Lincoln, Neb. —University of Nebraska faculty are invited to register for the 2020-2021 University of Nebraska Collaboration Initiative Retreat, to be held virtually on Friday, Oct. 30.
The Collaboration Initiative, now in its sixth year, is designed to help NU researchers become more competitive for extramural funding. It helps facilitate and strengthen research collaborations among faculty across the University's four campuses.
The 2020-2021 Request for Applications (RFA) solicits applications from multi-campus, multidisciplinary teams that help position them to compete for extramural funding. Topics will not be predefined, but applications must be designed to strengthen the team's future competitiveness for extramural funding. The following grants will be available:
- Team Formation and Publication Grants: One-year grants, of up to $7,500 each, to build new research collaborations across University of Nebraska campuses.
- Preliminary Data and Application Preparation Grants: One-year grants, of up to $40,000 each, to strengthen research collaborations and generate preliminary data critical to extramural research proposal submission.
- Team Seed Grants: Two-year grants, of up to $150,000 each, to strengthen existing and build new research collaborations among faculty with a track record of extramural research funding.
“The Collaboration Initiative has helped spark new and exciting connections between faculty across diverse disciplines and campuses. I’m grateful to the campus research offices, faculty and staff for their leadership and energy,” said David Jackson, vice provost. “We hope faculty will take advantage of this opportunity to build partnerships, maximize our competitiveness, and ultimately expand the impact of their work even further.”
This year’s virtual Collaboration Initiative Retreat will feature a keynote presentation, focusing on how the research-climate for diverse students and faculty can be improved, delivered by Ebony McGee, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Diversity and STEM Education and Associate Professor of Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University.
As previously, the main focus of the retreat will be faculty-to-faculty working sessions designed to facilitate the formation of collaborative teams and providing a venue for those teams to begin work on their grant applications. Faculty must participate in the virtual Collaboration Initiative Retreat to be eligible for program funding. Registration is no-cost but must be received via the online registration portal by Oct. 16. For more information on the Collaboration Initiative, to review the 2020-2021 RFA or to register for this year’s retreat, visit: nebraska.edu/collaboration-initiative