The Engineering Research Institute’s primary mission is to provide research-related services to College faculty to increase and diversify their research portfolios.
ERI staff focus on engaging with faculty in all Engineering departments to grow research areas of strength, develop compelling responses to funding opportunities, and increase the number of competitive submissions to new agencies and large programs.
When needed, ERI provides post-award project management support to ensure smooth execution of projects and research compliance, as well as appropriate engagement with Program Managers and Sponsors to position our faculty for follow-on funding.
Engineering Research Institute Services
ERI Service Request Form ERI Proposal Routing Deadline Calculator (XLSX)Faculty can discover federal and industry funding opportunities directly through the CoE website and subscribe to weekly ERI Funding Opportunities Blog.
The following internal funding opportunities are designed to support proposal development for a specific funding opportunity with a defined submission timeline. Four distinct types of development grants are outlined below, with funding levels based on the scope of work and the associated needs. Support grant amounts may range from $2,500 to $100,000 over the designated period. Faculty with other resources (e.g., start-up, endowment funds etc.) should consider using those funds before requesting funds from these opportunities.
Opportunity – Enhance a (re)submission of a proposal
Proposal resubmission date horizon – 0 to 3 months
Project scenario: A proposal or white paper submitted and reviewed favorably but has not been funded because of a specific weakness or deficiency that can be addressed with additional work.
Funding justification: Support is needed for focused research to address the identified weakness and resubmit the proposal.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Specific needs that would be addressed (previous review comments should be available)
- Specific outcome of the proposed work along with the methodology work that would be performed
- Concrete benefits for the proposal regarding how it would enhance the likelihood of funding
Learn more about this internal funding opportunity
Opportunity – Explore an existing unique expertise/capability
Proposal due date horizon – 3 to 6 months
Project scenario: A critical scientific need or technical issue that has emerged (in a funding opportunity) and lies in a niche area of specific ISU expertise or capability.
Funding justification: Support for focused preliminary work to formulate a hypothesis, verify the feasibility of methods, and/or establish experimental/computational bounds. This would enable rapid response to critical needs – in funding opportunities for which we have a comparative advantage or unique capability.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Scientific/technical value of potential contribution
- Specific of the proposed work and alignment with the identified funding opportunities
- Potential for follow-on projects and impact on the likelihood of funding
Learn more this internal funding opportunity
Opportunity – Develop a large-scale project
Proposal due date horizon – 4.5 to 9 months
Project scenario: A team of 4-8 ISU researchers with aligned and complementary areas of expertise are working together to prepare a large-scale, long-term (3-5 years duration) and multi-million-dollar proposal.
Funding justification: Support preliminary efforts to (i) highlight common thrusts and synergies, (ii) demonstrate the feasibility of proposed methods, (iii) perform due diligence in broad literature reviews and publication of review papers, (iv) clarify primary research needs, directions, and potential impacts associated with the proposed effort; (v) develop integrated “broader impact” programs; and (vi) establish academic or industry partners as needed.
Evaluation Criteria:
- The evaluation criteria established by the funding agency
- Specific of the proposed work and schedule as well as the potential scientific/engineering impact
- The potential benefit to CoE (ISU) and impact on the likelihood of funding
Learn more about this internal funding opportunity
Opportunity – Build a new interdisciplinary or cross-institution collaboration
Proposal due date horizon – 6 to 24 months
Project scenario: The work would result in a new collaboration across disciplines and/or institutions, preferably bringing mutual benefit in broadening research capabilities.
Funding justification: Support targeted activities and research that showcase the unique benefits of collaboration, enabling the generation of new knowledge or solutions in one or more sub-areas that would not be otherwise achievable independently. This activity would lead to multiple proposal development.
Evaluation Criteria:
- The broad long-term viability of the collaborative research area
- Likelihood of funding in specific area opportunities
- Potential and likelihood of alignment with exploration of a broad range of funding opportunities
- Potential to establish a research center in the new interdisciplinary area
A summary of pre-award services offered by ERI is available here.
Please review the Pre-award Services document; as with the ISU implementation of Streamlyne the timeline for services has changed. The timelines are outlined below:
Level 1: For projects with standard guidelines and forms, submit a Service Request (SR) to request support at least five business days (1 week) before the OSPA deadline for the initial review.
Level 2: For projects with standard guidelines and forms and proposals, including subcontracts, submit a Service Request (SR) to request support at least ten business days (2 weeks) before the OSPA deadline for the initial review.
Level 3: Non-Standard Guidelines and Forms and/or proposals, Including Cost Share, submit a Service Request (SR) at least 15 business days (3 weeks) before the OSPA deadline for the initial review.
Service Requests submitted after these deadlines will be evaluated; ERI support may be limited.
At the request of PIs and the concurrence of Department Chairs / Center Directors, ERI will provide post-award support for complex projects. Projects that may qualify are large, have multiple sub-contracts, and significant reporting requirements.
| Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 |
|---|---|---|
| 15% of Effort (1.8 months per year) | 25% of Effort (3 months per year) | 35% of Effort (4.2 months per year) |
| For projects over $1,000,000 | For projects over $1,000,000 | For projects over $2,000,000 |
| No cost share | May have Cost Share | May have Cost Share |
| May have 1 or no subcontracts | May have 2-4 subcontracts | May have 5+ subcontracts |
*Any effort above 35% for large projects needs to be negotiated at the proposal stage.
*For projects under $1,000,000 with special reporting requirements needing ERI assistance, we will request 15% effort.
Frequently Asked Questions
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT):
Annually, CELT offers funding through competitive grant programs to support innovative classroom practice in the range of learning environments including, face-to-face, blended, and online.
- Miller Faculty Fellowship Program
The Miller Fellowships provide faculty with opportunities to enhance their scholarly work in the undergraduate academic programs of the university and to develop innovative approaches to enhance student learning.
Who is Eligible to Apply? Any faculty member at Iowa State University (tenured, tenure-eligible, term, or a staff member with teaching appointment) may apply for a fellowship.
What Can you Propose to Do? Applicants can propose to develop innovative new approaches to the teaching of existing undergraduate courses or to develop entirely new courses that will enrich the undergraduate experience. We expect to award five Miller Faculty Fellowships at a maximum individual award level of $15,000. Awards are competitive. - Miller Open Education Mini-Grants
The Miller Open Education Mini-Grants program is a new program co-sponsored by the University Library, the Center for Excellence in Learning & Teaching (CELT), and the Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost (SVPP). These grants provide instructors with opportunities to enhance their scholarship of teaching and learning by integrating Open Educational Resources (OER) into their courses.
College of Engineering Learning and Teaching grants. This annual call will come out every Spring semester.
Trainings and professional development opportunities:
- Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CELT) offers a number of events and Professional Development Opportunities. More information can be found at: https://www.celt.iastate.edu/events-registration/
- Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost offers faculty development for all faculty including new faculty, term faculty, tenure-eligible faculty (Tenure-track and tenured) and academic leaders. More information can be found at: https://www.provost.iastate.edu/faculty-success/development
- Consider becoming a member of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) to leverage trainings available through the society.
Produce the annual College research expenditure report for ASEE and the accompanying dashboard.
Provide non-routine research enhancement services such as conducting seminars, workshops, travel and conference/event coordination
Facilitate faculty research team building activities
