Funding opportunities: Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) administers grants and award programs offered by USC Research and Innovation. Grant programs are tailored to support a diverse range of research areas, scholarship, and artistic and cultural expression and are currently under revision, with new award programs being created. Requests for Proposals (RFP) are being posted throughout the months of January (the updated Ming Hsieh and the new Instrumentation award already posted) and February (new ones to come!). Please visit our funding website for more information. A FAQ section has been added to each RFP but feel free to contact us should you have additional questions – we are here to help!
FEDERAL LANDSCAPE UPDATES: The US Department of Energy recently announced $200 million for Energy Earthshot Research Centers (EERCs), which will support fundamental research to accelerate breakthroughs in support of the Energy Earthshots Initiative. More information is available here. The Office of Science and Technology Policy has released a report titled “US Innovation to Meet 2050 Climate Goals – Assessing Initial R&D Opportunities.” The report indicates 5 “game changing” technologies that have been prioritized to launch a Net-Zero Game Changer Initiative: Efficient Building Heating and Cooling; Net-Zero Aviation; Net-Zero Power Grid and Electrification; Fusion Energy at Scale; and Industrial Products and Fuels for a Net-Zero, Circular Economy. Additional details are available here.
OPRS/IRB: As you may know, it is common for the IRB wait times to lengthen at the end of the Fall semester because of increased submissions and get even longer due to the winter recess. This year we took steps to minimize the impact of the recess and to address the increase in submissions. We are happy to report that our efforts resulted in our ability to avoid significant delays that might have resulted. More specifically, a year ago, the expected wait time for assignment to an analyst was 13 weeks. This year we were able to maintain a 5-week wait time. We also prioritized student applications during this same period and entered the Spring semester with students positioned to begin their research activities. We are also establishing new Not Human Subjects Research (NHSR) guidance that will make it easier for investigators to use some publicly available datasets without IRB review. We expect this new guidance to be available in February. We would like to hear from you. If you have feedback for us regarding your experiences submitting to the IRB, please reach out to us at IRB@usc.edu
CONTRACTS & GRANTS: The Department of Contracts and Grants has released a Cayuse SP Frequently Asked Questions webpage. The FAQ is a compendium of key questions and answers raised during Cayuse SP trainings with research administrators across the campus.
Cayuse SP will be available to the campus community on March 1, 2023. We encourage all research administrators to take the following steps to prepare for the new system:
- Complete the Preparing Proposals in Cayuse Sponsored Projects course available in Trojan Learn.
- Visit the Cayuse SP Training page.
- Complete the Cayuse SP Training and Resource Series for Pre-Award.
- Complete the Cayuse SP Crosswalk to understand the conceptual and terminology differences between Kuali Coeus (KC) and Cayuse SP.
- Complete the Cayuse SP Training and Resource Series for Post-Award.
- Visit the Cayuse SP FAQs page.
- Attend a Cayuse SP training for your specific School or Research Institute. Please contact Joe Magallanes or your School Research Administration office for an upcoming training session.
DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL RESOURCES: DAR is prepping for USC’s AAALAC accreditation this year. This is where we get to show that we uphold the highest standards in animal care and use. We expect Site Visitors to come this fall and will update the research community when an exact date is known. More information at AAALAC – AAALAC.
For those utilizing or storing experimental equipment in the animal facilities, you will be notified of a 5% space utilization fee effective March 1st, 2023. This fee is 5% of the revenue from per diem that would otherwise be collected if there were mouse racks housed in that location. More information will be posted on the Department of Animal Resources (usc.edu) website as well.
RESEARCH INTEGRITY: The USC Research Data Stewardship Working Group has launched an initiative to understand the current processes and future needs of our USC research community with regards to research data acquisition, management, storage, curation, and sharing. We are asking all faculty, staff, administrators, and students to please take part in and share the attached anonymous survey.
Survey link: https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8AZt7ELSknkHDzo