The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Economic Sciences (ACES) Future Interdisciplinary Research Explorations (FIRE) award program receives generous funding support from the ACES Office of Research. This grant encourages creativity and collaboration between ACES faculty and research partners. This year’s call is open to all tenure- and nontenure track faculty of all ranks with a primary appointment within ACES..
The aims of FIRE proposals are for faculty to:
- Develop exploratory research ideas that require the involvement of multiple disciplines
- Identify a research theme or question that gives coherence to the project and relates to the scope of programs within ACES
- Collect preliminary data or other relevant information to address research questions
- Prepare, develop, and submit research proposals for external funding
The expected product of the FIRE seed grant program is generation of preliminary data or results to support a fundable extramural interdisciplinary research proposal.
The program solicits outstanding interdisciplinary team research proposals to initiate new and enhance existing collaborations among faculty.
The deadline for submission of FIRE proposals is April 8, 2024 no later than 5:00 PM CT.
Questions? Contact Barbara Godlew (aces-or-support@illinois.edu) in the ACES OR for additional information.
For additional details and the evaluation criteria, please see the FIRE Request for Proposals.
Eligibility
The lead Principal Investigator must be a faculty member with a primary appointment in the College of ACES. In order to streamline the funding process, the lead PI should have an active Hatch project related to the proposed activities. You can apply without having an active Hatch project. If you receive the award, you will need to have a Hatch project that has overlapping objectives with your FIRE proposal in order to receive the funds.
PI Requirements
- The lead PI must have a primary appointment within the College of ACES.
- PIs and their respective units are fully responsible for any overages if the funding request is calculated incorrectly
- The PI is responsible for consulting with the relevant offices and meeting all requirements
- To the best of the PI's knowledge, all the information provided in the application is correct.
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation