Funding Procedure and Deadlines

Proposals may be submitted from any US university. On average, 60% of all approved IGPP minigrants awarded at Los Alamos originate from outside Los Alamos. Typical projects are funded at $35-$65K, per annum, and approximately 10 new collaborative projects are issued each year. Referred to in earlier years as minigrants, collaborative projects are formally identified as LANL subcontracts, intended to support basic fundamental research in collaboration with LANL staff and in support of LANL mission needs.

Funding in FY11 is dependent on Los Alamos Laboratory Directed Research and Development, LDRD, funds being released to IGPP. LDRD funding for IGPP is authorized in three-year cycles, released for use in incremental, annual cycles. In FY11 IGPP must recompete for LDRD funding for use during the 2012-2014, three-year cycle. The magnitude of IGPP sponsorship of minigrants is dependent on IGPP successfully competing within the LDRD call for-proposals-process. One criterion for LDRD renewal of the LDRD “contract” is successful demonstration of innovative, ground-breaking advancement of science accomplished under the IGPP sponsored minigrant process.

Procedure

Each proposal is required to have a University PI and a Laboratory PI. A University PI is any University scientist entitled by the University to be Principal Investigator on an extra-mural grant. A Laboratory PI is any Technical Staff Member (TSM). Visiting scientists, adjunct faculty and postdocs do not qualify as co-PI unless an exception is granted by the University.

Deadlines

The funding interval extends over the course of a given fiscal year, i.e., October 1 through September 30. PIs should note however, that the availability of funds is contingent upon the date the subcontract is awarded by the LANL Contracts Office, which may be up to several months after the start of the fiscal year for new proposals. It is expected that an in-kind contribution is offered by the university, in order to demonstrate co-investment in the research. In many cases, proposals may be submitted as multi-year efforts. Renewals for the second or third year are determined based on progress during the previous year and timely delivery of progress reports.

Renewals depend significantly on a documented level of strong collaboration during the prior year.