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The Obermann Center for Advanced Studies invites proposals for Interdisciplinary Research Grants. The purpose of these grants is to foster collaborative scholarship or creative work by offering recipients the time and space to exchange new ideas leading to invention, creation, and publication. The grant supports work at the Obermann Center during the summer of 2008. Eligible UI faculty and staff may propose to work on a project with UI faculty and staff colleagues from the same department, from across the University, or other parts of the country or the world.

Deadline: Please complete the online application by Monday, November 12, 2007

Eligibility: The proposed project should involve two or three collaborators who will work together at the Obermann Center during a four-week interval from May 27-July 31, 2008. All UI tenured, tenure-track, and clinical faculty members are eligible. Also eligible are all UI Professional and Scientific full-time staff members who possess a terminal degree or equivalent experience, a record of scholarship or creative work in the proposed area, a regular (versus temporary) appointment, and a UI position that includes expectations for research or creative work. Collaborators from other universities must have similar credentials. Individuals who received an Interdisciplinary Research Grant during the summer of 2007 are not eligible for consideration this year.
This grant provides support for scholarly and creative projects in all stages of development. The expectation is that all projects will result in a scholarly publication or creative work.
  Please visit the Obermann Center website to see descriptions of past projects. Examples of eligible projects might include:

• A UI psychologist and UI engineer begin an article on disability accommodations.  

• A UI pediatrician and an education researcher from Germany write on play techniques in patient education and orientation.

• A UI English professor and a Pratt Institute professor of design collaborate on an interactive novel for the Web.  

• Two UI Communication Studies faculty, one a social scientist and the other a rhetorician, study domestic quarrels.

All grant recipients must make the Obermann Center, located on the Oakdale Research Campus, a major base of study during the grant period. Scholars will be provided office space, personal computers with Internet connections, library delivery service, and access to conference rooms, kitchen, and lounge. Parking is free, as is the bus service that connects the Obermann Center with the main campus.

 Interdisciplinary Research Grants--Application Instructions

University of Iowa reviewers from a variety of disciplines will review proposals. Applications should be written so that they engage the understanding and interest, not only of experts on the proposed topic, but of reviewers outside of the applicant's field. We welcome inquiries about proposal preparation.

In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements described on the reverse, applications will be judged on:

1. the importance of the project,
2. the distinctive disciplinary contribution of each collaborator,
3. the reasonableness of the procedures and summer timetable,
4. the qualifications and record of achievement of each collaborator, and
5. the likelihood that the project will culminate in an important scholarly publication or creative work, or in a proposal for a major external  grant,
6. if applicable, the results of any previous Interdisciplinary Research Grants.

Here is how to apply: 

• Complete the online cover sheet asking for contact information by going to: http://www.uiowa.edu/obermann/grants/IDRG/application.html
• Upload the proposal, which should contain the following:
  1. A narrative (maximum five pages, single-spaced) that answers all of the following questions:
     • what do you propose to do?
     • why is it an important undertaking?
     • what earlier work has been done on the project and related areas by the applicants individually or collaboratively?  What work has been done by others?
     • what is the value of the collaboration? Specify the distinctive contribution of each collaborator to the interdisciplinary effort.
     • how will the work proceed? Include a timetable that indicates how the work during the grant period will proceed. Describe what each participant will be doing individually or collaboratively during the grant period. If applicable, describe methodology.
     • how would working and collaborating at the Obermann Center enhance your project?
     • what will be achieved by the end of the grant period? 
     • what will be the final research or creative product and when do you estimate that it will be completed?  Identify likely journals, publishers or venues for your completed work.
  2. Applicants who previously received an Interdisciplinary Research Grant should attach a sheet indicating the title and year of that grant and give full citations for resulting publications or external grants. 
  3. The curriculum vitae (maximum three singled-spaced pages for each CV) of each collaborator. Include current position, dates of appointment, degrees, relevantpublications, grants, courses.
• UI collaborators should have their DEOs and Deans email their endorsements of the proposed project and four-week residency at the Obermann Center to neda-barrett@uiowa.edu.  

Please apply by Monday, November 12, 2008.  You will find the online application by clicking here. For further questions, please email Neda at neda-barrett@uiowa.edu or call 319-335-4034.