Faculty Seed Grant and Pilot Funding Program

The Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society seeks proposals for research and education on climate and energy challenges faced by society – and the societal challenges posed by climate and energy. The Institute welcomes diverse climate and energy-related projects from all disciplines. Proposals that require and engage an interdisciplinary perspective and research team and may have an impact in solving or lessening the climate crisis within the next 5 – 10 years are especially encouraged and can garner up to  $100,000 of support over one or two years.

Applicants are encouraged to consider the critical barriers that are hampering implementation of impactful solutions that are sustainable, resilient, and equitable and to develop proposals that could overcome those barriers or shed new light on how they might be addressed. The Institute encourages interdisciplinary teams of applicants to develop unique and innovative approaches that are hard to fund with more narrowly focused or restricted sources of grant monies. It is expected that the proposed projects, once completed, will lead to additional, outside research support.

The Institute welcomes proposals from all Dartmouth faculty, of any rank, as well as from Dartmouth staff and postdocs. 

Principal investigators (PIs) should indicate whether they are considering the inclusion of collaborators from outside Dartmouth in the pre-proposal (Note: we cannot fund outside collaborators). Postdoc proposals must include a letter of support from a faculty mentor. Preference will be given to interdisciplinary, multi-departmental team proposals. 

Applications that fall into one or more of the below categories may be submitted. Interdisciplinary projects are encouraged.

Innovation in Research, Technology, Policy, and Markets

Innovations in research and technology to find implementable solutions to the climate crisis. Thinking about policies, markets, and financing structures that promote innovation and facilitate deployment in a way that is affordable and environmentally responsible; developing stakeholder skillsets to excel at this.

Examples include but are not limited to: climate modeling, policy and regulatory innovation, new energy technologies that advance decarbonization, unique approaches to climate adaptation and mitigation, climate and health research (medical aspects).

Social Impact in the Energy Transition

Assessing the societal impacts of both our current energy systems and new innovations is a complex endeavor, especially given disparity among individuals and groups of people. Identifying and advancing solutions that not only benefit large numbers of people, but that importantly promote justice as we transition our energy systems?

Examples include but are not limited to: climate-health research (social aspects), environmental humanities, social impacts and environmental justice, climate communications, solutions to advancing climate action.

Uncommon Dialogue Partnerships

Our energy and society issues affect a diversity of stakeholders, many of whom do not communicate or have been adversaries. In our changing world, opportunities exist to revisit perspectives and bring together parties to develop creative solutions technologically and socially.

Examples include but are not limited to: climate-smart housing and supply chain infrastructure, transmission policy and permitting reform, solar or energy storage manufacturing supply chains.

2023-2024 Selected Annual Irving Research Interest Areas Call for Projects (all disciplines):

• Carbon removal, management, and utlization (e.g., sequestration, storage, accounting and reporting, financing and fees, policy)
• Energy storage and alternative fuels (bioenergy, solar, wind, etc.)
• Digital transformation  
• Environmental and health equity

The total award pool is approximately $500,000. Anticipated award levels are:

• Development awards: up to $100,000 over 1 or 2 years
• Pilot awards: up to $50,000 over 1 or 2 years 

Applications will be accepted on the following timeline:

• October: Announcement during Dartmouth Faculty Symposium on Climate, Energy, and Society
• November 3: Information session to discuss RFP opportunity (by Zoom) [View a recording of the info session.]
• December 11: Deadline for pre-proposal presentations 
• January 24 and 26: Pre-proposal presentations
• January 31: Selected pre-proposals invited to submit full proposal 
• April/May: Full proposals/Final pitch due
• May: Awards announced
• July 1: Start date for project funding
   

 
Step 1: Pre-proposal presentation with budget outline. Due December 11, 2023
Format: Five-minute virtual presentation (6-8 slides) to the review committee.

Applicants will give a five-minute presentation on either January 24 or 26 to the review committee followed by a 10-minute Q&A.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to discuss their ideas with Institute staff, especially with the Irving Institute research leadership, before submission and to develop their presentations in collaboration with the Institute for strong, fundable proposals. Note that pitches will be recorded during the presentation. Slide decks and videos will be used for selection of finalists and may also be posted online at Dartmouth websites for promotional and marketing purposes.

Pre-proposal presentations should provide:

• Context and Background: What is the current state-of-the-art in the field? What preliminary results exist, if any? 
• Key Challenges and Barriers: Why has this opportunity not been addressed and/or captured in the past? 
• Overall Objective of Your Proposed Project: What are you proposing to do? (one sentence)
• Specific Aims/Approach: What 2-3 driving question are you seeking to answer? What key steps will you take to achieve your overall objective and what are the expected results for each of these steps or aims?
• Key Outcomes and Significance: What is the anticipated overall outcome and what is the significance of your project? How will it help contribute to the Institute's mission and to solutions to climate change?   
• Core Project Team Members: Who are the team members, their roles and expertise relevant to the opportunity being addressed? 
• Budget: Total requested budget and major budget categories. (Include fringe on salaries but not indirect costs.)  Has funding been requested from other sources? if so, briefly describe. 

Note: We encourage applicants to support salaries for graduate and postdoctoral researchers, research faculty and junior faculty. In general, senior, tenured faculty are not eligible for salary support. 

This funding opportunity is internal to Dartmouth. Review/approval by OSP is not required. 

By January 31, successful applicants will be invited to submit full proposals in April. Applicants who are not asked to submit a full proposal are encouraged to schedule a meeting with the Irving Institute research or academic leadership, to discuss possible approaches to strengthen or redirect their concept. 
 

If you were invited, please submit:

By March 15, 2024: A single pdf file containing your full proposal package (see details below)
By May 20, 2024: A pitch deck consisting of 6-8 slides (suggested template here) for a 6-7 minute presentation. 

Full proposals should expand on pre-proposals and include a verbal presentation as well as a short, written document. They should respond to feedback from the pre-proposal review to make a strong, succinct case for funding. In addition to expanding on the content of the pre-proposal, the full proposal should highlight: 

• How does the proposed approach overcome current barriers? 
• What is the potential for scaling the insights to other regions or countries and in what timeframe?
• What enabling factors, forces, or partners would amplify the impact of the project? 
• How is the proposed project different from (or complementary to) other efforts/activities by the research team and competitors?  
• How will the proposed project impact Dartmouth and/or outside engaged communities (intellectual, physical, artistic, civic)? 
• In what timeframe would your project be implementable and how?

Full proposal packages should consist of, in order: 

1. A project title and team page, with names, faculty/student/community status, departmental affiliations, and email addresses for all core project participants.

2. A brief abstract geared toward a lay audience (150 words)

3. An abstract and specific aims page (1 page) 

4. A text narrative of no more than 2000 words that contains:  

• Context and Background: What is the current state-of-the-art in the field? What preliminary results exist, if any? What are the current and expected future consequences?
• Key Challenges and Barriers: Why has this opportunity not been addressed and/or captured in the past
• Overall Objective of Your Proposed Project: What are you proposing to do? What driving question are you seeking to answer? 
• Specific Aims/Approach: What key steps will you take to achieve your overall objective?  What is your general approach and what are the expected results for each of these steps or aims? Mention any competition you have and why your approach is better than that of the competition.
• Key Outcomes and Significance: What is the anticipated overall outcome and what is the significance of your project? How will it help contribute to the Institute's mission and to solutions to climate change? Why is it important? What do you aim to make happen with these results in hand? State what impact your project will have after its completion and further out into the future (next 5-10 years)

5. List of references/citations 

6. A detailed budget template and budget narrative

7. Background on key personnel.

• Include 2-page CVs for faculty, research staff, post-docs, and graduate students; 1-page resumes for undergraduate students. 
• Include a list of current and pending support for each faculty and research staff member. 
• Post-doc proposals must include a letter of support from a faculty advisor/mentor. 

Your final submission will need to include 6-8 slides for a 6-7-minute pitch presentation.  A suggested template for a pitch presentation can be found here. Final slide decks will be due, via this form, by May 20, 2024. 

Expert Review Committee
An expert review committee will select proposals to be funded. Review committee members will be Irving Institute faculty affiliates; the tenure of each committee member will be restricted to 2 years.  

Proposal Selection Criteria
The expert review committee will review all full proposals. Key selection criteria include: 

• Does the project address an important climate or energy challenge or need? 
• Does the project have a strong potential to make an important impact on how people see, understand, use, and adapt climate solutions and energy systems to advance widespread and equitable impact within the next 5-10 years? 
• Does the project help foster meaningful collaboration across disciplines?
   

Projects are expected to conclude on scope, on time and on budget. In exceptional cases, no-cost extensions may be requested in writing prior to the projected end date.  

Use of Funds 
Examples of how funding may be used include: seed new research projects or add new components to existing projects; support travel and supplies; hire student research assistants; pay for student employees; develop curriculum for new educational programs or classes; develop or purchase specific teaching aid(s) or material(s). Funds cannot be used to pay salaries of non-Dartmouth employees. 

Funds Management 
PI has sole responsibility for all expenditures. The Institute will provide regular summary reports and transaction-level details to PIs. Overages will be the sole responsibility of the PI and not the Irving Institute; any unused funds will revert to the Institute after the permitted funding period unless a no-cost extension has been granted. Awards may not be transferred to other institutions upon departure of the PI from Dartmouth.

Project Completion and Reporting 
All recipients of Irving Institute funding are expected to provide annual progress updates and a final report. Awardees will become Institute Affiliates if not already part of the community, be profiled on the Institute website and in social media and are expected to meet with fellow Institute grantees to join the growing Institute community, share findings, discuss new directions for collaborative inquiry and activity and present at an Irving Institute event. Recipients are expected to share documentation of supplemental funding (grant proposals/award letters, fellowship awards, etc.) and to acknowledge Institute funding and support in any publication or publicity. 

Each project will be considered complete, and its PIs will be eligible for possible future Institute funding when all of the following are submitted to the Irving Institute: 
A) Final project report and financial summary – due within a month of funding period conclusion. 
B) Web/social-media ready material, including photos, to share findings and lessons learned via Institute communication vehicles and a potential portal such as a grants SharePoint portal. 
C) Full documentation of any/all project deliverables, including published papers, public presentations/exhibits/videos, class materials, etc.