Any Tufts faculty or research staff that is actively contributing to scholarship, research, and/or creative work is eligible to apply. Please note that everyone on the project must be eligible to conduct research or scholarship according to applicable School requirements and restrictions. All applicants must hold a primary appointment at a Tufts School or unit, or Medical Center.

Only ONE application per PI per cycle is allowed. A specific project may only be resubmitted one time. Resubmissions should specifically note changes made to strengthen the project.

Exclusions:

• Tufts Springboard will not fund projects related to currently funded Provost/OVPR programs, including Tufts Initiative on Substance Use and Addiction, and programs funded by the Tufts Research & Scholarship Strategic Plan (CIMAR, CREATE, Culture, History & Translation (CHT), Equity in Health, Wealth & Civic Engagement, Healthy Aging at Tufts, L2D, TIGOR).
• Investigators may receive Springboard funding no more than once every three years.

The duration of the award is up to one year for Tiers 2 & 3. For R&S applications submitted in May, projects will start on August 1, and applications submitted in September, projects will start on January 1.

All expenditures must be made by the project end date and any unused funds must be returned. No-cost extensions will not be permitted except under special circumstances. The feasibility of completing the proposed work and submission for extramural funding opportunity in one year (tiers 2 and 3) are key review criteria.

For FY25, the Tier 1 program will be on hiatus as we seek to revise the program to increase its impact and better meet the needs of applicants. Instead, the focus will be on Tier 2 and Tier 3 awards for R&S during this period.

Tier 2
Funding up to $35,000 may be requested to support field-defining and ambitious research projects that will build collaborative teams with the goal to amplify long-term research, scholarship, and educational endeavors. These distinct projects can include activities and events such as major symposia or other events that draw international attention to Tufts as a leader in the field and strongly position investigators to secure extramural funding. While not required, successful Tier 2 projects typically involve new, cross-disciplinary collaborations or provide opportunities to further develop existing collaborations. An extramural funding plan is required, with the expectation that applicants will apply for external funding within one calendar year of the end of the funding period. An additional detailed continuation plan to demonstrate how the work proposed leads to long-term goals that advance the research and scholarship fields represented and lead to societal impact.

Tier 3
Funding up to $15,000 may be requested to support a range of research, scholarly, and/or pedagogical activities—from developing a new project or curriculum calibrated to a specific program or sponsor, to expanding pilot data to respond to grant application review critiques, or launching a team-based effort to develop further research and scholarship.  Applications must be accompanied by evidence of potential success (e.g., relevant grant reviews, or other supporting material that suggests likelihood of next stage success). Recent examples of successful Tier 3 Research & Scholarship projects have included secondary data analysis, developing digital tools to advance a research project, small pilot projects to collect preliminary data, evaluation of existing programs, creating new platforms for disseminating research and scholarship, symposia, and related activities.  Extramural applications are strongly encouraged and a detailed continuation plan required.

Research and Scholarship Review Process: Tufts Springboard will use a Distributed Peer Review process in which the applicants serve as the reviewers. This process has been successfully trialed in previous Springboard cycles and has also been used successfully at the NSF and USDA, as well as large foundations. Each PI must review the proposals submitted by 5-8 of their peers, and you will have your application reviewed by the same number of your peers. You will have 30 days to complete the reviews. Failure to submit reviews may result in disqualification. Those projects indicating that they have a focus on racial inequities and/or promoting anti-racist interventions will undergo additional review from experts in these areas.

The PI or designate (grant administrator) will be responsible for financially managing the award. Funds will be disbursed to the School/unit where the lead PI is primarily affiliated based on the approved budget. The budget should follow the policies of the University and the applicable School(s). Expenses will be periodically reviewed to ensure allowability of funds and that the project is progressing in a timely manner.

Funds can only be used for the activities or experiments described in the proposal. Re-budgeting can be requested if there are line-item reallocations that are necessary to complete the project or will provide a superior result. All funds must be utilized within the project period, any unused funds must be returned. No-cost extensions will not be permitted unless there is strong justification and must be requested 90 days before the project end date. Please note that no more than one NCE will be allowed per project, and any funds that are unspent must be returned to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.  Re-budget requests should be submitted to Springboard@tufts.edu and no-cost extension requests should be submitted via the NCE form.

Reasonable requests to cover faculty and non-faculty researcher salaries may be made to ensure that investigators can dedicate sufficient time to the project. Expenditures for course releases are permitted according to School policies and appropriate approvals.  Fringe benefits charges for personnel must be included in preparing the project's budget based on the University’s established rates. Post-doc, technician, and student salaries are allowable expenses.

If core services are required (e.g., sequencing or imaging), preference must be given to Tufts core facilities if those capabilities exist. If funding for outside cores is requested, a justification is required. For a full list of Tufts core facilities please see: https://viceprovost.tufts.edu/core-facilities/

Funds can be requested for equipment if the equipment will be primarily used by Tufts faculty, students, and staff for the proposed activities or experiments described in the proposal. Equipment purchased is property of the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research; transfer of property ownership will be considered at the end of the grant period. Reasonable requests for travel will be permitted.

Generally, the budget may not be used to pay for:

• Indirect costs and overhead
• Tuition costs
• Refreshment costs or meals
• Laptops/Computers
• Student Health Insurance
• Salary for collaborators outside of Tufts

The proposal review committee retains the right to veto any budget item it deems unallowable. The receipt of an award may be conditioned on budget modifications.

Awards involving human research participants, biohazards, use of animals, hazardous materials, and radiation sources must be approved through the respective regulatory office in the OVPR.

All awards are subject to the Tufts IP Policy.

NB: Awardees in the Research & Scholarship strand must commit to participating in 3 consultations with the OVPR team during the life of the award in addition to a final report and presentation:

1. Pre-award planning meeting to tailor a support strategy (August/January)
2. Half-way check-in (January/June)
3. Final report and presentation (October/March)

All applications must be submitted electronically via InfoReady. In addition to completing the proposal demographic data (PI, collaborators, budget, etc.) in InfoReady, please complete and upload the proposal description, including biosketches, letters of support, and budget justification in InfoReady by 12PM on the submission due date.

1. Project Description. All sections of the project description template must be completed (no more than 3 pages). Please remember that reviewers may not be in your field, so write your project description for an audience who will not have your specific expertise. Address each element in enough detail that the reviewers can determine the extent to which your proposal adheres to the review criteria:
    
   1. What is the background for this application? Specifically discuss your own preliminary data/work/contributions and funding (internal and external), as well as other work that has been done in the area. Briefly describe how your proposed project will fill a need or a critical gap in knowledge.
   2. Describe the proposed work. Include sections for i) Aim, ii) Hypothesis (if applicable), iii) Design, iv) Methods and v) Table of Project Timeline. Be sure to describe how it will build upon past work and ways in which any collaborators, students, or other participants in the work will contribute to the project. Please be sure to include sufficient detail in your design and methods sections for reviewers to be able to evaluate likelihood of project success.
   3. Describe the follow-up work and how it will be funded. (For example, what are the plans for continuing or building on the proposed project after this award ends and how this project will allow you to move toward your long-term goals?
      
      (Please see project timeline examples/templates below)
       
2. Abbreviated CV or NSF/NIH-style Biosketch (no more than five single-spaced pages per person).
    
3. For Research & Scholarship Proposals: Letters Committing Support of Collaborators and Service Providers
    
4. References/Bibliography. A list of references relevant to the project may be included but is not required.
    
5. Budget Justification (2-page limit): Provide the following details for your budget request:

• Details explaining the necessity of each budget item.
• Description of each person's role in the project, percentage of effort, and estimated costs.
• List of any in-kind (no cost to the grant) contributions from Tufts central services, any other school or department, and faculty mentors or consultants (e.g., salaries and supplies).
• Justify use of non-Tufts service of cores when similar resources are available at Tufts.
   

* For Research & Scholarship awards