The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity to assist Princeton principal investigators (PIs) to prepare major interdisciplinary team proposals in response to federal, state, and foundation requests. This funding opportunity intends to increase the capacity for PIs to develop ideas across the interdisciplinary academic community, facilitate team formation, and prepare proposals in response to, for example, calls for NSF ERC/STC, DOE EFRC, DOD MURI, as well as other programs from government agencies, foundations, and industrial sponsors with a total estimated budget no less than $3M. The Andlinger Center recognizes that assembling interdisciplinary teams and putting together thoughtful, high-quality proposals require resources; by supporting the planning activities ahead of proposal submissions, this initiative is meant to lower the barrier for PIs to respond to such calls.

Proposal Preparation Instructions:

Submission Deadline: On a rolling basis to accommodate program proposal deadlines, though preferred dates are on the first day of each quarter (January 2, April 1, July 1, October 1).
Submission Method: Send a single PDF file to acee@princeton.edu.
Eligibility: This call is open to all Princeton Researchers who are eligible to serve as principal investigators (PIs) on R&D grants.
Planning Grant Award Amount: up to $30,000.
Review Process: The proposal will be reviewed by the Andlinger Center leadership team on rolling basis.

Proposal Structure:

Title of Proposed Project: The title should begin with “Planning Grant:” followed by the rest of the title.
Project Summary: Summarize the planning grant narrative in one-half page.
Project Description: The project description should be no more than 2.5 pages and contain the following sections:

• 1. Proposing Team: List the names of the PI and co-PIs, departments, partner institutions, if beyond Princeton University, and most relevant field(s) of expertise.

• 2. Rationale: Make the case for why a planning grant is necessary. What specific sponsors/funding opportunities are targeted? Describe in detail how you will use this planning grant to prepare for a compelling proposal. Details may include possible dates, locations, participants, objectives and outcomes of proposed planning meetings or activities, and any other relevant information.

• 3. Expected Benefits and Impact: What would the planning grant enable that is not currently in place or funded by another source? What aspects of the proposed approach would be most likely to change as a result of the activities described in this planning grant?

4. Team Formation: Describe the strategies that will be used to identify and bring together the best team, including effective leadership and management.

NSF-style Biographical Sketches: Should be included for the PI and co-PIs responsible for managing the planning grant.
Budget: Budget justification should explain how the budget supports the overall goal of the planning grant. Project budgets may include, but are not limited, to travel, meeting and/or workshop expenses, and salary/benefits support of up to $6,500, (estimated based on the support of one month for a postdoc). Outside collaborators are welcomed. Overhead charges do not apply. The planning grant is for one year and the proposed budget for each planning grant should not exceed $30,000.
Reporting: Each grantee is expected to provide a one-page summary listing the activities and accomplishments (proposal submitted/awarded, results obtained, connections made, etc.) by the end of the project period. The grantee should also include the title and executive summary of the major proposal submitted to the funding agency where appropriate.
Questions: Please contact acee@princeton.edu for any questions.