Funding Opportunities
Overview
The Massive Data Institute (MDI) at the McCourt School of Public Policy is accepting applications for research seed grants and data training grants. Descriptions of the grants can be found below. The deadline to apply has passed. Please be sure to check back for future opportunities.
Research Seed Grants: Up to three grants of up to $40,000 will be awarded. These grants will be evaluated in terms of:
- Potential to generate external funding
- Use of data science tools
- Extent of interdisciplinary collaboration
- Quality of research proposal
Proposals must include a convening that brings together Georgetown and external scholars. The convening will typically be in the $5,000 range.
All projects must involve at least one full-time Georgetown researcher or faculty member. We cannot provide summer or other direct support to non-Georgetown researchers.
Special project grants: Up to five grants will be awarded for special projects that advance MDI goals of building a strong data science community at Georgetown. Such proposals could range from covering costs to attending data science training to covering a data set that would be used by multiple Georgetown scholars to even large scale new research projects. For proposals beyond training, we recommend contacting MDI with a broad overview first in order to ascertain if your project would fall into the scope of MDI special project grants.
The special projects grants can cover the cost of workshop and travel-related expenses; they should not cover paper presentations, conferences, or tutorials at conferences.
Application Process
Grant Submissions
To apply for either the research seed grant or the data training grant, applicants must submit:
RESEARCH SEED GRANTS
- A research seed grant cover sheet (new window) (.pdf).
- A project proposal of no more than 3 pages that includes:
- Project goals and objectives
- Research methods
- Budget and budget justification
- Information on the external funding sources for which you intend to apply
- A proposed budget of no more than $40,000
- Allowable expenses are up to $10,000 in summer salary support per PI as well as funds for research assistants and data acquisition or travel expenses.
SPECIAL PROJECT GRANTS
- For data science training grants, please explain in 1 page the workshop and how it fits into a research agenda that will strengthen data science at Georgetown. Include the workshop name, purpose, location and costs.
- For other special projects, please send an initial query to MDI to assess if and how the project would advance the goals of MDI.
The deadline for these applications is April 24, 2020. All applications should be submitted via email as a single PDF, including affiliated cover sheets and project/workshop proposals to MDI with “MDI Research/Data Training Grant Application” and the primary PI’s last name in the subject line.