The Sustainability Institute (SI) is pleased to announce the FY2025 Sustainability Proposal Development Grant Program for The Ohio State University research community. This funding opportunity aims to foster research on sustainability and resilience topics at Ohio State by supporting new interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research teams and lay a foundation for convergence research in one or more of Ohio State’s eight impact areas that tackles pressing sustainability challenges and generates transformative solutions that will make a meaningful impact locally and globally, today and for future generations.
We seek proposal development requests that provide support to interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research teams in the development of proposals for significant external funding opportunities that relate to one or more of Ohio State’s eight sustainability impact areas identified by the Advancing Sustainability at Ohio State (ASOS) visioning process (see Definitions and Key Concepts). New for FY25– Preference will be given to interdisciplinary proposals with a transdisciplinary focus or component that incorporates knowledge from outside higher education and include existing or potential external partners.
Eligibility: To be eligible for this funding opportunity, teams must:
- Include at least one SI faculty affiliate as PI or CoPI.
- Pursue interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary research with team members from two or more distinct disciplines and units at Ohio State.
- Have a specific funding opportunity and timeline identified. Research supported through this proposal development grant should focus on a sustainability and/or resilience topic that clearly considers components and interactions of both human (social, behavioral, economic, or engineered) and natural (geophysical, environmental, or ecological) systems.
Funding is available to support the development of proposals with an anticipated submission date on or before December 31, 2025.
SI anticipates granting awards ranging from $5-35k depending on the size and complexity of the proposal. Proposers are encouraged to use SI funds to leverage other support, either cash or in-kind, from internal or external sources.
SI will accept and evaluate requests for proposal development grants on a rolling basis with awards conditional on the availability of funds. The deadline to submit requests for this round of funding is June 1st, 2025, although available funds may expire before this deadline.
Proposal Instructions and Award Details
Scope of Projects: Grants can be used for the sole purpose of developing interdisciplinary research proposals for mid-to large-scale external funding solicitations (including from federal or state agencies or foundations). Award amounts will be determined relative to the scope and scale of target proposals and must be sufficiently large or strategic [1] to justify the award.
Fund Administration: Grant funds will be transferred to an account designated by the department of the named Principal Investigator (PI).
Grant Duration: Grant funds will be distributed to support the development of proposals with an anticipated submission date on or before December 31, 2025. Failure to submit a proposal by this deadline will disqualify the PI and Co-PIs from submitting SI proposal development requests for two years.
Final Report Notification of Proposal Submission and Award: Grantees will receive 100% of the funds upon notice of the award. Upon submission of the target proposal, PIs will submit the proposal summary (including the total amount requested and how funds were used) to SI as the final report. It is expected that the PI will notify SI of the outcome of their proposal once it has been reviewed.
Funding: Funds may be used for any reasonable expense incurred as part of the proposal development process, including but not limited to, course buyout, GRA, travel, workshop, or contracting for grant writing, project management services, red team review honorariums and more. Any unused funds at the time of the final report shall be returned to SI.
How to Submit: Complete the provided proposal template, which includes a quad chart and a list of prospective team members. Proposals should be saved as a single PDF named using the following format: PI Last Name-First Name-SI- PDProposal. An indication of support from the PI’s department chair is also required. This could take the form of an email or letter, saved as a PDF using the following format: PI Last Name-First Name-SI-PDProposal-LOS. Upload both documents to the Office of Research's funding opportunity portal for Opportunity 5976. Questions: Contact Charlene Brenner, SI Research Development Specialist (614-648-0564).
Review Criteria: All proposals will be reviewed according to the following criteria:
- Potential for Impact: Makes a compelling case for the nature and scope of anticipated scientific, technological, or societal impacts that will result from the proposed research; clearly articulates plausible and measurable outcomes that include increasing research impact, enhancing Ohio State's reputation and leadership in this research area, and supporting research training.
- Team Qualifications: Appropriate representation from multiple disciplines and units, with a clear description of how disciplinary knowledge of team members will be integrated to achieve an interdisciplinary approach. Together the team has a strong track record of success in the foundational research areas. Team members have successfully collaborated on previous projects or proposals.
- Proposal Development Plan and Timeline: Plan for proposal development will support the development of a strong proposal, including a red team review or equivalent; major tasks are clearly laid out and feasible; likelihood of meeting target solicitation deadlines; likelihood of successfully securing external funding.
- Fit with SI: Relates to one or more of Ohio State’s eight sustainability impact areas identified by the Advancing Sustainability at Ohio State (ASOS) visioning process. (See Definitions and Key Concepts.) Takes a systems approach that is inclusive of both human and natural components (see above) and key interactions. Preference will be given to interdisciplinary proposals with a transdisciplinary focus or component that incorporates knowledge from outside higher education and includes existing or potential external partners.
- Leveraging Funds: SI funds will be leveraged with other support for the proposal, either cash or in-kind, from other internal or external sources; these are identified in the proposal.
Notification of Awards: Applicants will be notified via e-mail about the outcomes of their proposals no later than four weeks after submission. A summary of the successful proposals will be published on the SI website.
Acknowledgment of Support: Any presentation or publications resulting from this research should appropriately acknowledge SI. The acknowledgment should read as follows: This work was supported in part by the Sustainability Institute at The Ohio State University.
Important Dates
RFP Released: December 2, 2024
Last Date to Submit for FY25: June 1, 2025
Notice of Awards: Four weeks after submission
Funds Released: Upon successful review
Final Report Due: Upon submission of target proposal
Notification of Results: Upon notification from the funding agency
Footnotes
[1] In general “sufficiently large” is $1 million or more and “strategic” means strong potential to advance SI or University research priorities. Most proposals should meet both qualifications, but we will also consider smaller proposals that are highly strategic.