The Grants Intensive Fellowship Program

The Grants Intensive Fellowship Program (TGIF)

Purpose of the Fellowship 

TGIF is for faculty who are seeking to improve their grant writing skills and enhance the competitiveness of their proposals. 

Eligibility 

All tenured and tenure-track faculty are eligible. To maximize the benefit of this program, eligible faculty participants should have identified a funding opportunity and be ready to begin the development of a competitive proposal for funding. PIs that have received internal seed funding or that have received feedback from an earlier submission are strongly encouraged to apply. Evidence of readiness may include one or more of the following: 

  • Clear research idea with relevance for the funding agency 
  • Prior funding (internal or external) 
  • Preliminary data in hand 
  • Relevant research publications 
  • Prior submission for external research funding 
  • Effective collaboration established (if applicable) 
  • Targeted funding program(s) 

Fellowship Activities 

The fellows will take part in a two-semester professional development program that will include workshops and presentations, writing group and peer support, and outside speakers. Participation in TGIF will be helpful for obtaining support through the Research Mentor and TRIPS program. In addition, a limited number of course releases will be available for the academic year. Altogether, these activities will empower scholars to write competitive proposals, to work with program managers from funding agencies, to develop successful relationships with UMassD units (ORA, Human Resources, Compliance, etc.), mentors, and to develop camaraderie (and perhaps collaborations) with a cohort of like-minded faculty. 

Obligations for Fellows 

Fellows will be expected to: 

  • Regularly participate in scheduled activities 
  • Provide written work for feedback 
  • Provide feedback for other Fellows 
  • Submit a proposal for external funding within one year, or as close to one year as possible given funder deadlines. 

Application Procedure 

To apply, faculty should submit a description of their research project, the targeted funding agency or agencies, and a listing of evidence of readiness (see above), and a current CV. There is a 3-page limit (not counting the CV) for the application. A limited number of course releases will be available. All submissions should be made via InfoReady: https:// umassd.infoready4.com/. 

Timeline

  • Call for applications sent via email to all faculty – April 8, 2024 
  • Applications Due – April 22, 2024 
  • Acceptance Notification – April 29, 2024 
  • Program Begins – September 2024