Seed Funding Effective Practices

Seed funding supports the preliminary work necessary to build competitive proposals for external funding or to provide an avenue to conduct exploratory research that may lead to new research initiatives. This work includes data collection and proof of concept. Yet, building an equitable, synergistic collaborative team that can provide breadth of technical expertise strengthens the likelihood of the team’s success, as well as the broader impacts/societal relevance of the research, which is important for follow-on funding. Seed funding provides important resources that can be used to help create a more equitable research climate by allowing a wide range of faculty to gain experience and demonstrate effectiveness in leading research, collaborating with colleagues, and managing students. While the dollar amount of seed funding and scope of work may vary across internal opportunities, equitable practices for awarding seed funds are important in every case