CCSS has several programs to support Cornell social science researchers pursuing external funding opportunities.
CCSS currently offers the following programs for external grant preparation support:
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Applications are now closed. Please check back in fall 2023 for the next application round.
Important: If you have not previously completed the workshop series, please register separately under the "Workshop Series" tab.
PI-eligible Cornell social science researchers are eligible to participate in the formal cohort, which will attend all four workshops, create a Specific Aims page that will be reviewed, and may apply to the NIH Grant Writing Fellows Program. If there is space, additional Cornell social science researchers beyond the cohort (postdocs and ABD PhD students) are welcome to attend individual workshop sessions.
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Incentivize and support high-quality federal NIH (e.g. K, R01, R03, or R21) grant submissions, with a strong likelihood of success, from social science researchers across Cornell.
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Provide institutional support for health and social-scientific research.
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Build inter-campus collaborations by leveraging NIH and social science expertise across Cornell.
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Proactively recruit junior faculty, particularly junior faculty of color, to increase faculty diversity and inclusion and support the next generation of research in the social sciences.
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PI-eligible Cornell social science researchers are eligible to participate in the formal cohort, while postdocs and ABD PhD students are welcome to attend individual workshop sessions. Participants who are not affiliated with CCHEq or CPC will be encouraged to affiliate with these centers.
The program series consists of four, hour-long sessions (from February to early April) in which participants will work toward developing a well-considered Specific Aims page. Participants selected for the cohort attend each workshop, complete short “homework” assignments for each session, and draft a Specific Aims page. From there, they will be eligible to apply for additional funding tracks in late spring and summer.
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Timeline
After completion of the Grant Writing Workshop Series, participants will have the opportunity to apply for additional funding and support via one of two tracks in Spring 2023.
Cohort members who complete this process, including Specific Aims - and do not apply for one of the two tracks - will receive $3,000 in discretionary funds to pursue their research to pilot a new idea.
Track One: Pilot Grants
This track is for those eligible from the workshop completion cohort who do not yet have preliminary data and are on a grant submission timeline that is after February 2024.
Upon completion of the workshop series, cohort members submit a revised Specific Aims page, a one-page “response to reviewers,” a description of what preliminary data is needed to enhance the competitiveness of the proposal, and a brief budget. Successful proposals receive up to $3,000 for data collection or other research-related costs associated with enhancing the project. Funds may not be used for hardware purchasing or faculty salary.
Track Two: Grant Writing Fellows Program
This track is for cohort members who have identified a grant submission timeline within the 12 months following the workshop series.
Upon completion of the workshop series, cohort members submit (a) a revised Specific Aims page and a brief, one-page response to reviews from the original submission, (b) a PI and team (including a mentor who has agreed to the role), (c) a targeted mechanism and rationale for why the proposal is a good fit for that mechanism/call, (d) a timeline for submission of proposal, and (e) budget for proposal.
Mentors are selected by the PIs. Participating centers can provide assistance in helping their members identify relevant mentors. The mentor’s job is to (a) engage additional experts as needed to make the project competitive; (b) read and edit drafts of the proposal; and (c) assist with identifying institutional resources to support the proposal. Mentors will receive up to $2,500 for a commitment to mentor applicant through the grant submission process. The mentor may or may not serve as a co-PI.
Successful proposals receive up to $10,000 for up to 1-month of summer salary to use on grant preparation (RA, pilot data, or travel for proposal planning at researcher’s discretion). Please note that summary salary will need to be disclosed on a PI’s current and pending when submitting a proposal to NIH.
Fellows are expected to submit a grant proposal to NIH by February 2024 (a one-grant cycle extension is permitted – from October 2021 proposed to February 2022, for example). Upon submission, fellows receive an additional $1,000 in a discretionary or research account.
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NIH Grant Writing Workshops
CCSS, in partnership with The Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, Cornell Center for Health Equity (CCHEq) and the Cornell Population Center (CPC) will host four, hour-long workshops open to Cornell social researchers (faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and researchers) interested in learning about the NIH grants process and developing strategies for crafting a competitive proposal.
PI-eligible Cornell social science researchers are eligible to participate in the formal cohort, which will attend all four workshops, create a Specific Aims page that will be reviewed, and may apply to the NIH Grant Writing Fellows Program. If there is space, additional Cornell social science researchers beyond the cohort (postdocs and ABD PhD students) are welcome to attend individual workshop sessions. Contact population@cornell.edu if you have questions or would like access to the past workshop recordings.
Upcoming Workshops
March 3, 2023
12:00-1:00 pm
This session will be held via Zoom.
March 23, 2023
12:00-1:00 pm
This session will be held via Zoom.
The Grant Review Process at NIH, Recorded Session
This session is planned to focus on the grant review process at NIH and covered four general themes:
- An overview of the National Cancer Institute
- Steps in the NIH Review Process
- Best practices for Working with Program Officers
- Strategies for Effective Social Science Grants from an NIH Insider's Perspective
Presentations by Kelly Blake and Rebecca Clark
Kelly Blake, Program Director at the National Cancer Institute
Rebecca Clark, Chief of Population Dynamics Branch at the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development
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2022 Track One Awards: Pilot Research Grants
This track is for eligible faculty from the 2022 cohort who will gather data and submit their NIH grant proposal after February 2023.
Peter Rich, Brooks School of Public Policy, Sociology
Maureen Waller, Brooks School of Public Policy, Sociology
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2022 Track Two Awards: Grant Development Fellowships
This track is for 2022 cohort members who will submit their NIH grant proposal on or before February 2023.
Angela Odoms-Young, Division of Nutritional Sciences
Laura Pinheiro, Internal Medicine
Qi Wang, Psychology
Matthew Wilkens, Information Science
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Have questions?
Contact CCSS today for more information and application details.
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The CCSS Grant Preparation Support Program will provide pre-award support to 10 to 15 ambitious grant proposals a year. This comprehensive support includes assistance drafting documents, developing budgets and narrative justification, preparing and assembling proposal packages, and completing electronic applications. This program is designed to support ambitious social science grant proposals to funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, or the Department of Energy. These grants will often involve cross-disciplinary teams and budgets in excess of $500,000, but any interested researcher should reach out for more information. Grant overhead will flow through researcher college without being impacted by participation in this program. CCSS Grant Preparation Support is in partnership with OVPRI and OSP.
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Individuals or teams may apply. The PI, or at least one co-PI, must be in a CCSS member college. Researchers should affiliate with CCSS prior to applying.
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Full services provided:
- Review and interpret sponsor solicitations for proposals
- Prepare summaries of required proposal documents and templates of common proposal elements
- Draft Current & Pending/Other Support documents
- Develop budgets, including detailed financial budget and narrative justification
- Prepare and assemble proposal packages, including completion of electronic applications
- Interface with internal and external collaborators to collect required documents (CV's, letters of support, subaward documents, etc.)
- Initiate RASS project record and route for approval
- Liaise and collaborate with the assigned Grant & Contract Officer through the successful submission of the application for funding
- Support revised budget requests, NIH Just-In-Time submissions, incoming sponsored award transfers, and complex research center proposals
- Identify and disseminate funding opportunities to supported faculty
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Have questions?
Contact CCSS today for more information and application details.
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To be eligible to receive these funds, the PI must have received grant or fellowship funding from CCSS within the past three years, and the proposed project should build upon your CCSS grant or research in some way.
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Have questions?
Contact CCSS today for more information and application details.
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Given the short window to complete proposed phase one research and develop a phase-two proposal, time is often the number one challenge researchers face. To address this challenge, the Cornell Center for Social Sciences has developed the CCSS Accelerated Research Fellows Program to support Cornell researchers during their phase one research and to help maximize the opportunities for a successful phase two proposal. Fellows receive $15,000 to use to support their time. Potential uses of these funds include hiring a graduate research assistant (hourly or GRA), hiring a teaching assistant to support time during the fellowship period, or hiring grant-writing support. If you have questions about other appropriate use of funds, please contact CCSS. Accelerated Research Fellows also receive up to $5,000 (per team) to support unanticipated costs during phase one research.
The CCSS Accelerated Research Fellows Program is highly competitive. Interested researchers should inquire about eligibility and apply prior to submitting their phase one proposal. Awarded fellowships will be conditional on phase one proposal acceptance and approval from their Department Chair and Dean.
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To start the application process, please email socialsciences@cornell.edu and note your targeted phased funding opportunity, your title, and your department.
If eligible to move forward in the application process, you will be sent a link to a brief Qualtrics form that you will fill out when you send in your Phase 1 proposal to the funder. The form will ask you for the following:
- One paragraph providing a brief overview of the project and how it fits with and/or benefits the social sciences at Cornell
- One paragraph explaining how the funding will benefit phase one work and the phase two application
- An overview (if known) of the potential uses of the $5k in funding and why phase one of the grant does not cover these uses
- A copy of your phase one proposal
The application deadline is rolling and is dependent on your phase one expected decision date.
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Have questions?
For questions, more information about eligible two-phase programs, or to begin the application process, please contact socialsciences@cornell.edu.
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