Research & Scholarship Seed Grants

Submit a one-page (1-inch margins, 11-point font) written pre-proposal addressing the following five key questions:

1. Context/Background: What is the context of your project? 
2. Unknowns: What gaps in knowledge do you propose to address? What scholarship do you hope to advance?
3. Project Objective: What are you proposing to do (one sentence)?
4. Approach & Expected Outcomes: What steps will you take, and what outcomes do you anticipate?
5. Impact: What impact will this project have? How does this project advance the Institute's mission or vision?

Include names of team members and their affiliations

Include the requested budget amount (include major categories, no indirect costs; include fringe).

Submit Pre-Proposal

Invited teams will submit:

PILOT GRANTS (up to $50k)

• Full proposal as a single PDF:
  • Title and list of team members
  • Abstract, Specific Aims, and Narrative (max. 3 pages) 
    • 150-word lay abstract followed by a list and brief description of specific aims (total 1 page)
    • Narrative (background, approach, expected outcomes, significance) (2 pages maximum)
• Detailed budget and budget narrative
• CVs/resumés (2 pages max. for faculty/postdocs/grad students; 1 page max. for undergrads); postdoc mentor letter

DEVELOPMENT GRANTS (>$50k, up to $100k)

• Full proposal as a single PDF:
  • Abstract, Specific Aims, and Narrative (max, 4 pages)
  • 150-word lay abstract followed by a list and brief description of specific aims (total 1 page)
  • Narrative (background, approach, expected outcomes, significance) (3 pages maximum)
• Detailed budget and budget narrative
• CVs/resumés (2 page max. for faculty/postdocs/grad students; 1 page max. for undergrads); postdoc mentor letter
• Slides: 6–8 slides for a 5-minute presentation

Projects should:

• Address a significant energy and society challenge; help accelerate the energy transition; put the Irving Institute on the map (required)
• Demonstrate potential impact within 5–10 years (required)
• Show interdisciplinary collaboration (preferred)

Funds may support:

• Research, travel, and supplies
• Student and research staff salaries
• Publication costs
• Equipment expenses if cost-shared or matched by departments

Not allowed: salaries for non-Dartmouth employees or transfers to other institutions; salaries for tenured faculty.

Recipients are expected to:

• Become Irving Institute Affiliates
• Report on outcomes achieved (patents, publications, subsequent grants, etc.) annually and/or at the end of the project cycle 
• Provide the actual spend-to-date as of Q3 (i.e., March 31st) each year of the award so that we may understand the likelihood of exhausting the funding by the end of each fiscal year
• Return any unexpended funds at the end of the funding period 
• Provide outreach materials (photos, web content) for the institute's website, newsletter and related publications
• Acknowledge Institute support in publications
• Participate in Institute events and community meetings
• Request no-cost-extensions, if needed, by the end of March of the year the grant is supposed to end

Projects are complete when all reports and deliverables are submitted.