Join us for a Team Building Voucher Information Session, November 13, 12-1pm Pacific. Register for the session here.
PI(s) are encouraged to attend Pre-submission Office Hours with the SC CTSI Research Development team (key personnel are also encouraged to attend). These office hours will help the applicants develop project proposals that meet the mission of the mechanism. Please email Mayla.Boguslav@med.usc.edu with any questions.
The Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI) is seeking applications for team building activities for up to $10,000 each. This mechanism is intended to provide rapid funding for activities that promote the SC CTSI goal of assembling new multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and/or multi-sector teams focused on clinical and/or community-engaged research, that are grounded in team science principles (https://sc-ctsi.org/training-education/team-science-training). We highly encourage investigators newer
to working in multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and/or multi-sector teams to apply.
What are “Team Building Activities”?
This mechanism is not intended to fund pilot research projects. Rather, the intent is to fund team building activities that will enable new multidisciplinary and/or multisector research teams to generate ideas, plans, and new projects, and enhance their research activities. Examples of team building activities include, but are not limited to:
Hosting a Conference/Workshop/Seminar to bring together researchers interested in a new multidisciplinary research project or program
Engagement of a consultant or facilitator to brainstorm and formalize new multidisciplinary research directions
Landscape analysis of a new research area
Conducting focus groups of diverse stakeholders to guide new project development
Engagement of specialized personnel, e.g., project manager to facilitate submission of a large multidisciplinary grant proposal
Crowdsourcing information/data (Citizen Science) to inform new research projects
Developing collaborations with community groups in anticipation of community engaged research (e.g., for Community Based Participatory Research or Research to Action research application)
Building use of communication tools to enhance multidisciplinary team functions or formation, e.g., a new USC Slack channel for artificial intelligence in medicine
Other activities that support new multidisciplinary and/or multisector collaborations and incorporate team science principles
Watch our most recent info session:
Priority
Priority will be given to proposals that (a) demonstrate a clear path for new engagement of individuals from diverse research backgrounds and disciplines in addressing challenges in clinical and community research and (b) provide specific plans and a timeline to move forward to application for extramural funding to support the research.
SPECIAL TOPIC FOR JANUARY 2025: Partnership with USC Centers for Environmental Health
We are looking to fund at least 1 team building voucher award focused on environmental health.
Note: Applications that are not addressing this special topic are welcome to apply, and we anticipate funding 1-2 vouchers for teams not explicitly focused on this topic area.
The goal for this special topic is that the awarded team, at the end of the voucher period, will apply for Pilot funding in October 2025 from either:
Southern California Children's Environmental Health Research Translation Center (CEHRT): focus on translating research related to Urbanism, Air Pollution, Climate Change, Children's Health, and Environmental Justice. Projects of interest involve novel approaches to understanding health hazards in children's environments, to promoting behavior change, and community and policy engagement. Interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged, particularly from fields under-represented in children’s environmental health research and translation, such as the arts, humanities, social sciences, architecture, engineering, and communications, as well as health sciences.
Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center (SCEHSC): aim to promote the understanding, prevention, and/or mitigation of the health impacts due to environmental exposures related to environmental exposures and disparities. The goal of the program is to provide investigators with an opportunity to collect preliminary data and/or validate the utility of specific methods or techniques. Focus areas include but are not limited to climate and health, environment and cancer, community-based participatory research, exposome and health, environment and children’s health, and AI for environmental health.
The applications will be reviewed jointly with the SC CTSI and the specific environmental center of interest. Please indicate the center Pilot program of interest in the application. The goal is that this team building voucher award will move a team forward towards a successful application for environmental health Pilot funding, or directly to a larger project proposal.
Please note that Pilot funding is not guaranteed, and the team’s pilot proposal will be competitively reviewed
Eligibility
Full-time faculty members at USC and CHLA as of the date of the award are eligible to apply as PI.
Postdocs, residents, fellows, students, and community members can serve as co-PIs or co-Investigators.
An eligible PI may have only one active Team Building Voucher proposal or funded award at any one time.
A PI on a currently active proposal or funded award can serve as co-investigator on additional proposals or awards.
A PI and team who have demonstrated significant progress during an initial Team Building Voucher award is eligible to apply for one additional award to reach additional goal(s) beyond those of the initial award.
Award Conditions
Funding will be made available within 4-6 weeks of application. The project is expected to be completed within 6 months.
By accepting an award, all funded team members will be required to:
Meet with Research Development (RD) to tailor team science support
Participate in a 2-hour online CTSI team science training that covers principles and practical tools
SC CTSI is interested in understanding best practices of team building in biomedical research. SC CTSI program staff may request to be present as observers in team building activities to better understand the effectiveness of the team building activities.
Awardees will be asked to complete a final report about their project outcomes.
Application
It is highly encouraged that you attend our Team Building Voucher Information Session. We will provide more information about the types of projects we are looking to fund, and successful past examples. The upcoming Information Session details are:
The PI(s) are encouraged to attend Pre-submission Office Hours with the SC CTSI Research Development team (key personnel are also encouraged to attend). These office hours will help the applicants develop project proposals that meet the mission of the mechanism. Please note that we will not review any documents or presentations. If requested, the SC CTSI Research Development team can advise on team building activities to achieve your goals. We offer at least 3 Pre-submission Office Hours. Please email Mayla.Boguslav@med.usc.edu with any questions.
Applications will be accepted for two annual deadlines: January 17, 2025 and Early July 2025
Prior to submitting your application:
It is highly encouraged that you attend our Team Building Voucher Information Session. We will provide more information about the types of projects we are looking to fund, and successful past examples. The upcoming Information Session details are:
The PI(s) are encouraged to attend Pre-submission Office Hours with the SC CTSI Research Development team (key personnel are also encouraged to attend). These office hours will help the applicants develop project proposals that meet the mission of the mechanism. Please note that we will not review any documents or presentations. If requested, the SC CTSI Research Development team can advise on team building activities to achieve your goals. We offer at least 3 Pre-submission Office Hours. Please email Mayla.Boguslav@med.usc.edu
with any questions.
Application form:
There is an application form here
that will request the following:
General Applicant Information
Project Information
Project Title
Five key words
Total Budget Requested
Co-PI/ Co-I Information
Post Award Administrator Information
Name
Email
Phone (optional)
Your Project Proposal (to be uploaded as one PDF, instructions below)
Project Proposal components and instructions:
General Format
Arial font, 11pt
Margins: minimum 0.5 inch
No appendices
Include page numbers and table of contents
Your Project Proposal needs to include the following information, compiled in one PDF file:
1. Team Building Proposal (3 pages maximum, including references) including:
Objectives: objectives of the project, including a rationale for how the project will enhance the development of the new multidisciplinary team
If your project is focused on the special topic of environment health, also describe how the project objectives meet the goals of (i) the Southern California Children's Environmental Health Research Translation Center, and/or (ii) Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center
Team roles: Description of the role of all participants and how they contribute to the multidisciplinarity and diversity of the team
Team Building Activities: specific description of these activities and what they will help the team achieve
Future Directions: next steps for the team, including plans and a timeline for external grant submission
If your project is focused on the special topic of environment health, describe plans for preparing a pilot project proposal to (i) the Southern California Children's Environmental Health Research Translation Center, and/or (ii) Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center; or plans for preparing a larger award application directly to an external funder.
Indirect costs are not allowed, including sub-contracts funded by SC CTSI pilot awards. Cost sharing and attempts to raise funds from other sources are encouraged.
Salary for project PIs/Co-PIs are not allowed. Salary for other personnel (e.g., Research Assistant) is allowed.
3. Budget Justification (1 page maximum)
Justify all costs fully. Provide detailed information for all requested items.
4. NIH Biosketch of Principal Investigators (5 page maximum for each individual)
NIH Funding Acknowledgment: Important - All publications resulting from the utilization of SC CTSI
resources are required to credit the SC CTSI grant by including the NIH funding acknowledgment and must comply with the NIH Public Access Policy.
