2019 Collaboration Initiative Retreat

The 2019-20 University of Nebraska Collaboration Initiative Retreat will be held at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center on Thursday, Oct. 31, with a new opportunity to fund research with a global impact.

The Collaboration Initiative, now in its fifth year, is designed to help NU researchers become more competitive for extramural funding. It helps foster meaningful collaborations that leverage the full intellectual capacity of faculty across the University's four campuses.

The 2019-2020 Request for Applications (RFA) will solicit applications from multi-campus, multidisciplinary teams that help to position them to compete for extramural funding. Topics will not be predefined, but applications must be designed to strengthen the team's future competitiveness for extramural funding. The following grants will be available:

• Planning Grants: One-year grants, of up to $20,000 each, to build new collaborations across University of Nebraska campuses.

• Formed/Forming Team Seed Grants: Two-year grants, of up to $150,000 each, to enhance research collaborations among faculty that have had modest levels of previous collaboration.

• Team Strengthening Seed Grants: Two-year grants, of up to $300,000 each, to support existing faculty research collaborations so that teams become more competitive for significant extramural research funding.

• New in 2019 – Research with a Global Impact: Up to two seed and two planning grants will be available to facilitate and strengthen research collaborations among faculty engaging in extramurally-fundable international research.

“The Collaboration Initiative has helped spark new and exciting connections between faculty across diverse disciplines and campuses. I’m grateful to the campus research offices, faculty and staff for their leadership and energy,” said David Jackson, interim executive vice president and provost. “We hope faculty will take advantage of this opportunity to build partnerships, maximize our competitiveness, and ultimately expand the impact of their work even further.”

Faculty must attend the day-long Collaboration Initiative Retreat to be eligible for funding from this program. Registration is no-cost but must be received via the online registration portal by Thursday, Oct. 24. For more information on the Collaboration Initiative, to review the 2019-2020 RFA or register for this year’s retreat, visit: nebraska.edu/collaboration-initiative.