OHSU and PSU faculty who are interested in collaborating have a new funding opportunity: the 2018 OHSU-PSU Collaborative Research Program.

Letter of intent deadline:
Friday, April 27, 2018
11:59 p.m. PDT 

The goal of this initiative is to stimulate new, collaborative research carried out by teams of PSU and OHSU investigators that leads to longer-term research collaborations and external funding. The funding pool is $300,000; the maximum award to a single team will be $50,000. Funding from this initiative should be used for research projects that result in publications or submission of research funding proposals. Funding will be distributed in two phases, an initial phase and a secondary phase that depends on the investigators meeting their stated milestones.

The following are a few examples of some of the kinds of activities that could be supported:

• Preliminary data collection or proof-of-concept research necessary before undertaking a larger research project.
• Core resources, OCTRI services, biostatistics services, and other resources to help establish preliminary data to support proposals.
• Scientific retreats, networking, and meetings to explore and establish avenues of collaborative research.

Funding criteria 

• Each proposal must include at least one co-PI from PSU and one co-PI from OHSU. Jointly-appointed faculty are eligible, but must team with a co-PI from one of the institutions who is not jointly appointed. SOPH faculty are considered to be from PSU or OHSU based on their employment status.
• The priority is for new collaborations—i.e., PIs who have not worked together before on funded research. Lower priority, but still eligible, would be PIs that have been collaborating, but would use the funding to take their research in a new direction.
• A key criterion will be the likelihood that the funding will lead to future collaboration that results in external funding for both institutions. Applicants will need to explain that pathway, for example by identifying a funding source and a program announcement.
• Applications will be scored for clarity of research focus, project description, reasonable milestones outlined, and timeline.
• Priority will be given to projects that involve junior faculty from one or both institutions.
• The proposal must explain how the collaboration will be created, maintained and enhanced, e.g., regular meetings, joint lab space, conflict resolution, etc. It should also detail any barriers to collaboration or proposal development and explain how these funds will be used to overcome these barriers.

Application Instructions 

The application process involves the submission of a letter of intent and completion of an online application packet through the Competitive Application Portal at OHSU.

Note regarding the application process: You will need an account to submit an application, but it’s very simple to create one. If you are an OHSU faculty member, you can log in using your OHSU login information. If you are applying from Portland State, you will need to create an account with your email address. (There is no cost to creating an account). Faculty from either institution can serve as the submitting PI; there is no advantage or disadvantage to being from either institution. If you have questions about the portal, write funding@ohsu.edu.

Letter of Intent 

The letter of intent should include PI names, institutions, title of proposal, and preliminary budget, as well as a brief description of the project. This information will be used to identify reviewers for the proposals.

UPDATE: April 23, 2018: A preliminary budget is not required for the Letter of Intent.

Letter of intent deadline: Friday April 27, 2018, 11:59 p.m. PDT. Letters of intent received after the deadline will not be considered. 

Application deadline: Friday May 25, 2018, 11:59 p.m. PDT. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered. 

Proposals will be reviewed by members of the leadership team of each research office, as well as by OHSU and PSU faculty with relevant expertise and no conflicts of interest.

Questions? Writing funding@ohsu.edu.