TIER 1: Seed Grant/Proof of Concept Program

The FY25 TIER 1 submission deadline has now passed. Award notifications will be made in April 2024. 

FY25 Transforming Interdisciplinary Experiential Research (TIER) 1: Seed Grant/Proof of Concept Program

This competitive program provides funds to support and encourage individual faculty members to form multidisciplinary teams to secure proof of concept, with a goal of successfully competing for future external sponsored research opportunities. An explicit strategy for securing external funding must be outlined.

Fifteen-month grants of up to $50,000 are available, provided by the College(s)/units and the Provost’s Office. It is expected that all projects will conclude by the end of the grant period and PIs will provide outcome reports related to follow-on external awards achieved as a result of the TIER 1 funding.

We are interested in supporting proposals that align with university and college strategic research priorities, using the “NABC” (Need, Approach, Benefits/Costs, Competition) format to frame their research proposal.  Click here for more information on NABC. Applicants should consult the FY25 TIER 1 College Special Interests/Preferences list and with their Associate Deans for Research, about priority areas for the college. Projects with cross-college collaboration are heavily favored.

 Mentored TIER 1: Mentored Awards will be made in addition to standard TIER 1 awards. Mentored TIER 1 awards will support interdisciplinary research collaboration between an early career tenure track faculty member(s) and a senior tenured faculty collaborator(s) from a different discipline/college in order to advance the development of the early career faculty’s research. In addition to dedicated mentorship, the benefits to early career faculty that could be provided through the interdisciplinary mentored award collaboration might include, for example: training and access to clinical or preclinical materials or subjects; advanced instrumentation or techniques; graduate research assistants; analytics or data sets; joint publications or grant submissions. Mentored Award submissions require a one-page mentoring plan.

New Requirements as of October 2023:

  • PI Funding Limit:

From January 2024, some colleges will limit how frequently a PI can receive TIER 1 funding to no more than every other award cycle. This will apply in the case of both the Contact Co-PI and Co-PI roles. This limit will not apply to any mentored proposals.

If you received a TIER 1 award in the last award cycle (award dates 7/1/23-9/30/24) and your home tenure (or equivalent) college is now implementing this limit (see below for colleges), you will be ineligible to apply for the next award cycle with a deadline in January 2024.

In cases where a PI’s role would be providing a specific research need, such as equipment or expertise that is unavailable elsewhere in the university, some exceptions may be made. If your college has indicated that it will be implementing this limitation, and you feel that your role on a project is an exception, please reach out to the TIER 1 contact for your college to discuss a potential exemption from this rule.

Colleges That Will Limit PI Funding Frequency to Every Other Year: Colleges/Units That Will Not Limit PI Funding Frequency:
BCHS CSSH
CAMD Khoury
COE Mills
COS NUSL
CPS Roux
DMSB
NU London
  • Interdisciplinary/Cross College Requirement:

Beginning with the TIER 1 submission cycle with a deadline in January 2024, all proposals must have a minimum of two PIs, who have their home tenure appointments (or equivalent) in different colleges. For proposals with more than two PIs, there must be a minimum of two different home colleges between the Contact Co-PI and their Co-PIs.

PI Eligibility: All Co-PIs must be considered PI eligible by both their college(s) and by NU-RES PI Eligibility guidelines. If you are not in a college and/or unsure of your eligibility status, please consult with your director or Associate Dean for Research to determine if you are eligible to be a PI.  Library staff are no longer eligible to be PIs on TIER 1 awards but can be named as additional collaborators.

Allowable Budget Components: Funding may not be requested for faculty salary support. Salary support for research scientists is allowed. Graduate students who are included on the proposal must be named if already selected. For positions where a student hasn’t been hired, please list the college from which you intend to hire. All graduate students hired must be able to complete the work within the award period. Tuition is not an allowable charge.

 Submission Limit: It is recommended that investigators apply as Co-PIs on no more than two applications. Faculty submitting or participating in a Mentored TIER 1 application may still submit/participate in up to two additional standard TIER 1 applications.

Review Process: Proposals will be reviewed in a two-stage process beginning with the relevant colleges/units. Proposals that are endorsed will go forward to the SVPR for further consideration. Reviewers are asked to rank proposals based on the NABC format and budget feasibility.

Please review the College Priorities and Submission Guidelines carefully before applying.

For questions regarding the TIER 1 application, submission guidelines, or signature form, please contact Jenna Horan at j.horan@northeastern.edu

For questions regarding PI eligibility and other items related specifically to your proposal, please refer to the TIER 1 College RD Contacts list to the right.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES:

November 9, 2023
FY25 TIER 1 AmpliFund Submission Portal opens

January 18, 2024
Submission Deadline

March 19, 2024
Deadline for Deans to submit endorsed proposals to SVPR

April 24, 2024
Award notifications

July 1, 2024
Start of grant period

September 30, 2025
Conclusion of grant period

TIER 1 College RD Contacts:

 

Contact Research Development:

177 Huntington Ave | Boston MA, 02115