There are several upcoming opportunities for faculty and staff to engage with the Bold Challenges initiative. We are hosting three events in Spring 2023 and applications to our funding programs are now open.
- Office Hours
- The Bold Challenges team will hold open Office Hours on Thursdays at 10 am EST (https://umich.zoom.us/j/95702053653).
- Please join us during this time for discussion and questions about upcoming Bold Challenges opportunities.
- Events
- Bold Challenges will host two online events this month to introduce new opportunities available to U-M faculty via Bold Challenges events and programs. More information is available on the Bold Challenges website. Questions may be directed to Bold-Challenges@umich.edu.
- March 10, 10 am: New Opportunities from Bold Challenges: Programs, Funding Opportunities, and Better Ways to Meet Collaborators Learn more about the opportunities offered by the U-M Bold Challenges Initiative for researchers to meet collaborators, build great teams and develop competitive proposals for external funding. Bold Challenges programs provide expertise and financial support for cross-disciplinary teams with large-scale funding goals. Events offer skill-building, networking, communication, and leadership activities for the entire U-M community. Registration Link
- March 31, 10 am: How to build a great proposal and communicate with funders
- Are you looking for advice on how to develop a grant proposal that is more compelling to funders and more competitive for funding? Bold Challenges brings together two national experts on these topics. Each expert will give a presentation with powerful pointers and strategies for success. The Q&A sessions will provide an opportunity to seek additional insights and advice. Join us for this one-hour webinar, and learn how you can improve your odds when applying for research support. Registration Link
- April 14, 2023: Pollination Event (An In-Person Opportunity to Network, Meet Collaborators, and Build Teams).
- BOOST:
- What is it? The BOOST program is Bold Challenges’ new team development program. This cohort-based program will support and nurture new and early-stage cross-disciplinary teams with structured activities and deliverables on topics such as Team Science, Broader Impacts, Community Engagement, and Strategic Planning. This program provides up to 75K in funding per team and will take place from September 2023 to February 2024.
- Who should apply? BOOST applications are open to teams of cross-disciplinary researchers that are working towards a research challenge that aligns with one of the 2023 Bold Challenges research themes: (1) Building Trustworthy Environments, (2) Smart Health Systems, or (3) Strength Through Sustainability: Infrastructure, Technology, and Community. Your team must be committed to cohort-based learning, attending in-person events, meeting regularly as a team, and completing deliverables throughout the program. BOOST is designed for teams who want the ability to produce highly competitive proposals in response to large-scale external funding opportunities within the next 2-5 years.
- When should I put a team together? Start as soon as you can. Come to our Office Hours, and our March workshops to learn more. And mark your calendar for April 14, where we will hold an in-person event to facilitate effective team building.
- Applications are due on May 15, 2023.
- Accelerate:
- What is it? Accelerate is Bold Challenges’ new advanced consulting program. Accelerate is designed to provide precision support to cross-school research teams that want to submit highly competitive proposals for large-scale external funding opportunities. Each award offered by Accelerate combines a tailored plan for expert consultation from OVPR’s Office of Research Development and $50K-$250K in funding for activities specific to proposal development. Support and funding during this program depend on a team’s successful completion of tasks necessary to submit a competitive proposal (following a schedule to which Bold Challenges and the PIs will agree to at the beginning of the support period).
- Who should apply? Applicants should be multi-PI teams that are willing to do the work necessary to submit a highly competitive proposal in response to a specific large-scale funding opportunity within 18 months. For the first stage of this program, the proposal must be for an amount that is at least 25 times the amount of consulting and funding that they request from Bold Challenges. As Accelerate is designed to support new funding opportunities for cross-disciplinary teams, we cannot support single-investigator grants or renewals of existing research centers.
- Consultation Requests for Accelerate are now open and will be accepted on a rolling basis.