2023 Call for Seed Grant Proposals
The MIT Portugal Program (MPP) is pleased to announce its 2023 call for seed grant proposals from MIT Principal Investigators from any of the Institute’s schools, departments, laboratories, or centers. The call is open now through April 3, 2023.
The MIT Portugal Program (MPP) is a strategic international partnership between MIT, Portuguese universities and research institutions, the Portuguese government, as well as partners from industry and other non-academic institutions, with the goal of fostering collaborative research. The seed grants are designed to encourage such collaborations and to generate new ideas and advance research both in Portugal and at MIT.
For the 2023 call for proposals, the Program encourages:
- New applications for innovative projects in one of the below four research areas, and
- Renewal applications to allow for the continuation of research projects, with an active Portuguese collaborator, that were funded in 2022 and which grants have not yet expired.
Interested researchers are particularly encouraged to submit proposals in the following 4 research areas although other areas with benefit to the Portuguese people will also be considered:
- Climate Science & Climate Change
- Earth Systems: Oceans to Near Space
- Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
- Sustainable Cities
A more detailed description of each research area can be found in the research section. The Program has supported over 50 research projects in this phase of the collaboration. A list of past awards can be found here.
Eligibility
Proposals will be accepted from MIT Principal Investigators from any school, department, laboratory, or center. While this funding is exclusively for MIT Principal Investigators, proposals are expected to include collaboration with Portuguese faculty, students, industry, or other institutions in Portugal. If you do not have a Portuguese collaborator, the Program ([email protected]) can help you connect with interested collaborators in Portugal.
MIT faculty that worked with a Portuguese collaborator to submit an exploratory proposal in Portugal in the fall of 2022, are strongly encouraged to submit a proposal.
Renewal applications of existing research projects must demonstrate active and meaningful collaboration with Portuguese researchers, industry and/or students.
How to Apply
The deadline to submit proposals is April 3, 2023. New seed grants will be awarded in amounts up to $100,000 for a 15 month period. Proposals with a higher budget will be considered with appropriate justification. Applicants will be informed of the results by the end of May 2023. Funds for new projects will be available for use from June 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024. Funds for renewal projects will be available for use from the expiration date of the existing grant through August 31, 2024.
Applications must include a project proposal and a project budget. Both the proposal and the budget templates can be found on MIT Funding Opportunities.
Please submit the project proposal and project budget via the submission portal on the MIT Funding Opportunities page. Both the proposal and the budget templates can be found via the submission portal. Any area- or budget-related questions can be raised with [email protected]. The proposal and budget do not need to be routed via RAS or Kuali Coeus (KC).
At the end of the grant period, grantees will be required to submit a brief report to the MIT Portugal Program office highlighting the accomplishments and results of the project, active collaboration with Portuguese researchers, industry and/or students, any publications resulting from the project, as well as a final financial statement. The report could be 2 pages in length or less, and is ideally ready to be used on the MIT Portugal Program website.
Summary schedule:
April 3, 2023 | Proposal and budget submission deadline |
End of May 2023 | Announcement of funded projects |
June 1, 2023 – August 31, 2024 | Funds available for use for new projects |
End existing grant – August 31, 2024 | Funds available for use for renewal projects |
Please check the FAQ section if you have questions about the seed grants or the process.
For the 2023 Call for Proposals, the MIT Portugal Program is seeking innovative proposals in the following 4 categories although other areas with benefit to the Portuguese people will also be considered:
- Climate Science & Climate Change
- Earth Systems: Oceans to Near Space
- Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
- Sustainable Cities
A more detailed description of each research can be found in the research section.
- If you received an award from the MIT Portugal Program in the past, and that award has expired, you can submit a proposal under this call for proposals.
- If you currently have an active MIT Portugal Program seed grant that was awarded in 2022, you can submit a proposal to allow for the continuation of this research project provided it can be demonstrated that your research project includes meaningful collaboration with colleague(s) in Portugal.
Proposals that include collaboration with faculty, industry, and researchers from other institutions in Portugal are strongly encouraged. If you do not have a collaborator in Portugal, we can help you connect with interested collaborators in Portugal. Please contact our office via [email protected].
MIT faculty that worked with a Portuguese collaborator to submit an exploratory proposal in Portugal in the fall of 2022, are strongly encouraged to submit a proposal.
Proposal submission deadline April 3, 2023 (11:59pm ET)
Announcement of funded projects End of May 2023
Funds available for use for new projects June 1, 2023 – August 31,2024
Funds available for use for renewal projects End of existing grant-August 31, 2024
Please submit a budget for total proposal costs, including all applicable overhead costs at the current research rates for FY 2023 listed below.
Research F&A Rate 59.0 %
Employee Benefits Rate 22.7 %
Vacation accrual Rate 6.0 %
Funding may be used for, but is not limited to, MIT salaries (including summer salaries as well as RA, postdoc, and other salaries), tuition for MIT students, materials & supplies, services, equipment, travel & meeting costs to facilitate collaboration with Portugal, and indirect costs. Funding should not be used for salaries for foreign collaborators.
If, during the research project, you will host a visiting student from Portugal, you may apply for additional funding to cover the visiting student fees. This additional funding can be requested separately during the grant period and does not need to requested in the proposal stage.
Seed grants will be awarded in amounts up to $100,000 for a 15 month grant period. Proposals with a higher budget will be considered if appropriate justification for a higher budget is provided.
For renewal applications, the Program will take into account the estimated remaining funds by the end of the original grant period.
Grantees may be asked to participate in activities with Portugal or the MIT Portugal Program, such as workshop requests and the MIT Portugal Annual Conference, typically held at the end of September in Portugal.
No, the proposal should not be routed via KC.
Although you can submit more than 1 proposal, we strongly encourage you to only submit a single proposal that you are most excited about, as only one will be funded.
Please submit the project proposal and project budget via MIT Funding Opportunities by April 3, 2023, 11:59pm ET. Any area- or budget-related questions can be raised with [email protected].
For all other questions not addressed above please contact the MIT Portugal Program at [email protected]