UNM Rainforest Innovations is providing a funding source to further support research collaboration efforts at UNM and encourage investigators from the University of New Mexico Main Campus and Health Sciences to work together on advancing research that may lead to new invention disclosures. A total of $250,000 is available to award 10 proposals up to $25,000 each.
This grant is intended to fund early-stage research that supports investigators to develop concepts for joint proposals. Proposals must include at least 1 Primary Investigator (PI) from UNM Main Campus and 1 PI from UNM Health Sciences.
UNM Rainforest Innovations will be accepting proposals starting April 15, 2024. Proposal close date/deadline will be 11:59 pm on May 20, 2024. Proposals will be funded for an August 1 start date. Funding period is for one year.
Proposal Review
Projects will be selected for funding through a review process. The UNM Rainforest Innovations Board of Directors Co-Investment Committee, comprised of members from UNM and the business community, will evaluate the proposals. Some of the questions to be considered by the committee include:
- How does this research benefit cross campus collaboration (access to specialized resources, equipment, knowledge, facilities)?
- How will each of the PIs uniquely and synergistically contribute to this research project?
- Does the project have potential to lead to the submission of an invention disclosures to UNM Rainforest Innovations?
- Is the proof-of-concept reasonably feasible to justify funding a project at this time?
- Can the project be successfully completed within the timeframe and budget indicated?
Proposal Outline
The following outline of section titles below is a guide for proposal content which should not exceed 10 pages.
- PIs names, departments, and contact information
- PI biography/contribution to project (expertise, facilities/equipment, students, etc.)
- Project title
- Abstract (no more than 300 words)
- Background Information (what need/solution does this research address?)
- Specific Aims
- Next Steps
- What are the next steps you envision for this research/project after this seed funding (e.g., ability to apply for larger grant opportunity)?
- What additional funding could be pursued?
- Does this have the potential to generate a new invention that may be disclosed to UNM Rainforest Innovations?
- Timeline (including milestones) (please note that projects can be for no longer than one year)
- Required Regulatory Approvals, if applicable (IRB, etc. – documentation should be in hand before submission)
- Budget** (your budget, not to exceed the $25,000 funding limit, can include, but is not limited to, costs and purchases, such as):
- **Specify how much will be distributed to each UNM Campus/PI
- Salaries and Benefits
- Travel
- Supplies/Materials/Products
- UNM-owned equipment
- Shipping and Handling
There is no indirect cost applied to the project.
A Final Summary Report (approximately 1-2 pages), is due at the end of the funding period. The report should include what progress has been made toward the research and toward an invention disclosure (if applicable).
Qualifications
Primary Investigators eligible to apply for this grant includes any individual that UNM deems qualified to be a PI on other federal grant applications (e.g., NIH, NSF, DOD, DOE, etc.). See UNM Eligibility for Principal Investigator Status, and Health Sciences General PI Eligibility
Questions & Submission Process
UNMRI is now accepting proposals! Please submit a word document or pdf version of your proposal via email to Hannah Russert. You can find her contact information below.
