Bridge Grant Support Guidelines

Purpose

The purpose of this program is to provide support for faculty to bridge temporary gaps in external funding of their research programs.

It is recognized that external funding of research is highly competitive and even our most successful grant entrepreneurs may face gaps in funding at some point in their careers. These situations can be catastrophic to research efforts due to loss of key grant-funded personnel and other aspects of infrastructure. The funds provided in this program are intended to mitigate the negative and potentially irreversible damage done to research programs by such disruptions in sustained funding.

These bridge grants will support faculty who can demonstrate that their proposals are receiving highly meritorious reviews but insufficiently high to reach the pay lines given the current funding climate. In effect, the Office of the Vice President for Research and the faculty member’s department and college will be asked to invest resources in research programs that have a high probability of regaining external support.

Guidelines and Procedures

1. The faculty member will prepare a brief request defining the specific circumstances underlying the gap in external funding, the amount of bridge support requested and how these funds will be used. Included in this document should be listing of recent external support and evidence that current funds for research will be depleted by the time bridge support is released. Copies of panel summaries and overall ratings of recent proposals will be helpful in evaluating the request.
2. The Office of the Vice President for Research will match on a 1:1 basis funds provided the department and college. The relative proportion of contribution by the department and college to the cost-share is flexible and is to be determined at the department/college level.
3. Bridge grant funds may not be used to pay for the faculty member’s salary. Use of such funds to attend conferences and meetings is prohibited unless specifically approved in the initial request.
4. Bridge grant funding requests will be routed through the faculty member’s department chair and dean for development of the cost-share package and endorsement. Final approval of bridge grant requests rests with the Vice President for Research.