Catalyst Grants Program

Full Proposals will undergo a formal peer review process. The proposal should clearly articulate the high impact potential of the proposed project idea and convince the review panel that the funds requested would greatly contribute to moving the idea forward as well as enhance opportunities to leverage external funds. Additional review criteria include: the novelty of the idea; the merit and feasibility of the proposal; and the interdisciplinary nature of the team and project management approach (personnel, training, materials, budget). Grants are non-renewable and are NOT meant to sustain or augment ongoing research.

Section A – Proposal & Team Overview

Section A must be completed in the online portal – the link will be provided to those who completed an NOI. An application worksheet is available online to help you gather the information you need for the following components:

• Project Title
• Amount Requested
• Brief Lay Overview Statement – maximum 400 characters including spaces
• Research Area
• Team Details (Name, Faculty, ORCID ID, Career Status)

Section B – Project Description & Budge

Section B must be completed by creating a PDF and sending it directly to rotman.instiute@uwo.ca. Formatting requirements: 12-point font, single spaced, with 1-inch margins. An application worksheet is available online to help you draft the following components:

• Lay Proposal Summary – maximum 1500 characters including spaces
• Proposed Project – maximum of 4 pages with optional appendices up to 3 pages
  • Background and rationale
  • Aims and methods
  • Originality
  • Potential significance and impact
  • Team interdisciplinarity
  • Statement regarding how the project contributes to the vision and mission of the Institute
  • Plans for securing additional funding
  • Description of outreach and engagement activities and opportunities
• Budget Justification and Itemized Table – maximum 2 page

*** Incomplete applications will NOT be forwarded to the committee for review. ***

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals must be submitted by a team of a minimum of two faculty members representing different research areas and/or disciplines, one of whom must be a Rotman member at the time of the application. Additional team members are strongly encouraged and can include Rotman members (core, associate, and trainees) or non-Rotman members. New collaborations are welcome but not required and non-Rotman members are encouraged to apply to become institute members. Teams are strongly encouraged to consider equity, diversity, and inclusion in choosing participants. They are also encouraged to include early career investigators (within 10 years of their faculty appointment). All team members must have contributed to the conception/design of the proposed project; assisted in writing and approved the final submission; and agreed to share responsibility and be accountable for the proposed work. Trainees must have obtained permission from their supervisor(s) to participate as a project applicant. (Note: trainees would normally not be listed as applicants unless they meet the applicant criteria.)

Nominated Applicant

Each team requires a nominated applicant who will be responsible for administrative aspects of the grant such as correspondence, finances, ethics approvals, etc. The nominated applicant must be a Rotman faculty member that holds an academic appointment and is eligible to hold a Western Research account. Please visit the website to learn more about becoming a member. Nominated applicants can apply for only one grant in each competition and only hold one grant at any given time. They may be listed as an additional team member on other applications.

To support the Rotman commitment to ensuring the social relevance of our work and to breaking down barriers that prevent communication between different perspectives, between disciplines, or within society at large, each Nominated PI or designated team member is required to support knowledge exchange and impact. This is accomplished by taking part in the Rotman Lunchtime Talk Series and providing a one-page final report to be included in the Rotman Annual Report. Finally, catalyst grants are expected to lead to external funding applications. Recipients of catalyst funds who fail to fulfill program requirements may lose eligibility for funding through the Rotman Institute.

ROTMAN LUNCHTIME TALK

Lunchtime talk events are typically one hour with 2 to 3 15-min presentations that are open to the broad Rotman membership (i.e., investigators, trainees, and partners). Catalyst winner presentations should occur within 6 months of receiving the award in order to raise awareness and get the membership excited about recently funded projects. Contact rotman.institute@uwo.ca to book your presentation.

Award winners are encouraged to provide details about the research problem / the gaps being addressed, and about the team gathered to accomplish the project. To facilitate interaction with the audience, the presenters may choose to highlight potential risks and mitigation plans or unique disciplines, stakeholders or expertise that the team is seeking to expand collaboration.

FINAL REPORT

A one-page final report detailing project accomplishments and outcomes will be requested by Rotman at the end of the funding period. A template will be provided. Project updates beyond the final report may be requested from time to time for Rotman Annual Reporting.

EXTERNAL FUNDING APPLICATION

The proposed project is expected to generate applications for external funding within one year of its end date. Failure to apply for external funding will render the nominated applicant ineligible for further funding through the Rotman Institute for a period of five years.

END-OF-GRANT LUNCHTIME TALK (not mandatory)

Award winners may choose to do an end-of-grant presentation to update members of the institute on progress and impact of the project, knowledge translation plans, leveraging opportunities, and/or future research directions.

Funding Acknowledgement

All publications and presentations arising from research funded in whole or in part by a Rotman Catalyst Grants Program must include acknowledgment of support from the Rotman Institute of Philosophy – “This work/study was/is supported/funded by a Catalyst Grant from the Rotman Institute of Philosophy at Western University”. 

Ethics Approvals: Humans Animals & Biohazards

All proposals involving research ethics: human subjects, animal subjects, or biohazardous materials must be approved by the appropriate Western certification review committee. If awarded, funds will be encumbered until appropriate approvals are confirmed.

Accounts and Expenses

Each award will be set up as an “unrestricted research account” through Western Research expected to be accessible at the beginning of the funding period. Applicants are expected to expend the funds in the manner proposed in the original request within 24 months. Eligible expenses: salaries for employees, services and publication expenses. Ineligible expenses: indirect costs, travel, conference registration, or general computing equipment/software. Equipment (including software), which costs no more than 20% of the total budget and which is essential to carry out the proposed study, may be requested. Researchers must pay personnel appropriate wages and include benefits at established institutional rates. The budget justification must include a brief description of the duties of the personnel requested and the required qualifications, and a brief explanation as to why the position is necessary for the project.