Seed Grant Program: Call for Proposals

November 16, 2004

The Institute for New Media Studies and the Digital Technology Center are co-funding a new Game Research and Virtual Environment Lab seed grant program. University faculty, graduate students, P&A, or civil service research associates from any discipline area are invited to submit seed grant proposals by 4:30 pm, Friday, January 14, 2005.

FOCUS

The Game Research and Virtual Environment Lab is an interdisciplinary project at the University of Minnesota co-sponsored by the Institute for New Media Studies, the Digital Technology Center, and the Digital Media Center. The Lab’s mission is to promote and support exploration into the structure of game and virtual reality environments to advance research and to better understand the cultural, communicative, aesthetic, technical, and social implications and opportunities these structures provide.

The purpose of the seed grant program is to help develop promising research ideas which explore some aspect of digital game, simulation, or virtual reality development, usage, utility, social implications, or innovative applications. The goal of the grant program is to nurture an idea to the point of a fully-realized proposal which can be submitted for larger funding or to design a method for conducting a fuller examination of the aspect the research project addresses.

GRAVEL SEED GRANT PROGRAM EXPECTATIONS

In addition to helping fund development of a game research or virtual environment research idea, the goal of the seed grant program is to build the GRAVEL research community. Seed grant recipients will be asked to attend two brainstorming sessions in Spring 2005 in order to help steer the research directions in which the GRAVEL project might go.

Recipients will be asked to give a talk about their research project at a GRAVEL Grant program in Fall 2005. In addition, GRAVEL members will help to identify potential opportunities for further funding of the research idea in order to help take it from a proposal to a fully realized project.

The Seed Grant Proposal, up to 5 pages long (not counting cover or signature pages), must contain the following:

  1. Description of the project idea: What aspect of game or virtual environments are you intending to examine or develop a new application for? Describe how this research idea fits in with your own research background and interests.
  2. Description of broader potential of the idea: How might this idea, fully developed, lead to a new application, new understanding, or an on-going research angle about digital games or virtual environments. What discipline areas might be impacted by the project you are proposing?
  3. Idea development team: If you are a faculty member, identify a graduate student(s) with whom you might work in developing the idea. Describe their background and research interests. If you are a graduate student, identify a faculty mentor with whom you will work.
  4. Budget: The seed grant funds (up to $2,500 each) can be used to support graduate research assistance, software purchases, or other expenses related to developing the prototype, proof of concept, or theoretical framework for your research project.
  5. Cover page: The cover page should include your name, department affiliation / major, position, email address, street address, telephone number.
  6. Signature page: For faculty submissions, the signature of your department head must accompany the proposal. For graduate student, civil service, and P&A submissions, the signature of the faculty member on your idea development team must accompany the proposal.

SUBMISSION DEADLINES AND PROCESS

Proposals are due by 4:30 pm, Friday, January 14. They should be sent as an email attachment to npaul@umn.edu with the subject line: GRAVEL Seed Grant Proposal. In addition, a printed version including the signature page accompanying the proposal should be mailed to INMS – 313 Murphy Hall – 200 Church St. SE.

Proposals will be reviewed by affiliated members of the GRAVEL project and winners will be announced by January 21, 2005. Grant recipients will be asked to attend brainstorming sessions with the GRAVEL steering committee on Feb. 11 and April 22. The presentation of the research project will be in the Fall of 2005 when a final report will also be due.

QUESTIONS

 Contact Nora Paul, Director of the Institute for New Media Studies, npaul@umn.edu – 612-624-8593 – with questions.

TIMETABLE

  • Call for proposals issued: Nov. 16, 2004
  • Deadline for proposals: January 14, 2005
  • Notification of award: January 21, 2005
      • Agreements signed
  • First meeting of award recipients for discussion: February 11, 2005
  • Second meeting of award recipients for discussion: April 22, 2005
  • Continue work on the project idea Summer 2005
  • Presentation of projects and next call for proposals: Fall 2005