Development Grants

The Development Grant is for funding up to $10,000 to create an initial framework for future partnership and collaboration between UMB and UCR in the area of aging research. Development Grant awardees can use the grants to create a collaborative project that can later be the basis for an AYY Seed Grant or other extramural funding program.

Activities supported by the Development Grant include the following:

Developing research partnership infrastructure
Facilitating formal and informal meetings for partners to identify shared goals, priorities, research interests, and sharing of resources and funding
Facilitating open dialogue and bidirectional learning through workshops and joint meetings around a research question and proposed research partnership
Identifying UCR partner(s) and community partners to help define a research question
Building capacity for community partners who will be part of the research collaboration (e.g., IRB training, training on research design and methods, etc.)
Building capacity for academic partnerships (e.g., tackling cross national and/or cross institution research partnership challenges and opportunities)
Identifying the needs of traditionally underserved or marginalized aging populations in the US and/or Costa Rica that could benefit from a UMB/UCR research project

The applications are closed for 2024. When applications are reopened, it will be advertised widely.

Up to $10,000 in direct costs for 12 months (no indirect costs allowed).
No salary support is permitted.
All fund usage must comply with UMB regulations.
Use the Budget Justification Template as a guide.

Allowable Expenses:

Stipend for external contractors or community partners in Costa Rica or the US
Travel costs to Costa Rica or US
Lodging
Supplies
Facility use fees
Activity costs, such as research training for partners and other expenses required to develop the partnership

Unallowable Expenses:

Tuition
Refreshments
Purchase of office or laboratory furniture
Phone services
Professional membership fees

The proposal should be typed and double-spaced in 11-point Arial font (no more than five pages). See the Development Grant Template for an example.

Include the following sections in the Development Grant proposal:

- Proposal abstract (250-word limit)
- Project purpose and study objectives
  - A statement on how this Development Grant funding will lead to the next grant submission, as well as advance the investigators’ future research in aging.
  - A list of the collaborating investigators from UMB and UCR and their roles on the project.
- Background and references
- Methods and research plan, including how ongoing partnership between UMB and UCR will be facilitated
- Impact of Development Grant on developing and sustaining a research partnership between UCR and UMB and the impact on the field of gerontology
- Timeline (consider need for IRB approval)
- Budget and budget justification
- Letters of support from partners, e.g. UCR faculty and community organizations (optional but encouraged)

Applications will be peer-reviewed, evaluated, and scored using the following criteria:
- Relevance to AYY. Is there a likelihood of the Development Grant leading to a research partnership between UMB and UCR? Are there clear plans to move the project through to the next step of funding?
- Investigator(s)’ capabilities and likelihood of success. Is there evidence of success in previous research activities, grant awards, and publication history of at least one investigator? Are optional letters of support from collaborators representative of strong collaborative intent?
- Soundness of the approach and methods
- Scientific impact in the field of aging and gerontology, novelty, and merit
- Feasibility of sustained research partnership within defined budget period
- Potential for additional funding to further expand the research partnership and Development Grant endeavors
- Does the budget clearly define the resources necessary to complete the research project?