Network Catalyst Grants

An Initiative of the Institute for a Sustainable Earth at George Mason University

 

Please contact Dr. Jeremy M. Campbell for more information: jcampb30@gmu.edu 

Applications due Friday, March 22, 2024.

Informational Webinars: Mon., Feb 26 at 4 pm (click here to join!) and also on Thurs., March 7 at 9 am

Grand challenges require transdisciplinary research that broadly engages communities beyond the university. With the Network Catalyst Grants, the Institute for a Sustainable Earth will support the development of transdisciplinary faculty teams in applied research aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Supported teams will catalyze a network of collaborators within and beyond George Mason University and aim to secure additional sources of funding. The ISE is growing a broad network of partners, and Network Catalyst teams will work with the Institute to forge new and sustained engagements with community-based organizations, NGOs, governments, the private sector, or other strategic partners. The Network Catalyst Grants Program accelerates transdisciplinary engagement on critical issues from a university-wide perspective. 

 

Network Catalyst Teams are:

  1. Transdisciplinary: Composed of at least two Mason-based faculty researchers who bring to bear distinct but complementary methods, frameworks, or experiences in the realm of sustainability science, broadly conceived. 
  2. Engaged: Teams will meet and collaborate with community-based organizations; local, state, or national governments; and/or other academic partners to co-create lines of impactful applied research.
  3. Seeking Sustained Support: Faculty teams will identify and pursue several  grant or foundation opportunities to fund their collaborative research beyond the period of the Network Catalyst Grant.  

 

Funded teams will receive:

  • Network Catalyst Grant funds ($5,000), to be used for:
    • Hosting workshops focused on a sustainability or resilience theme with transdisciplinary dimensions with participating faculty, external partners, graduate students, and other relevant constituents.
    • Student wage work in support of the team’s goals.
    • Basic materials and costs associated with research and discovery.
  • A fully-funded Graduate Research Fellow stipend for Summer 2025 ($8,500) to support further development of the network.
    • The faculty team will define the scope of work during the 2024-25 academic year, and work with the ISE to identify and evaluate candidates.
  • ISE support in facilitating partnerships, planning workshops, identifying grant opportunities, supporting proposal development, and developing an overall strategy to sustain the research network.

 

Eligibility and Application Details:

George Mason University faculty members are encouraged to apply in teams of at least two but no more than eight participants. Please indicate one person to be the corresponding applicant (PI). The grant period is from June 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025. Successful applications will include:

  1. A compelling description of the transdisciplinary network the team plans to construct, organized around a clear and specific theme from within the broad area of sustainability sciences and/or the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. What is the research goal of the team, and why does it matter? Applicants should explain how their envisioned network, once catalyzed, would advance both research and practice in important ways.
  2. An initial list of community collaborators beyond George Mason University. The ISE will assist successful applicants in the construction of their collaborator networks, but applicants should identify specific non-university partners that are active or interested in the specific sustainability topic they will explore. Faculty are encouraged to describe any existing relationships with external partners, as well. 
  3. A short discussion of personnel. Please provide a brief overview of the qualifications and relevant experience of the transdisciplinary research team members. In addition, provide a list of Mason-based researchers not party to the application who the team may plan to engage.
  4. A discussion of possible funding opportunities that the Network Team is interested in pursuing. These could be from traditional research agencies (NSF, NIH, NOAA, etc.), foundations, or specialized funders. 
  5. A proposed timeline for grant activities, from June 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025. Please be as specific as possible regarding personnel roles and responsibilities. Also please sketch out an initial plan for sustaining success within your network beyond the grant period (for example, applicants can indicate opportunities for co-authorship with community partners, or plans for sustaining engagement via internships, graduate student work, etc.).
  6. A detailed budget describing the uses to which your team will put the grant award of $5,000. Allowed expenses include costs associated with hosting workshops, student wage labor, regional travel, and modest materials expenses. Note that the Graduate Research Fellow stipend for Summer 2025 ($8,500) need not be included in your project budget.  

Applications are due by 11:59 pm on Friday, March 22, 2024, and should be mailed as one unified PDF (not to exceed 5 pages) with subject line “Network Catalyst Application” to mise@gmu.edu (Institute for a Sustainable Earth). Applicants should be available in early March for interviews, and ISE leadership will announce the winning teams in mid-April.