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Research Development Office
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Description

The purpose of Interdisciplinary Research Origination (IDR) Awards is to foster new BYU interdisciplinary research leading to future external funding. On occasion, we will solicit IDR proposals on special research topics. We are announcing a new Special Topic IDR on Environmental Stewardship. This call encourages BYU researchers to collaborate with each other and with other relevant campus entities. This program is in collaboration with Global Environmental Studies and is made possible by the BYU Simmons Research Endowment.

Eligibility

Principle investigators (PIs) and co-investigators must by BYU CFS-track faculty. PIs will designate which tracks they are applying for in the cover page of their proposal. IDR teams must meet the criteria for one of the following interdisciplinary tracks:

  • Track A: Investigators from at least two colleges and three BYU departments. Budgets can be up to $40K.
  • Track B: Investigators from at least three BYU departments. Budgets can be up to $20K.
  • Track C: Investigators from at least two BYU departments. Budgets can be up to $10K.

A PI applying for a special topic IDR is not precluded from also pursuing a non-special topic IDR. If also pursuing a non-special topic "regular" IDR, the PI must indicate that he or she is also pursuing a special topic IDR and indicate which track is being pursued.

Proposal Components

The proposal should consist of the following components:

  • Cover page, including title, team, abstract, summary of plans for external funding (1 page)
  • Project narrative, including summary of collaboration (up to 3 pages)
  • Budget and budget narrative, including projected start date (up to 1 page)
  • References (no page limit)
  • Plans for external funding (up to 1 page)
  • Biographical sketches for BYU

Proposals should be submitted to rdadmin@byu.edu as a PDF by 5:00 PM on the proposal deadline. Please use the Cover Page Template which provides instructions.

Deadline

Proposal deadlines are the last day of finals of each semester or term until the funds ($120K) are committed. PIs are expected to be notified by email of the committee's decision within six weeks of the deadline. Notice will be provided on the Research Development Office webpage when this solicitation is no longer active.

Next deadlines will be the following or until all funds are committed:

  1. April 16, 2025
  2. June 16, 2025
  3. August 11, 2025
  4. December 10, 2025

Selection

Recipients are selected by a committee consisting of members of the University Research Council (URC), or their designees. Awards are based on:

  • Strengths of BYU used to help address important issues related to environmental stewardship
  • Strong potential for external funding following the IDR award
  • Diverse interdisciplinary research partnerships with clear team member contributions
  • Positive potential impact on BYU students when the resulting external grants are funded

Use of Funds

IDR Awards must be used to support interdisciplinary research that leads to proposal(s) for external funding. Funds may be used for travel, equipment, supplies, contractual services, core/shared user facility use, graduate and undergraduate student wages and/or salary for technical personnel where needed. Funds may not be used for instructional release/course buyout.

Reporting

Awardees will provide brief reports eighteen months after funding begins. The report should describe external proposal(s) and their status, and other research outcomes (publications, student mentoring activities, and other results of note). Reports will be submitted by email to rdadmin@byu.edu within 18 months of receiving funding.