Since 2010, the IU Collaborative Research Grants program has provided research teams with up to $75,000 to fund innovative and multidisciplinary research, according to a ?University press release.
“As it was envisioned to do, the Collaborative Research Grants program continues to increase the capacity for our investigators to do meaningful and innovative work through new partnerships,” IU Vice President for Research Jorge José said in the press release. “This increased capacity for collaboration is an especially important outcome of ?this program.”
Each research team must represent multiple campuses, schools, departments or disciplines, according to IU Collaborative Research Grants program webpage.
This year’s 15 research teams represent 21 departments from eight schools on three campuses: IU-Bloomington, IU-Purdue University Indianapolis and IU-Southeast, according to the press release.
“The idea behind the program was to create incentives for researchers to initiate new ?collaborations to address important problems in transformative ways,” José said in the press release. “While we can fund only about 15 percent of the applications, just the process of preparing applications has created some new partnerships across ?the university.”
Each research project should increase IU’s competitiveness for external funding, according to ?the webpage.
Estimates show the more than $3 million distributed during the first three years of the IU Collaborative Research Grants program earned more than $88 million in external funding, according to the release. Those estimates are expected ?to grow.
“As the end of (José’s) tenure draws near, Indiana University can reflect positively on the distinct successes that have been achieved by this program: new and highly productive partnerships have been forged that have already led to new discoveries; the University’s investment has been realized more than tenfold thanks to subsequent related funding; and a new framework has been developed for our faculty that stimulates creative, passionate investigation through shared knowledge,” IU President Michael McRobbie said in ?the release.
Ashleigh Sherman
