Connect & Catalyze Grants: Request for Proposals

Evgenia Adair — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 04:33:33 +0000

Connect & Catalyze Grants: Request for Proposals Evgenia Adair Mon, 12/01/2025 - 21:33

CO-CREATE IMPACT

We invite �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder faculty to submit proposals that elevate the wellness of young people and the adults who support them. The goals of the Connect & Catalyze Grants are to promote new interdisciplinary relationships across campus, strategically using seed funds to catalyze larger grants aligned to the mission of the Crown Institute, and strengthening Crown Institute research-practice partnerships in Colorado.

Crown Institute Mission

We seek to promote the wellness of young people and the systems and adults who support them through interdisciplinary research-practice partnerships.

Crown Institute Vision

We imagine a world where every young person thrives, supported by the caring relationships and inner resources required for a lifetime of wellness.

SIZE AND SCOPE

We will make awards for $50,000 for two-year projects.

We are offering 5 grants to current �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder tenure line faculty as seed grants to develop collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects. We expect that these seed grants will help to nurture new collaborative relationships, providing seed money for pilot projects that may turn into larger and longer term projects. We especially encourage projects that are community-engaged research that include a clear public impact or research-practice partnerships and invite you to include community partners in your proposal.

TIMELINE

Application Deadline

January 16, 2026

Awards Notification

February 27, 2026

Projects Begin

Spring or Summer 2026

Apply Here

APPLICATION AND AWARDS DETAILS

Application Details

1. Cover Page:

Project title and contact information for each applicant
Three-sentence summary of project
Amount requested

2. Narrative:

One paragraph lay summary/abstract (i.e., non-technical language) This should include text which connects this project to prior funded projects, if relevant.
Brief overview of the issue or need to be addressed
Primary research question(s) or purposes. Project plans and timeline should be described.
Intended audience and demonstrated need. Explain the need for the proposed project, including issue(s) or problem(s) it seeks to address and if the project is responding to a direct request. Describe external partners and/or constituents, including pertinent demographic information.
Methodological approach/research design
Evaluation measures to assess project impact or potential
Brief timeline
Anticipated challenges and strategies for resolution
Team member details
- CU faculty/staff/researcher/student roles
- Partner roles: If there is a partner outside of CU, please describe the role of the project partners and how the partnership will mutually benefit faculty, students and community participants.
- Strategy for future funding (be sure to include specific ideas of foundations or funding sources)

3. References

4. If applicable, letter of support from community partners

5. Budget Information

Funding requested: Total dollar amount of funding requested
Budget narrative: Specifically explain how your budget will support the activities and people described previously in your proposal.
Provide a justification of the items requested in the budget. Particular attention should be given to justifying budget items that may not be immediately clear to reviewers who are familiar with (but not experts in) your specific field. Up to 2 pages total (approximately 1 page for the budget and 1 page for the budget justification). (Note: this is not included in the 5-page limit for the narrative.)
Expense breakdown: Provide dollar amount and a brief description of the projected expenses and identify each expense in one of the following designated categories:
- Personnel salary: Faculty (academic year course buyout or summer salary), Research Associates, Graduate Assistants, Undergraduate Students, etc.
- Fringe benefits as posted here
- Consultants or contracts (e.g., for compensating partners)
- Participant incentives
- Travel
- Materials/supplies
- Technology/equipment
- Other direct costs: (include required tuition and fees if GRAs are part of the project)

Please note the following parameters for budgets to be funded through this RFP:

We cannot cover overhead or indirect costs with this funding.
Budget requests are intended to support postdocs, graduate students or undergraduates at the �Թ�� of Colorado Boulder.
Requests solely for faculty salary support are discouraged; however, applicants may request:
- Up to two weeks of summer salary, or
- Academic year course buyout (Note: the amount will vary by unit.)
If you choose to fund an academic course buyout, please briefly explain the reason for an academic course buyout in terms of the work that is needed for the project.
Up to 12.5% of annual salary for RAs/SRAs with appointments of 50% or more.

Criteria for Selection

Proposals will be evaluated by the Crown Institute Connect & Catalyze Grant Review Committee based on the following criteria:

Alignment with Crown Institute vision and mission
Significance and potential public and academic impact of the proposed work

Strength and interdisciplinarity of the team (cross-departmental, cross-sector, or community collaboration)
Responsiveness to community needs and/or research-practice relevance

Clear strategy for leveraging seed funding into external support
Appropriateness and justification of the budget

Expectations of Grantees

Participate in an interdisciplinary learning community . This learning community will look to enhance the strength of our individual projects and the collective work of the Crown Institute through shared inquiry and reflection.
Present your project  to the broader community of Crown Institute affiliates and partners at least one time.

Complete a Best Practice Review Worksheet annually to ensure alignment with Crown Institute best practices and standards.
Complete a public-facing report describing your findings or lessons, which can be shared on the Crown Institute’s website and distributed to public audiences that you identify within 30 days after the grant ends.

External funding: Recipients are strongly encouraged to submit a proposal for external funding (for related work) within 18 months of receiving the grant.

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