Institute of Diversity Sciences Seed Grants 2021

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The Institute of Diversity Sciences is a multidisciplinary unit that brings together faculty and students from UMass Amherst and the Five Colleges to promote science, engineering, and technology research that advances equity, social impact, and the success of diverse students in STEM. Faculty and students in our Institute use STEM to promote equity in health, learning, and work and to mitigate the impact of climate change on communities.

This seed grant mechanism is one important way to achieve this goal by (1) encouraging new multidisciplinary research collaborations on equity-inspired research among faculty and students from different units on campus that can be later leveraged to seek larger external research grants; (2) offering opportunities for mentored research experience for graduate and undergraduate students interested in STEM research that advances equity in ways that cut across traditional disciplinary boundaries; and (3) encouraging research teams to consider social impact goals.

The Institute of Diversity Sciences announces its faculty research funding opportunity. In 2021, the institute will distribute up to $30,000 in seed project funds to teams who apply through a formal RFP mechanism. Funds will go toward supporting new collaborative projects between colleagues from different departments at UMass. Ideal projects will focus on cross-disciplinary research, involve graduate or undergraduate students in that research (i.e., include an educational component), and have an eye toward social impact.

Grants will range from $5,000 to $12,000. Funds may be used to pay for personnel, equipment, supplies, data collection costs, consultants, compensation of community partners, etc. 

For more information visit the Institute of Diversity Sciences Seed Grants 2021