The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Provost Strategic Investment Initiative, a campus-wide competition designed to increase collaboration in strategic areas, is now accepting proposals. This year, $2 million in funding will be available to support successful proposals over a 24-month period. The deadline for submissions is April 12.
This opportunity is funded by the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Scholarship. It is designed to support projects that are multidisciplinary and innovative that might not fit within parameters of conventional funding, and are supportive of achieving the goals outlined in the UH Mānoa Strategic Plan. To foster creative, dynamic project design, there are no defined themes for this round of awards.
Participants can submit their proposals via the Strategic Investment Grant Proposal Form. Award letters for successful projects will be sent in mid-May.
“Many innovative proposals have come through this competition in previous years, which led to successful and very impactful outcomes since their startups,” said UH Mānoa Provost Michael Bruno. “These projects reflect the innovative approaches that our faculty and staff are using to address some of the most pressing issues facing Hawaiʻi, and we are excited to see what new proposals come in this year.”
Previously funded projects
The inaugural competition, launched in 2017, provided start-up funding for a diverse set of initiatives. The second competition in 2020 focused on innovation in lower-division course delivery and integrating the university’s top faculty and researchers into the undergraduate experience.
Among previously funded projects include the Center for Microbiome Analysis through Island Knowledge and Investigation (C-MĀIKI), which was funded with an initial investment of $700,000. Since that initial investment, C-MĀIKI has generated $38 million in extramural funding to support research and curriculum development.
The Symphony of Hawaiian Birds project is another example that incorporates science, music and education, to bring Hawaiian birds and the ongoing extinction crisis faced by native forest bird species to elementary and high school students.
