A central component of NH-INBRE is its Developmental Research Projects Program (DRPP). Through this mechanism, NH-INBRE provides grants for Research Projects (RP, 50% effort) and Pilot Projects (PP, 25% effort) to faculty from Partner colleges: Colby-Sawyer College, Franklin Pierce University, Keene State College, New England College, Plymouth State University, and St. Anselm College. Grants may be from the Partner faculty alone or collaborative with faculty from a Lead institution, Dartmouth and UNH. Applicants must be full-time faculty. To select projects, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) has been prepared that requests Letters of Intent (LOIs). A review of current NH-INBRE projects by our External Advisory Committee (EAC) will take place in fall, 2014 to determine who will be permitted to apply for a renewal, based on productivity, biomedical relevance, and the types of research experiences provided to undergraduates. LOIs will be reviewed by the NH-INBRE Administrative Core (AC) for eligibility, biomedical relevance, and whether the research fits into one of NH-INBRE's multidisciplinary themes. Faculty will have ~ 7 weeks to submit grant applications (due early 2015). Applications will follow the NIH format but include a section for a progress report or preliminary data. Reviewers will be selected for expertise in the area of the grant and will come from the Dartmouth, UNH, or other institutions. No faculty who have been mentors or collaborators on NH-INBRE projects will serve as reviewers. Each application will be reviewed by at least two people. Reviewers will receive written criteria for evaluation and are based on those used to evaluate NIH R15 grants: support for meritorious research, strengthen the research environment, and expose undergraduates to research. The reviews will be evaluated by the NH-INBRE AC, projects prioritized, and budgets determined based on the budget requested and available funds. Grants selected will be forwarded to the EAC and then NIH for approval. 2 RPs and 8 PPs are currently supports; it is anticipated that approximately the same number will be supported in the future. PIs will submit annual progress reports that will be reviewed by the EAC. The DRPP will identify appropriate mentors for PIs, based on scientific interests and experience directing a research program. Mentors and mentees will be provided with guidelines that make clear the goals of NH-INBRE and expectations of NH-INBRE for mentors and mentees. Each year, our internal evaluation team will oversee evaluation of mentors and mentees by one another. Mentors may be changed at any time if the relationship is not working or upon request by either mentor or mentee. The DRPP also administers a program to support recruitment of new faculty. Partners may request NH- INBRE's involvement at any stage of the process from developing a description of the available position to review of applications to interactions with candidates. NH-INBRE is willing to match startup funds provided by the Partner, up to $25,000, for projects that fit into NH-INBRE's themes.
The purpose of the Developmental Research Projects Program (DRPP) is to provide an internal mechanism for obtaining evaluating research proposals from faculty at Partner schools. The DRPP develops and releases funding opportunity announcements to NH-INBRE participating institutions that solicit research proposals from faculty members. The proposals that fit into the biomedical themes of NH-INBRE then undergo anonymous peer review and are ranked according to perceived merit. Both scientific merit and the ability of the project and its Principal Investigator to provide a solid research experience for undergraduate students participating in the project are considered. Funding is awarded based on this ranking. The DRPP also supports the hiring of new faculty that have research interests in the NH-INBRE themes at Partner institutions by contributing to the startup packages provided to new faculty so that they can establish their research programs. The DRPP also oversees a mentoring program that provides mentoring guidance for the development of all NH-INBRE supported faculty at the Partners.
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