Interdisciplinary Awards, Independent Study Awards, and Ocean Science and Society Awards

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Deadline for submission is April 15 annually. If April 15 falls on a weekend or a holiday, proposals are due the next working day.

Purpose

The WHOI spring internal proposal program supports three different types of awards. The motivation for each differs and should be addressed when responding. PIs must select one program type at submission; however, the three types of proposals will be reviewed by a single ad-hoc committee. Therefore, proposals which span multiple programs may be considered under more than one type.

1. Interdisciplinary Awards:

The purpose of awards within this program is to support research efforts that cross the boundaries of traditional disciplines and encourage interchange with other academic areas in order to reach a common goal. Each proposal should involve at least two of the main scientific and engineering disciplines at the Institution and stretch our knowledge in unexplored areas. Preference will be given to proposals that support principal investigators from more than one WHOI science department. Preference will also be given to proposals in which the principal investigators are proposing to do something that they ordinarily do not do. In addition, the funds should support research that cannot be funded elsewhere.

Funding Information: Awards for this program may be up to $100,000 and may be disbursed over two years. Budgets should reflect anticipated actual usage each year. It is intended that these funds be used for genuine collaboration in which the principal investigators from all the disciplines in the proposal contribute equally and receive significant support. Proposals should have approximately 50% of the budget for salary and related costs. The funds are not intended to be used primarily for the support of students or postdocs, sabbaticals, or writing a book or synthesis, or for the purchase of equipment.

Eligibility: These awards are only available to members of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Scientific and Senior Technical Staff.

Source: Funds to support the Interdisciplinary Award Program are provided by:

• The Lawrence J. Pratt and Melinda M. Hall Endowed Fund for Interdisciplinary Research
• The Mellon Joint Initiatives Fund

The purpose of awards within this program is to provide initial funding for the research of young scientists and to support established scientists to explore new directions, or review and synthesize major areas of research. The grant is meant to provide opportunities beyond the limits of conventional funding sources. The major functions should be to broaden and deepen the range of research, to stimulate interchange with other academic areas, and to help maintain the Institution's independence of thought and flexibility of action. Independent study awards may be made for research projects, to write a synthesis or to participate on a cruise. The funds are not intended to be used primarily for the support of students or postdocs, or for the purchase of equipment.

Funding information: Awards for this program are generally in the range of $50,000. Investigators may have two years to complete the work, but all funds will be awarded in the first year. Awards normally support one principal investigator with salary and associated overhead costs, but appropriate travel and supplies may be included.

Eligibility: These awards are only available to members of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Scientific Staff.

Source: Endowment Funds to support the Independent Study Award Program are provided by:

• The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Endowed Fund for Innovative Research
• The Richard B. Sellars Endowed Research Fund
• The Edwin S. Webster Independent Study Award Fund
• The Ralph E. Hall Endowed Fund for Innovative Research

3. Ocean Science and Society Award:

The purpose of this award is to support ocean research that can show a direct link to improving the human condition. Each proposal should illustrate quantifiable benefit to society. Successful projects will be selected on the basis of their contribution to scientific understanding of the ocean and social or economic value. The grant is meant to provide opportunities beyond the limits of conventional funding sources.

Funding information: Awards for this program are generally in the range of $50,000. Investigators may have two years to complete the work, but all funds will be awarded in the first year. The funds are not intended to be used primarily for the support of students or postdocs, sabbaticals, or writing a book or synthesis, or for the purchase of equipment.

Eligibility: These awards are only available to members of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Scientific and Senior Technical Staff.

Source: Funds to support the Wheeler Award for Ocean Science and Society are provided by:

• The Wheeler Award for Ocean Science and Society Fund

Award Criteria

Each type of proposal will be reviewed using criteria specific to the purpose of the awards as described above. In addition, the following criteria will be evaluated for all three types of proposals:

Review Process:

The three types of proposals will be reviewed by a single ad-hoc committee of scientific and senior technical staff from all the departments. They will rate the proposals using the NSF system and make recommendations for funding to the Director of Research. His final decision will be based upon those recommendations and availability of funds.

NOTE: Proposals that do not follow the guidelines will be returned.

Proposal Guidelines

The deadline for submission of proposals for these awards is April 15 annually. If April 15 falls on a weekend or a holiday, proposals are due the next working day. The start date for most of these awards will be June 1.

Funding information as described above for each specific type of award should be used as a guide. Investigators will have two years to complete the work. Please be sure that you will have sufficient time to accomplish the proposed work within this time frame as the need for these funds is always greater than the amount available.

Proposals should be submitted, in pdf format, to the Director of Research (dirres@whoi.edu) by the stated deadline, and include the following in this order:

• The WHOI Research Proposal Summary (Green Sheet) with appropriate signatures at the Departmental level. He/She will review the proposal to be sure that it meets the guidelines of the program before signing the "Green Sheet." It is appropriate that you discuss your ideas with your Chair and request his/her assistance in preparing a better proposal.

• The Agency to list in WHOIgrants is WHOI-Internal Awards. The appropriate award type (WHOI - Interdisciplin, WHOI-Independ Stdy, or WHOI-OcnSci&Society) must also be specified in Division field to ensure that your proposal is reviewed against the appropriate criteria.
• Address field in Distribution section should read: Director of Research, Fenno House, Mail Stop #39.

• An Abstract: The abstract will be used for two purposes, should your proposal be funded. First, it will be part of a report to the donor which describes what we have done with the money provided to us for this program. Therefore, the abstract should not be too technical. The second use will be to announce to the Institution what has been funded by including the abstract on our web page. Please be sure that your abstract does not "give away" any privileged information that you may need to acquire future funds from government or other sources. The abstract should be only 1-2 paragraphs long.
• The Text: This should describe what you wish to do. All criteria will be explicitly addressed in a successful proposal since these proposals are reviewed by an interdisciplinary team. The reviewers will be looking for a clear description of the questions you will ask and your method for achieving an answer.

• Page limit of 1-2 pages will be strictly enforced. Graphics and references are not included in this limit.
• Proposals must be readily legible. Font size should be a minimum of 12, and vertical spacing appropriate for the font size. Small type size makes it difficult for reviewers to read the proposal; consequently, the use of small type may be cause to return the proposal without review.

• The Budget: A simple budget which shows your proposed expenditures. An official WHOI salary work-up should be done to determine the salary and related costs. Unusual items in the budget may be explained.
• Current short CV and list of 10 most recent or relevant publications for each PI.
• Signed originals must be sent to the Office of Grant & Contract Services, MS #39 within a reasonable period after electronic submission of pdf file.

Final Report

A brief report is required at the end of the award period. This report will be used to keep the donors of endowment funds that support the Interdisciplinary and Independent Study programs informed of the awards and to express our gratitude by sharing the results of the research. Most of the donors, while not necessarily trained in your field, are knowledgeable about science, in general, and curious about what we do. Please be careful with the use of jargon or lengthy technical explanations in your final report.

The final report should be sent to the attention of Wendy Henley in the Development Office, Fenno House, Mail Stop #40, e-mail: whenley@whoi.edu. A copy of any publications resulting from this research should also be sent to Wendy. It is possible that someone from the Development Office will call to discuss your research in more detail or to ask you to meet with sponsors when they are on campus.