Funding Opportunities: We are happy to announce two requests for proposals: 1) the Strategic Directions for Research Award, supporting innovative collaborative research (January 18, 2021 deadline; provides up to $200,000; smaller budgets are welcome) and 2) the Core Instrumentation Deans Matching Fund (January 11, 2021 deadline; for acquisition or major upgrade of current shared equipment).
Deadline Reminders: The internal deadline for the NSF MRI limited submission competition is noon, Nov 16: eligibility has been expanded. Nominations for the Associates Award, USC’s top research award, are due 5 pm, Nov 2; the nomination process has been greatly simplified.
Resources: USC employees have access to resources available through the University-Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP); register here using your usc.edu address to gain full access to services as a member.
Innovation: The USC Innovation Council identified two major areas of focus, and has formed two committees to work on those: 1) USC’s Culture of Innovation Committee co-lead by Peter Kuhn and Elissa Grossman; and 2) USC’s IP Policy Committee, co-lead by Mark Thompson and Jeffrey Pearlman.
TRAINING WORKSHOPS & MENTORING: The USC Research and Innovation (R&I) invites proposals for faculty-led mentoring workshops in the Center for Excellence in Research for Spring 2021. Faculty interested in leading a virtual research workshop on collaboration, funding, data management, promoting their research, professional development, research resources/methods, grant writing, etc. can submit a proposal by 5 pm, Friday, November 20.
FEDERAL FUNDING PATHWAYS: NIH is hosting a virtual seminar on program funding and grants administration; registration will reopen Oct 31-Nov 19 to allow access to all seminar materials and all presentations will be available here by Nov 20. NSF is hosting the first Virtual Grants Conference in November; registration is open as of Oct 29 (details are found here). DoD released its Military Intelligence Program FY 2021 budget request for $23.1B, aligned to support the 2018 National Defense Strategy.
USC STEVENS CENTER FOR INNOVATION and CONTRACTS & GRANTS: To help researchers learn about inventions stemming from federally funded research and their responsibilities under the Bayh-Dole Act, we have put together a 12-minute training course, available through Trojan Learn: The Basics of Bayh-Dole. Federally supported researchers are asked to take this short and informative training course within three months (by Feb 1, 2021).
OPRS/IRB: We have announced expanded Urgent Review Guidelines, available on the OPRS website. We will also be offering monthly CER educational opportunities for researchers at all levels. The October event focused on tips and tricks for making IRB review more efficient. The November 11 event will focus on Classroom/Course Assignments and requirements for IRB review. If you are an instructor who assigns classroom projects or assignments involving data collection or if you are a graduate student who has been asked to complete a classroom assignment that involves collecting or analyzing interview, observation, or survey data, this event is for you. All events will be recorded and sent to those who register if you cannot attend.
CONTRACTS & GRANTS: We are pleased to announce the release of a new Feedback Form that allows faculty, staff, and customers to anonymously submit feedback regarding the quality of their interactions with DCG. The primary purpose of the form is to collect, track, and report customer service feedback – the Form is available on the DCG website.