Campus & Community

Deadline Is March 1 to Submit Proposals to 2021 CUSE Grant Program

Monday, January 11, 2021, By News Staff

Faculty interested in submitting a proposal for the 2021 Collaboration for Unprecedented Success and Excellence (CUSE) Grant Program have until 5 p.m. Monday, March 1, to apply.

Student working in the laboratory of Professor Robert Doyle

A student works in the laboratory of Professor Robert Doyle.

The funding effort, managed by the University’s Office of Research, seeks to grow the research enterprise, foster interdisciplinary collaborations and enhance University-based scholarship to increase extramural funding and high-quality scholarly output. The program was launched in 2017 as part of the $100 million Invest Syracuse initiative to enhance academic excellence.

The 2021 CUSE Grant Program incorporates significant changes in response to requests from the Syracuse University research community. These include:

  • A reduction in the number of proposal documents needed for all grant applications, especially for the smaller funding opportunities, to reduce the burden of application completion.
  • An increase in the amount of funding that can be requested for equipment on the Innovative and Interdisciplinary Research and Good to Great grants, from $5,000 to $10,000.
  • For 2021, the program will offer a limited number of COVID-Relief Grants of up to $15,000 to fund the continuation or completion of ongoing research projects that have slowed or stalled due to the impact of the pandemic.

The CUSE grant program supports faculty research in all disciplines, including basic, translational and applied sciences; social sciences; physical and life sciences; engineering; liberal arts and humanities; and professional studies, as well as creative and other scholarly activities. Priority is given to strategic interdisciplinary initiatives at the University and disciplinary research areas with great potential for extramural funding and institutional recognition.

Five types of grants are available for 2021:

  • Seed Grant: Funding is capped at $5,000 per grant. Applications can be individuals or teams.
  • Innovative and Interdisciplinary Research Grant: Funding is capped at $30,000 per grant. Applications can be individuals (innovative) or teams (interdisciplinary research).
  • Good to Great Grant: Funding is capped at $30,000 per grant. Applications can be individuals or teams.
  • Interdisciplinary Seminar Grant: Funding is capped at $10,000. Applications can be individuals or teams.
  • COVID-Relief Grant: Funding is capped at $15,000.  Applications can be individuals or teams.

The full RFP is available on the Office of Research web site. Applications are now being accepted through Syracuse University’s Applicant Portal: https://syracuse.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/1830648.

A general information session will be held via Zoom on Jan. 20. Subject-specific information sessions are also being scheduled; check research.syr.edu for more scheduled events.

In the 2020 round, the CUSE Grant Program funded 59 projects in the humanities, social sciences, creative arts and STEM areas.

For more information, visit the CUSE Grant Program website.