Request for Proposals

The Informatics Consortium at IU Indianapolis is seeking applications for funding to support research ideas from current IU Indianapolis faculty. These pilot grants can be focused in an array of informatics-related disciplines in which the investigators have demonstrated expertise, including clinical research, public health, education, law, business, chemistry, and biology. Studies that address significant discipline challenges that can be addressed with informatics-related methods or solutions will be prioritized. The pilot funding will provide opportunities for faculty to gather preliminary data, prove a concept, or implement on a small-scale an approach or solution that can be translated into a larger research project funded by an extramural grant.

The consortium expects pilot grants will catalyze new funding applications to the NIH, NSF, and/or other extramural funding agencies. Collaboration between investigators from different schools or departments is not a requirement, but it is strongly encouraged and considered as criteria for the review. The Informatics Consortium at IU Indianapolis will fund up to two (2) projects at a funding level of up to $15,000 for 9-months.

We expect recipients to attend a joint meeting on a quarterly basis (every 3 months). The purpose of these meetings will be to create shared learning across the projects, as well as an opportunity to learn more about how to translate the pilot work into a larger, extramural proposal. In addition, we expect funded investigators to work with the Informatics Consortium Fellow and IU Research team to develop and submit the extramural proposal by the end of 2025.

• The PI should be a full-time faculty member at IU Indianapolis. Co-investigators and collaborators are not required to have an IU Indianapolis affiliation.
• Requests for faculty salaries will not be allowed. Funding should go mainly to support staff, data resources, equipment, samples, and other related research needs.
• PI(s) are responsible for all grant reporting and fiscal oversight. PI(s) will be primarily responsible for ensuring team compliance with scientific, safety, and ethical responsibilities of the award.
• PI(s) will be expected to comply with reporting requirements as a condition of receipt and continuation of funds. Non-compliance of quarterly reporting and meeting attendance and/or annual reporting could result in the rescinding of funds.
• All personnel must be identified prior to the start date of the award to replace any “to be decided” positions proposed in the application.
• A final summary of the project is also due at 12 months from the start date of the award. The template of which will be provided to the awardees based on their project milestones.

The process involves submitting an application. All documents should be submitted in a single PDF document; please use Arial size 11 font, with margins of 0.5 inches. All materials must be submitted before 11:59:59 p.m. on March 24, 2025 to Brian Dixon (bedixon@iu.edu) and Susan Walsh (walshsus@iu.edu).

Additional or supplemental materials cannot be accepted after the deadline and will not be reviewed.

In a single document, please include the following sections, beginning each section with a new page:

A. Proposed Pilot Project Overview (1-page limit)
The Project Overview should include the following:

• Project Information: Please include the project title, the name(s) of the PI and if applicable co- PIs and other key personnel. Include full names (first name/middle name/last name), degrees, rank, university/school/academic department, emails, and role in the project.
• If the proposal includes investigators from different schools or departments, how will a multidisciplinary team strengthen the project?
• Scientific Abstract (250-word limit): Briefly summarize the proposed work.

B. Research Plan (3-page limit, including tables and figures)
This section should include the following elements to best allow reviewers to address the review criteria:

• Aims – What are the goals of the research?
• Significance – Why is this research important?
• Innovation – What makes this research innovative?
• Approach – What will be done during the pilot period?
• Potential for additional extramural funding - How will the proposal improve the likelihood for future external funding opportunities, for example, NSF or other external grant proposal?

C. References (No page limit)
Literature cited does not count toward the Research Plan's 3-page limit.

D. Budget with Budget Justification (No page limit)
Use PHS 398 Form Page 4 and Page 5. The budget justification should include sufficient detail for reviewers to assess whether appropriate resources have been requested.

E.List of Current Grants/Research (no page limit)
For each PI, please list information on current extramural funding in which they are involved. Provide the grant title, funding agency, name(s) of the PI(s), dates of the project, and a 1-2 sentence summary of the research project.