Pandemic-Affected Research Continuation Initiative

This competition is now closed.

About the Initiative

The COVID-19 pandemic has, in some cases, necessitated the expenditure of research funds although certain research activities have been restricted or slowed, such as face-to-face human subjects research, research travel, and facilities-based research activities. The Pandemic-Affected Research Continuation Initiative (PARCI) will support projects for which expenditures were compelled to continue although certain research activities were stalled, such that the project now faces a shortage of funds to complete those activities. Support for research travel, face-to-face human subjects research, graduate students whose graduation has been unavoidably delayed, and postdocs will be considered. University-sponsored travel must follow current university policies and approval procedures. Equipment costs are not allowable under this program. Requests for supplies and expenses related to face-to-face human subjects research will be considered. Proposals for one-time replacement funds may be submitted by faculty and permanent principal investigators of any rank who are in such a situation, though priority will be given to probationary faculty and permanent principal investigators. Awards of up to $40,000 will be considered.

Proposals should include: (1) the project title and a brief description of the affected research (if a UW project or MSN number is available, provide it); (2) a description of the research activities for which the expended funds were intended; (3) the specific reason(s) why intended research activities could not proceed; (4) an explanation of how replacement funds will be expended; (5) a justification for why replacement funds are needed before the start of the next fiscal year (July 1, 2022); and (6) a statement that the faculty member/PI does not have access to other funding sources (including flexible research funds) that can be committed to the affected research project.

Deadlines and Key Dates

Applications are due no later than Thursday, September 30, 4:30 p.m. Award notifications will be sent in December 2021 with funding to begin on January 1, 2022. The standard duration of the grant will be from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022. Award recipients will be asked to complete a brief report at the end of the award period.

Eligibility

● UW-Madison tenure-track or tenured faculty member, or researcher with permanent Principal Investigator (PI) status.

● The proposal must be submitted by the faculty or permanent PI who is the PI on the affected research project.

● An applicant may serve as PI on only one proposal, but may serve as co-PI or co-investigator on multiple proposals.

● Research activities delayed due to pandemic-related constraints on face-to-face human subjects research, travel, access to facilities, or other limitations specifically related to COVID-19.

● No additional funds (including flexible research funds) that can be committed to the affected research project.

● Previous recipients of PARCI funds will have lower priority.

Application Instructions

Please apply electronically at https://vcrge-uwmadison.smapply.io/. You may log-in using your UW-Madison NetID and password. Select the “Pandemic-Affected Research Continuation Initiative (2)” program title. Click “Apply” to start a new application.

Some Key Tips

● The PI must initiate the application.

● The PI can invite additional collaborators (writers/editors) to fill out the application form. However, the PI who initiates the application must also be the person that ultimately submits the application.

● Remember to scroll down to select “mark as complete” at the bottom of each completed page.

● You will be able to select “review and submit” before final submission.

● You will also have the option of downloading the entire application document.

Key Tasks

1. Provide the PI’s name and a list of all co-investigators on the affected project.

The PI must be a tenured or tenure-track UW-Madison faculty member, or a researcher with permanent PI status.

2. Provide the title, UW WISER project or MSN number if available, and abstract of the affected project.

Please include an abstract for the affected project that is no more than one page in length. Abstracts should be written for a general audience and use accessible and non-technical language.

3. Upload Application Narrative (PDF document).

The application narrative should not exceed 2 single-spaced pages (10 pt. font) and should address the following:

(a) Describe the research activities for which the expended funds were initially intended.

(b) Provide the specific reason(s) why the intended research activities could not proceed.

(d) Justify why replacement funds are needed before the start of the next fiscal year (July 1, 2022).

(e) Declare that the faculty member/PI does not have access to other funding sources (including flexible research funds) that can be committed to the affected research project.

Please use the above headings (a, b, c, etc.) in your narrative.

4. Complete the Budget Form.

Please fill out the PARCI budget template with the details of your requested support. Please note: equipment costs are not allowable under this program. Requests for supplies and expenses related to face-to-face human subjects research will be considered. You do not have to complete every section of the form. Save the document as a PDF and upload both the .xls and .pdf documents to the application.

5. Provide a Budget Explanation.

A concise explanation of all necessary expenses is required. The maximum that may be requested to support graduate student degree completion is one semester ($18,000 maximum for stipend, fringe and tuition remission).

Submitting the application

You will be able to select “review and submit” before making your final submission. Please make sure to review the entire document before you select to “submit” it. You will also have the option to download the entire document.

General and technical questions should be sent to: competitions@research.wisc.edu

Questions concerning proposal development should be sent to the appropriate divisional Associate Vice Chancellor for Research (see below):

Arts & Humanities

Florence Hsia florence.hsia@wisc.edu

Biological Sciences

Cynthia Czajkowski cmczajko@wisc.edu

Physical Sciences

Amy Wendt wendt@engr.wisc.edu

Social Sciences

Lonnie (Lawrence) Berger lmberger@wisc.edu