Workshops By Theme

Instrumentation & Infrastructure

Department of Defense (DoD) University Instrumentation Program (DURIP)
The Department of Defense’s Defense University Instrumentation Program (DURIP) supports university research equipment and instrumentation essential to high-quality research and education in technical areas of interest to the Air Force, Army and/or Navy. Proposals to purchase equipment or instrumentation may request $50,000 to $1,500,000. Awards are typically one year in length. This overview covers DURIP program basics, strategies for success, and information about the resources available through UNH’s University Instrumentation Center and the Research and Large Center Development Office to assist with DURIP proposal development. experiences with the program.

Meet the Agencies

Insights into NIH Funding Mechanisms
AREA Grants (R15), Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21), NIGMS Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) (R35), Research Grants (R01), and Small Research Grants (R03)
Characteristics and requirements of these NIH funding mechanisms are presented, as well as UNH researchers’ experience with these grants. Resources and assistance for preparing competitive applications also are discussed.

NIH Overview and Update
As the primary U.S. funder for biomedical and behavioral research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a complex organization that may seem unfathomable to grant seekers. This session will draw back the curtain on NIH, providing an overview of 1) mission and structure of NIH; 2) getting a sense of what NIH funds; 3) funding mechanisms and Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs); 4) ways of interacting with NIH, including NIH's electronic research administration and submission tools and the roles of the NIH extramural staff; 5) how the application and review processes work; and 6) news and initiatives of note for FY2021.

PUSH USDA: Optimizing Your Project's Chances for Funding by the USDA
PUSH USDA is UNH’s program to help researchers, educators, and extension staff position themselves to be competitive for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant programs, especially those offered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The USDA has a clear mission that its programs support, so developing an understanding of the agency is a key to successfully securing funding. This year's program consists of an information session followed by one-on-one assistance with strategy and proposal development. 
The information session will cover: (1)Meet the USDA: Mission, priorities, R&D funding scenario, organizational structure; competitive grant programs for research, education and extension; (2) Finding your place at USDA; and (3) Developing relationships with Program Area Contacts.

Research Career Development

Broadening Participation in Research
This three-part series offered by the UNH Research, Economic Engagement and Outreach Office and the Graduate School explored why creating a diverse lab is important, strategies to diversify your lab and create a more inclusive environment, and strategies to expand the reach of your work through engagement with the broader UNH community. Sessions covered Broadening Participation: Introduction; Broadening Participation Through Engagement; and Broadening Participation through Mentoring

Communicating with Funders
A successful grant proposal isn’t a random plea for money. It’s a targeted offer to work with a funder to achieve a common goal. And it’s just a step in a two-way process of communication between the proposer and the funder. This presentation talks about that two-way process -  how you can take the best advantage of what funders are telling you and how you can have a dialog with funders.

Developing the Broader Impacts Component and Partnerships for NSF Projects
NSF expects that all the projects it supports will benefit society in some way. This session will cover: Fostering research partnerships; NSF's priorities for and definitions of broader impacts;  how to address project broader impacts in one’s proposal; and resources available to UNH investigators for developing broader impacts plans and identifying internal and external partners.

Evaluation and Assessment for Education and Outreach Activities
NSF and other sponsor expect Principal Investigators to develop metrics and determine the impact their projects have beyond the research itself. Are you unsure how to do this? Could you use some advice on how to make evaluation a seamless part of your broader impacts activities?  If so, this workshop is just what you’re looking for. This session provides information about:

•   Why evaluation plans are needed and how they contribute positively to the project
•   Necessary components of appropriate evaluation plans
•   How to decide whether to use an internal or external evaluator
•   How to locate and select an evaluator/partner
•   How to budget in the proposal for the costs of evaluation
•   What to do pre-award to help make sure the evaluation goes well

Tools and resources that are available within and outside UNH to assist faculty in developing these aspects of their proposals and securing experts to perform the assessment or evaluation also are discussed.

Funding Scenarios and Search Strategies for Early Career Researchers and Scholars
This seminar provides an overview of strategies and resources for taking advantage of the special funding opportunities offered to early career scholars by federal agencies, not-for-profits, professional societies and other external sponsors.

Developing a Relationship with Your Program Officer
Interacting with Federal Agencies to Increase Your Chances of Funding Success
A key to successful grant seeking is getting to know the sponsor’s research and funding priorities, its “culture,” and what a competitive proposal looks like. This presentation will provide an overview of the variety of strategies to interact with federal agencies at all stages of the grant seeking process to achieve these goals. Resources and available assistance will also be discussed.

Interdisciplinary Research in the Age of Zoom
There is a significant push for interdisciplinary research to tackle many of the complex and critical societal problems that we face. Interdisciplinary research brings together teams representing different disciplines, with different expertise and roles ranging from experimental design, technology development, data generation and analysis, and project management.  Building, training, and supporting those research teams is a vital component of interdisciplinary science and one that often benefits from in-person contact. However, there are many times when this is not feasible, perhaps due to geographic distance or extraordinary circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic. There are numerous tools like Zoom to support remote teams, but frankly … many of us are just Zoomed-out.  Alecia Magnifico and Bethany Silva co-lead an 11-person, UNH CoRE COVID-19-funded interdisciplinary team comprised of UNH faculty and K-12 educators. The team leaders developed a number of tools to build their research team, plan their project (TILDE), train team members, and conduct productive (and fun!) multi-day scientific retreats – all via Zoom. In this presentation, they share their experiences, highlight tools they use, and talk about turning Zoom fatigue on its head. 

Positioning Oneself to Succeed in Grant Seeking
Success in obtaining funding for research or scholarly activity is more likely if the investigator has laid a solid groundwork and can communicate ideas effectively to potential funders. This workshop will present advice for: targeting one’s efforts, framing research and scholarly goals as fundable ideas; articulating the human impact/ real-life applications of research/scholarship; the purposes of proposals; and gathering needed information. Assistance and resources available through the Research Development Office, including readiness assessment tools, also will be discussed.

Program-Focused Info and Support

Air Force Young Investigator Program Overview and Hints for Success
The mission of Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AROSR) is to support Air Force goals of control and maximum utilization of air, space, and cyberspace. AFOSR accomplishes its mission by investing in basic research efforts for the Air Force in relevant scientific areas. The objectives of the Air Force Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) are to foster creative basic research in science and engineering; enhance early career development of outstanding young investigators; and increase opportunities for young investigators to recognize the Air Force mission and related challenges in science and engineering. Program characteristics, eligibility requirements, and strategies and best practices for engaging with Air Force Points of Contact and for developing competitive proposals is discussed.

Army Research Office Young Investigator Program Information Session
The U.S. Army Research Laboratory's Army Research Office (ARO) mission is to serve as the Army's principal extramural basic research agency in the engineering, physical, information and life sciences; developing and exploiting innovative advances to insure the Nation's technological superiority. ARO's research mission represents the most long-range Army view for changes in its technology. Strategies and best practices for engaging with and developing competitive proposals for the Army Research Office Young Investigator Program will be discussed.

DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) Information Session
The objective of the DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) program is to identify and engage rising stars in junior research positions, emphasizing those without prior DARPA funding, and expose them to DoD needs and DARPA’s program development process. Tenure-track assistant/associate professors and tenured faculty within 3 years of their tenure date are eligible to apply to the FY23 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award (YFA) if their research addresses one of the specific topic areas (TAs) of interest articulated in the current FOA, DARPA-RA-23-01. Program characteristics, eligibility requirements, and strategies and best practices for engaging with DARPA Points of Contact and for developing competitive proposals are presented.

Department of Defense (DoD) Funding for Early Career Faculty
The Department of Defense (DoD) has early career research-specific programs supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). This session will provide an overview of the programs, including eligibility requirements and current topics of interest for each program. Tips and hints for success when applying to the programs also will be discussed.

Department of Energy (DOE) Early Career Research Program Overview
The DOE Office of Science is the nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences. Early career researchers may apply to one of eight Office of Science program offices: Advanced Scientific Computing Research; Biological and Environmental Research; Basic Energy Sciences; Fusion Energy Sciences; High Energy Physics; Nuclear Physics; Accelerator R&D and Production; and Isotope R&D and Production. Proposed research topics must fall within the programmatic priorities of DOE’s Office of Science, which are provided in the program announcement.

This session provides an overview of DOE's Office of Science and its approach to grantmaking, and information about applying to the Early Career Research Program. Resources and assistance available through the UNH Research and Large Center Development Office also will be discussed.

Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Annual Open Call Info Session
Did you know that the Department of Energy (DoE) is the US’s largest Federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences? Did you know that DOE also supports research in advanced scientific computing and biological and environmental sciences? Each federal fiscal year, the DoE’s Office of Science (SC) issues a Broad Agency Announcement inviting applications on a variety of topics that is open with a rolling deadline until September 30. This session highlights the Office of Science, how to apply to this “Open Call,” and the SC's priority research topics for the current fiscal year.

Focus on Fulbright
For more than 75 years, American academics, administrators, and other professionals have taught and conducted research abroad through the U.S. Dept. of State Fulbright Scholar Program. UNH has been well-represented among those scholars.  New opportunities are added each year and more flexibility in the length and timing of visits has made Fulbright programs more accessible than ever. If you have an interest in teaching or doing research abroad, regardless of the stage of your career, the Fulbright Programs are an excellent way to support your activities. In addition to programs for faculty, there are programs for post-docs and for administrators to expand their horizons internationally. This workshop provides an overview of the variety of Fulbright programs and the resources from UNH and Fulbright available for applicants.

NSF CAREER Award Preparation
This UNH program for pre-tenure, tenure-track faculty considering submitting an NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) proposal. It consists of 4 information sessions and one-on-one assistance with project and proposal development. Research and Large Center Development (RLCD) staff and guest speakers deliver content about the strategies to structure and integrate research and education plans, to develop innovative and personal broader impacts activities, to foster partnerships, and to understand evaluation and assessment for a CAREER project. Assistance is provided by RLCD staff with extensive experience with NSF and the CAREER program.

NSF EPSCoR RII Track 2 - Internal Competition: Information Session
NSF’s RII Track-2 FEC seeks to build nationally and internationally competitive collaborative teams of EPSCoR investigators by providing a mechanism to coalesce investigator expertise into a critical mass for a sustained, effective research and education partnership toward NSF priorities. Projects are investigator-driven and must include researchers from at least two EPSCoR jurisdictions with complementary expertise and resources necessary to address challenges, which neither party could address as well or rapidly independently. RII Track-2 FEC projects have a comprehensive and integrated vision to drive discovery and build sustainable STEM capacity that exemplifies individual, institutional, geographic, and disciplinary diversity.  For FY24, NSF is interested in supporting collaborations that advance climate change research and resilience capacity to expand opportunities for disproportionately affected communities.

This information session discusses the RII Track-2 FEC program in more depth and provide information about the internal competition that UNH will conduct to select the one proposal allowed by NSF.

UP-2-NIH
The University Program to Support Competitive Applications to the National Institutes of Health (UP-2-NIH) is a UNH program designed to help participants develop the skills necessary to compete successfully for funding by the National Institutes of Health, resulting in an increase in the number and competitiveness of applications submitted by UNH faculty, and ultimately, an increase the number of NIH awards to UNH. Faculty at any career level with a clearly-defined, NIH-appropriate project idea apply during the summer for UP-2-NIH consideration. Selected participants attend workshops in the fall and spring semesters and develop their applications, aiming for NIH submissions within one year of program completion. Program hallmarks include cohort interactions, external mentorship, and intensive support from the Research and Large Center Development Office through curated and UNH-developed resources and personalized assistance from staff with extensive experience with NIH

Caitlin Aspinall
Senior Associate
Email: caitlin.aspinall@unh.edu
Phone: (603) 862-2497

Lynnette Hentges
Senior Associate
Email: lynnette.hentges@unh.edu
Phone: (603) 862-2002

Michael Thompson
Director
Email: michael.thompson@unh.edu
Phone: (603) 862-5255

Mark Milutinovich
Executive Director
Email: mark.milutinovich@unh.edu
Phone: (603) 862-5338

Ruth Davis
Program Assistant
Email: ruth.davis@unh.edu
Phone: (603) 862-2410

RLCD Main Office:
303 Thompson Hall
rlcd.info@unh.edu