice scientific argumentation and, ultimately, scientific literacy.
Congratulations to Dr. Gamboa!
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Funder Spotlight
SciencesPo
Background: “Sciences Po is an international research university, both selective and open to the world, ranking among the finest institutions in the fields of humanities and social sciences. Sciences Po stands out for combining approaches and confronting different worldviews. This tradition of diversity and its multidisciplinary approach makes Sciences Po a reputed player in academic research through its scientific production, an internationally recognized teaching university, an active participant in public debate, and a forum where thought meets action.” Detailed information about their research units, Undergraduate College, and Graduate schools can be found on their website.
Opportunity: In the 2024-2025 academic year (Fall 2024, Spring 2025), Sciences Po will open two visiting faculty positions in the social sciences or humanities, for up to a semester-long stay (14 weeks maximum).
Sciences Po has formed the Open Institute for Digital Transformations, with the objective of promoting a new institutional approach to research and teaching based on reaffirming the importance of social sciences and humanities to the field as well as collaboration between the social sciences and humanities and the natural and computer sciences.
Within this Institute, Sciences Po is calling for applications for visiting faculty from around the world on the transformative role of AI in society and its potential impacts on democracy.
Research proposals may focus on, but are not limited to, the following:
Possible Research Themes
- The economic impact of AI technologies, including the future of work, inequality, productivity, markets and the rise of technology companies;
- AI and the transformation of industries (health, insurance, news, creation and entertainment, research and education, etc.);
- AI law and governance: including regulation of AI technologies, algorithms and their use in social media, digital surveillance, rule of law and constitutional freedoms, challenges and opportunities of AI decision-making in government, geopolitics and global governance of AI, legal issues of generative AI productions, digitalisation of public services and governance, etc
- AI and politics, including the impact on political competition and partisanship; political communication and discourse; political participation, consultations, and elections; democratic innovations;
- AI and the information ecosystem, including fake news, narrative manipulation, personalized amplification, targeted news, and automatic content moderation;
- AI and public opinion, including measurement of public opinion dynamics and potential for deliberation;
- AI and society, including fairness and inequality, hate speech and discriminations, Participative AI and democracy
Application Deadline: December 15, 2023. Please visit their website for more information.
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$250,000 for Biomedical Research
The Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards Program aims to support scientific innovation in Colorado by providing biomedical research funding for early career investigators at Colorado’s leading research institutions and hospitals.
Colorado College is one of eight small institutions eligible to apply for grants of $250,000 to cover up to three years of biomedical research. The grants help these early career Investigators to establish themselves and their research. As a result, they become competitive for major awards from federal agencies and private sources.
Institutions manage their own internal, competitive, and peer-reviewed application processes. If you are an early career researcher at Colorado College who is interested in applying for a grant through the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards Program, please contact Tess as soon as possible so that she can share more information.
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Managing Your Internal Research Account
In September Susan Brickell from the Finance Office discussed a variety of topics related to internal research accounts, including sources of funding, appropriate and inappropriate expenditures, Banner queries, and the monthly report. The session was recorded. Look for the “Managing Your Research Account” button on the Internal Grants Overview page.
Photo by Towfiqu Barbhuiya for Unsplash
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Peace of Advice
If you are interested in exploring external funding opportunities, it’s best if we can connect at least two years before you anticipate needing the funding. This gives us time to identify the best funders, prepare an application (many programs have only one deadline per year), and wait several months to hear back. And with a little extra time also comes peace of mind. ~ Tess
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Help Us Recognize Our Community’s Accomplishments
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CC Accolades
Help us celebrate your colleagues’ accomplishments! Use this anonymous form to share news of publications, creative work, grants and fellowships, and other accomplishments.
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Last year, over $120,000 in Keller Family Venture Grants were awarded to 110 CC students to pursue individual research projects. Some 
