Small Conference Grants

The University of Massachusetts Center for Clinical and Translational Science (UMCCTS) is pleased to offer Small Conference Grants (SCG). This funding opportunity is designed to leverage the convening capacity of the UMCCTS to create new, multidisciplinary teams to address a pressing health need. For the purposes of this award, a conference is defined as a symposium, educational program, seminar, workshop or any other organized and formal meeting.

The UMCCTS supports projects that are inter-campus in orientation and directed toward life science projects related to clinical and translational research. This fund serves to spur inter-disciplinary collaboration and strengthen the University's research portfolio in clinical and translational research. By providing seed funding to outstanding faculty members, this fund facilitates the development of faculty-to-faculty networks within the University system, thereby leveraging the considerable expertise and resources that exist on the individual campuses. It is assumed that successful conferences will serve as a springboard to attract additional funding from extramural sources.

The criteria that are used to review proposals include the following:

• Intellectual Merit - Reviewers will judge the likelihood that the proposed conference will have a substantial impact on the pursuit of the goals of the UMCCTS, which is to advance our understanding of biological systems, to improve the control of disease, to enhance health, and to train the next generation of clinical and translational researchers.
• Inter-Campus Collaboration - projects that are multi-campus in orientation will receive additional consideration for funding.
• Growth Opportunity - projects that demonstrate the opportunity to be leveraged to attract and secure outside funding from federal, state, industry, foundation and other sources will be considered for funding.

Thank you for your interest in this Small Conference Grant opportunity. We look forward to your ideas.