SPARC

The Seed Program to Advance Research Collaborations (SPARC) program provides 1-year seed funding of up to $35,000 to catalyze development of large interdisciplinary research teams and projects that involve scholarly research in more than one department, research center, college or institution. Successful SPARC proposals will require mutual effort by faculty and researchers from multiple disciplines, and provide outcomes that will enhance USU faculty success in securing new, large-scale, interdisciplinary externally funded grants (EFGs). It is anticipated that new EFGs catalyzed by SPARC will extend the University’s research capability and increase extramural funding for scholarly activities from government agencies and private sources.

It is required that each proposal funded by SPARC lead directly to the submission of at least one proposal to an external funding agency that satisfies all of the following criteria:

• Solicits at least $1 million in new research funding at USU (i.e., total project budget less any off-campus sub-awards) through a single, targeted extramural grant proposal. Projects that enhance the likelihood for success of grants that pay full F&A costs (see www.usu.edu/research/programs/rates.cfm) are especially encouraged.
• Engages faculty from more than one department, research center, college or institution;
• Recruits and supports additional research faculty, postdoctoral researchers, or PhD students to the USU campus; and
• Engages undergraduate and/or graduate students in the pursuit of research and scholarly activities.

Important note: Proposals that have already been submitted to an extramural agency, or those already reviewed and found to be non-competitive by an extramural agency, are not eligible for consideration of SPARC funding.