2023 REALISE Seed Grant (pilot)  

The REALISE Seed Grant is an internal funding program, funded by the Office of the Vice-President (Research, Innovation and International) and offered on a one-year pilot basis, to initiate new interfaculty, multidisciplinary research collaborations, which have the potential to lead to external funding proposals or joint publications within two years.  

In the spirit of the REALISE Series, which supports interfaculty collaboration in both emerging and existing areas of expertise within Carleton, the 2023 REALISE Seed Grant (pilot) is an open call for all disciplines and subject areas. 

Available funding  

The pilot of this internal funding program will support approximately 8 seed grants, each with a maximum value of $12,000, to help jump start a new collaboration, a new multidisciplinary team, or incentivize the early stages of a multidisciplinary research project. Funding is meant to cover collaboration and communication costs and/or preliminary research costs for a term of 1 year. While proposals should be for 1 year in duration, all seed grants will come with an automatic, one-year, no-cost extension.  

Deadline 

Application: September 29, 2023, 4:30 p.m. EDT  

Eligibility criteria 

To be eligible, projects must: 

• Be co-directed by two (2) full-time faculty members of professorial rank (Assistant, Associate, and Full) from two (2) different Faculties at Carleton University.   
• Include a team comprised of a minimum of three (3) eligible team members (faculty members of professorial rank (Assistant, Associate, and Full), Adjunct Research Professors): 

• including the two (2) Co-Directors, and 
• at least one (1) Early Career Researcher (six (6) years from date of first tenure-track job, but can be extended due to career interruptions or special circumstances) 
• Have at least half (50%) of the team members new to collaborating with each other.  

Assessment criteria 

Applications that meet the eligibility criteria will be assessed according to the following criteria: 

• Alignment with Carleton University’s Strategic Integrated Plan  
• Plan and potential for leveraging REALISE Seed Grant to expand the collaboration, generate external funding proposals, shared research activities, and outputs such as joint publications within 2 years 
• Feasible budget 
• Demonstration of interdisciplinarity/multidisciplinarity.
  
  

Application instructions  

Complete application form that includes the following information:  

• Co-Directors info & link to webpage or bio 

• Carleton team info 
• Lay summary (150 words) 
• Collaboration Plan, including description of how your team will expand the collaboration, generate external funding proposals, shared research activities (500 words) 
• Anticipated outputs in Year 1 and, if relevant, the automatic extension year 
• Budget outline, with rationale. 

Eligible expenses 

This seed funding is meant to support the developmental stages of a project at an early stage. Funding from this grant is meant to fund one year of activities, though outputs might trickle into Year 2. Therefore, eligible expenses can vary based on the project or team needs, but could include:  

• Expenses related to convening seminars/meetings/workshops, including travel 
• Communications costs 
• Developing research materials, such as conducting surveys, literature reviews, creating a database 

• Conducting preliminary research activities 
• Research support staff (e.g., students, researchers, grant writers, web developers) 
• Expenses associated with the development of external funding proposals 

All expenses must be eligible with the Carleton University Research Expenses Guidelines. 

Funds cannot be transferred to other institutions. 

How to apply 

1. Download and complete the REALISE Seed Grant (pilot) application form.  
2. Email your completed application form to coris@carleton.ca (subject line: REALISE Application) no later than 4:30 p.m. (EDT) on September 29th, 2023. 
   
   

Note: Applicants who are awarded funding under the REALISE Seed Grant (pilot) will need to complete a cuResearch approval form prior to the release of funds. 

Reporting 

Submit a one-page report and a brief presentation to OVPRII/CORIS at the end of the 12-month grant that details the collaboration and the outcomes. Relevant next steps should be included in the report. Teams that fail to submit this report will not be eligible for future internal funding from OVPRII until the report is received. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Click HERE for a list of frequently asked questions.

Contact person 

OVPRII will provide support, on request, to teams to develop their applications, identify potential team members, and review collaboration plans and budgets. Please email Caroline Flocari, Project Officer, Strategic Initiatives, CORIS, for support or with any questions about the REALISE Seed Grant (pilot). We also encourage all applicants to reach out to their Faculty Research Facilitator(s).