Purdue Policy Research Institute announces 2023-24 request for proposals (RFP)

The Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI) in Discovery Park District at Purdue is pleased to announce its 2023-24 request for proposals (RFP). PPRI is committed to catalyzing transdisciplinary research that seeks to address issues of policy import. As a reflection of this commitment, PPRI seeks proposals that foster transdisciplinary research and inform or assess policy (i.e. generate policy recommendations, develop a model for assessing the effectiveness of a policy, or inform stakeholders — public, legislators, etc. — on a particular policy topic) related to one of the following PPRI 2023-24 priority areas: workforce development (particularly in the spirit of the CHIPS Act) or digital health equity.

Initiative Description and Scope

This RFP is designed to seed research that leads to larger external funding proposals. PPRI will fund up to three transdisciplinary teams to conduct research needed to position the team well for larger proposals. The project period is one year beginning in November 2023.

This initiative will provide seed funding for projects such as pilot studies, needs assessments and planning grants. Each selected team will receive a $15,000 grant to conduct research and communicate about its project to a broad audience. Teams may use this grant mechanism to supplement current funding from other sources, but new project aims must be developed for the PPRI funding.

As part of the initiative, selected teams must participate in an in-person kickoff meeting in November 2023. The objectives of this meeting are to orient grantees to PPRI, discuss ways PPRI can support each project and help develop a professional community among award recipients. Each of the selected teams will present their work in an event following the close of the projects.

PPRI will help to communicate the outcomes of these projects, beyond the project communication plans and end of project event, to its networks and broader groups of external stakeholders.

Team Requirements

To be eligible, each team must meet the following requirements:

• Teams should consist of team members from diverse disciplines, including STEM and social sciences/humanities/arts. Each team should include at least one member from a STEM discipline and at least one from social sciences/humanities/arts.
• All team members must actively and purposefully work together on the project. A statement on transdisciplinary work among a diverse team is included in the proposal requirements below. Here is a blog post from Purdue Polytechnic that describes what transdisciplinary research is: https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/blog/what-transdisciplinarity.

Proposal Requirements

Proposals are due Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET and must include the following:

A description of the project (limited to 2,000 words).

• Project aims: What are the objectives of this project?
• Plans for designing and implementing the project and a timeline: What will the project look like and what is the timeline for activities?
• A communication plan that explains how research results will be communicated to a broad audience, including policymakers: How will the results of the project be communicated?
• The transdisciplinary nature of the project: What disciplines or stakeholder groups are involved with the project? How will these groups/members actively work together on this project?
• A detailed budget that explains how funds will be spent.
• A plan for how this seed grant will be used to “seed” future external funding proposals, including which funding agencies/organizations will be pursued.
• CV/resume of each of the team members (these do not count toward the 2,000-word maximum).

Applications will be evaluated based on:

• Strength of project proposal: How effectively does the proposal address each of the requirements above?
• Importance to policy development or assessment related to workforce development or digital health equity: What is the potential impact from the proposed work? To what extent does the proposal address policy development or assessment in workforce development or digital health equity?
• Evidence of a transdisciplinary team: Does the team include at least one member from a STEM discipline and at least one from social sciences/humanities/arts? How integrated across disciplines is the proposed approach? What is the depth of experience or understanding of team members on transdisciplinary work?
• Budget appropriate to the work: Is the amount requested appropriate for the work that is proposed? If it does not seem to be enough, is there a clear plan to augment these resources?

For more information, please contact professor Stacey Connaughton, PPRI director, at sconnaug@purdue.edu or Krista Kelley, PPRI senior operations manager, at kokelley@purdue.edu.

Proposals should be submitted to Stacey Connaughton, sconnaug@purdue.edu, and Krista Kelley, kokelley@purdue.edu.

We look forward to receiving your proposals!