Vision Awards

The BIG Fall Funding Cycle will open October 14th and proposals will be due by November 2nd.  

Seed Awards of up to $30,000 will be offered; no Vision Awards will be offered this cycle.  

Vision Funds are designed to encourage faculty to explore new uncertain directions for their research rather than support their current research agendas. Vision grants should be used to systematically test theoretic assumptions underlying a research project and explore its potential to grow into a large research initiative. In addition, they serve to support preliminary work for a large research proposal to support a substantial research agenda with external funding. Vision projects can originate either as Seed projects or outside of the Big IDeas Generator. Vision grants are peer-reviewed and are focused on supporting data-generating activities, such as 

• Conducting experiments
• Sharing a post-doctoral fellow between departments
• Developing new techniques, or
• Other relevant activities

Vision awards will range from $50,000 - $100,000 for a maximum of 12 months of research work. The proposals should present a plan on how the grant will be crucial in allowing the research team to secure substantial external funding at later stages. These projects may receive customized support from the BIG team and Arete, a strategic research development unit at the Vice President for Research office. Support may involve developing a long-term operational plan and assistance in seeking additional external support in subsequent stages of the project. 

 

Selection Procedure

1. Applicants must submit a one page Pre-proposal and schedule a meeting with the BIG team to discuss the proposal. Please note: The Vision Pre-proposal application has similar questions and format as the Seed Proposal application.  However, only a small number of Pre-proposals will be invited to advance to the Full Proposal stage. Seed proposals, on the other hand, have a much higher chance to receive funding, and successful proposals can later apply for Vision grants. Submitting the same application for both Seed and Vision grants is not allowed.

2. After a meeting with BIG team and a brief review by the Faculty Advisory Council, a select number of Applicants will be invited to submit a Full Proposal. Full Proposals have a 25-33% chance of receiving BIG funding.

3. Two weeks later, Applicants will submit a Full Proposal that incorporates initial feedback. Full Proposals will address similar questions as the Pre-proposal but in much greater detail (up to 5 pages excluding references).

4. Full Proposals will then be sent for a peer review. After receiving peer-reviews, the Faculty Advisory Council will review the Full Proposal applications and peer review comments, and meet to make funding decisions.

5. Notices of award will be sent out within one week of the Advisory Council meeting. Successful award recipients will need to provide any additional documentation, make any requested changes to the proposal and the budget, and return a signed award agreement prior to funds being issued.

To apply for a Vision grant, a UChicago faculty member has to create a profile on My Portal and submit all application materials there. Below is an outline of the necessary application materials.

 

Pre-proposal Submission Guidelines

Submit a one page document (excluding references) using single space and standard font answering the questions below. 

Your Big Idea

 

1. How will it change the way we think?

State your big idea and how it relates to one of the guiding Big Questions.  Explain what is truly bold about your approach and the long-term impact on the field.

2.  What will you do?

Detail the major activities of the project over the grant period (e.g. methods, plans for analyses, etc.)

3.  How can it fail?

What are the sources of risk (intellectual, technical, etc.) for this project?

4.  What will you produce?

State concrete short-term research outputs for this project (e.g. datasets, tools, publications, etc.)

5.  How will this grant help you do what you want in the future?

Explain how receiving this grant will be crucial for securing external funding in the future. Please let us know if you have other sources of funding that will help leverage this grant.

 

 

Supplementary Pre-Proposal Materials

Suggested Peer Reviewers

Please identify at least two (2), and up to five (5) EXTERNAL peer reviewers who may be able to provide an expert perspective on your Vision proposal.  These reviewers must be external to the University of Chicago.  Your suggested reviewers must be qualified to review your research proposal, must not be a collaborator on your project, and must not possess any other conflict of interest in reviewing and scoring your proposal. Please be sure to include each suggested reviewer’s full name, title, affiliation, email address, phone number, and website address (if available). As part of the proposal evaluation process, the BIG team may contact these candidates for blind peer review. There is no guarantee that the reviewers you have listed here will review your proposal. 

 

Successful Pre-proposals will be invited to submit a Full Proposal.

 

Full Proposal Guidelines

Proposal Application Form

• Title of the proposal
• PI Name, rank, department
• Co-Investigators Name, rank, department, email
• Focus area(s): Information, Complexity, Cognition 
• Requested Amount

Please submit a 5 page document (excluding references), elaborating upon your answers to the pre-proposal questions below. Please use single space, 1” margins, and 12pt font.  All figures must be incorporated directly into the body of your proposal and are included in the 5 page limit.  Proposals longer than 5 pages (excluding references) will NOT be considered.

Please keep in mind that the proposal has to be clear both for peer reviewers in your field and Faculty Board reviewers from other disciplines.

 

 

Your Big Idea

1. How will your idea change the way we think?

State your big idea and how it relates to one of the guiding Big Questions.  Explain what is truly bold about your approach and the long-term impact on the field.  In what ways does this project represent a new direction for your lab?

2.  What will you do?

Detail the major activities of the project over the grant period, including methods, plans for analyses, etc. Please also state how this grant will help leverage your existing resources. 

3.  How can it fail?

What are the sources of risk (intellectual, technical, etc.) for this project?

4.  What will you produce?

State concrete short-term research outputs for this project (e.g. datasets, tools, publications, etc.)

5.  How will this grant help you do what you want in the future?

Sketch out a 2-3 year plan for research activities and external funding. Explain how receiving this grant will be crucial for accomplishing these long-term goals.  Please also comment on other resources/collaborators/initiatives at the University to which this project may be relevant.

 

Supplementary Proposal Materials

Abstract (200 words max.)

State your big idea, why it is important, what you will do, and why a BIG grant provides a unique value to your project.  Note that this may be posted for public view on our website.

 

Biosketch (1 page max.)

Please submit one biosketch for each investigator.

Detailed Budget

Please use the Budget Summary Sheet template to create a budget summary for each 3-month period according to the dates of the proposed funding periods (12 months max).  

Budget Justification Narrative

Please provide a brief justification for each line item in the proposed Budget. Please use Budget Guidelines when creating the budget and budget justification. Note that while each investigator must include effort in the budget for his or her proposal, that effort can be completely cost-shared (i.e., the effort can be included in the budget at a cost of $0). 

Supplemental Files

If desired, please upload up to 3 supplementary items (papers, posters, etc) that will relay more information about your idea. Please note that this step is entirely optional: there is no penalty for not uploading items and items will only be viewed if the reviewer wishes to gain additional context.

The full proposal must be submitted electronically through My Portal.