EARDA Phase II goals are to: (a) Continue enhancing the biomedical/behavioral research infrastructure and research administration (b) Continue strengthening capacity for facility to conduct biomedical/behavioral research (c) Improve the technology whereby faculty can gain access to funding sources The above goals are to be accomplished through the following activities among others: (1) Support grant writing and development workshops and seminars on preparing competitive applications (2) Support faculty pilot study projects by providing seed money (3) Strengthen the Office of Sponsored Research for the Sciences (OSRS) (4) Intensify collaborations and partnerships with research intensive institutions for joint application development and research and (5) Provide travel funds to faculty and students for scholarly activities During its brief two years of existence, OSRS/EARDA Project increased the number of: (i) applications submitted and funds requested from $1 million to $2.5 million, (ii) faculty pilot projects funded from zero to three in one year, (iii) faculty collaborations from zero to three, and (iv) grant development workshops and seminars from zero to two and six prospectively. The OSRS/EARDA Phase II will expand research opportunities to industrial technology and behavior science, assist faculty in developing more competitive applications and increase research collaborations with research intensive institutions. The university administration is committed to the continuation of this project beyond EARDA funding.
