Ignite 300 Mini Grants
From: The Office of the President
Date: 5 May 2019
Re: Ignite 300 Mini Grants
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, in honor of the 300-year anniversary of the entrance into eternal life of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, announces the Ignite 300 Mini Grant Program. More information can be found on the Grants Office webpage: www.smumn.edu/grants
The goal of the Ignite 300 Mini Grants is to encourage innovative research within our community incorporating an appreciation for the 12 virtues of De La Salle. These mini-grants are designed to assist faculty in conducting original research that may be pilot in nature or to further a strand of current research efforts.
Project Overview
Up to 10 Ignite 300 Mini Grant opportunities will be available to all full-time faculty based in Winona and core faculty and program directors based in Minneapolis. The program provides up to $4,500 in funds to full-time faculty wishing to participate in research grant projects. These funds may be used for a course release (pending dean approval) or to finance a project budget (or part of a budget) for the planned research. The purpose of Ignite 300 is to foster original research, along with larger grant projects, within our community. Successful applicants will be able to demonstrate novel research ideas that include an appreciation for the 12 virtues of Saint John Baptist de La Salle and a willingness to apply for additional external grant funding to further this research.
Project Goals
The primary purpose of this project is to spark innovative research within our community with an appreciation for our Lasallian roots. As a secondary goal, these mini-grants will also assist faculty in building lasting research opportunities through external grant funding. This will be done in concert with the Grants Office, Institutional Review Board, and respective department heads.
Scope of Work
While collaboration is allowed, even encouraged, generally only one mini-grant is available per project, unless it can be shown that a unique interdisciplinary project will substantively advance the respective fields of inquiry (in which case only two grants can be combined at most for any project). In the event of a collaborative project, each team will designate a principal investigator (PI) and a co-investigator. The PI will need to submit a proposal through the grants website (www.smumn.edu/grants) for review by the Ignite 300 Mini Grants board. Ultimately, the plan must include a research element and a plan to submit an external grant application for additional support for the research. Interested faculty should contact the Grants Office, Dr. Michael Charron, for help locating viable external grant applications to support their research.
Project Timeline
The Ignite 300 Mini Grants are for use during the 2019-2020 academic year. The final deadline to submit completed applications for one of the Ignite 300 Mini Grants is 2 August 2019 at 5PM. Final reports of activities will be due 3 August 2020.
Criteria for Selection
Successful applications of the Ignite 300 Mini Grants will be recommended by a panel of faculty/administrators appointed from the Winona and SGPP campuses. Final approval by Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations, Provost, and the President. Successful applications will outline innovative and novel approaches to research, identify the Lasallian virtue(s) integrated, provide a clear path to an external grant application, and at least 4 concrete outcomes/deliverables for the conclusion of the project including broad dissemination plan of findings. The evaluation panel may request additional information, and interested faculty should contact the Grants Office to solicit help as needed. Please direct questions to Michael Charron (mcharron@smumn.edu).
Evaluation rubric coming soon!