2025 Pilot Award

Purpose

The Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention  is excited to announce a request for applications for pilot projects inviting scholars from all across the University of Michigan campus to propose transformative solutions to reducing firearm injuries in the U.S. Eligible applicants are research, clinical, and tenure track faculty from any school, college, or institute on the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus.

The Institute pilot awards seek to build capacity and catalyze impactful scholarship by funding 2-5 projects in 2025. These short-term projects, ranging from 3-months to 1-year will be funded between $10,000 – $50,000 per award and granted to proposals with the greatest potential to advance our understanding of firearm-related harms and their prevention. Strong consideration will be given to innovative projects that promise a significant return on investment. Applicants may be invited to attend a meeting with Institute leadership to finalize the funding of the proposal. Applicants will be asked to provide a final report within 60 days of project end that describes findings, products, and next steps.

We encourage proposals that span a variety of scholarly activities, including but not limited to: 

• Pilot support for external funding grant submissions.
• Support for writing books, book chapters or other scholarly documents.
• Support for policy brief or white paper research and writing.
• Summer salary or student support for firearm injury related projects.
• Creative and artistic practices.
• Integrating a firearm analysis into ongoing projects.
• Support for prototyping innovative technologies.
• Community engaged partnerships.

Important Dates

Deadline for application: 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, November 15, 2024

Notifications of funding: Winter of 2024/2025

Selection Process &  Terms of Funding

• Proposals are due by 5:00 pm EST on Friday, November 15, 2024. Institute leadership will announce funded exploratory project winners in early winter of 2024. Those selected for funding may be asked to attend a collaboration meeting to refine proposals, and/or provide a written response to any required changes, if applicable.
• Principal Investigators for Institute funding must be faculty at the University of Michigan and hold a PhD, MD or equivalent academic degree. Post-docs are not eligible.
• Preference will be given to proposals that demonstrate a strong return on investment and that involve interdisciplinary collaborations.
• Funded applicants must remain at U-M for the duration of their study.
• The funding period will depend on IRB approval or exemption but is estimated to be 2025 – 2026. A final report will be required within 60 days of funding end. 
• The Institute will fund reasonable research expenses, although the funding should not be used to cover tenure-track faculty effort. 
• Cost extensions would be contingent on compelling justification, a favorable budget review, progress report, and revised timeline.
• Funding will not be allocated until evidence of full IRB approval or exemption has been received.  
• Funding cannot be provided to research examining issues outside of the U.S.
• Funded applicants are expected to: 
• Submit a final report (2-3 pages) upon project completion
• Submit a 250-word summary (for IFIP’s website)
• Provide updates to the IFIP Research and Scholarship Core during regularly scheduled meetings
• Acknowledge the University of Michigan Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention on all related work

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm ET, Friday, November 15, 2024 using the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention Competition Space through InfoReady.

Submissions must be single-spaced, ½ inch margins, 11 pt Arial font.

1. Title Page: Proposal title, principal investigator and co-investigator names and affiliation.
2. Abstract: 150 – 200 words. Explain how project findings address firearm injury prevention, potential impact,  and potential for additional external funding.
3. Exploratory Project Proposal (3-pages of text maximum not including references)
1. Specific Aims (1 page)
2. Brief overview of Significance, Innovation, and Approach (2 pages)
3. References
4. Budget estimates of cost for 1 year with brief justification (2-pages maximum)
5. Biographical sketch for each investigator: Use NIH biosketch format. 

NOTE:  Human subjects review approval is required before funding is disbursed.

Please direct questions to Michele Demers (mirude@umich.edu) at the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention

Selection Criteria for Funding

Applications will be evaluated by the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention leadership team based on:

• Importance of the Project (Significance, Innovation). Does this project address an important problem in the field of firearm injury prevention? If the aims are achieved, will the project address an important gap in knowledge in the field, solve a critical problem, generate useful data for external funding applications, or create a valuable conceptual or technical advance? Is the project innovative? For example, does the project: challenge existing paradigms or clinical practice; address an innovative hypothesis or critical barrier to progress the field; develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools, or technologies for this area? 
• Rigor and Feasibility (Approach). Does the proposal have a clear project narrative that highlights the strengths and makes the project’s contribution to the field of firearm injury prevention clear and explicit? Is the framework, design, methods, and analyses adequately developed, well-integrated, well-reasoned, and appropriate to the aims of the project? What is the likelihood that compelling, reproducible findings will result (rigor) and that the proposed project can be done well and within the timeframes proposed (feasibility)?
• Expertise and Resources (Investigators, Environment). Are the investigators appropriately trained and well-suited to carry out this work? Does the project team bring complementary and integrated expertise to the project (if applicable)? Are there institutional resources and support to ensure the successful execution of the proposed work?

Additional Review Criteria:

• Alignment: Is the proposed project aligned with firearm injury prevention?
• Additional Funding: Is it likely that the proposed project will lead to external funding in firearm injury prevention? 
• Translation of Research Findings or Products: How will the findings be translated to promote impact on firearm injury prevention for various audiences (e.g., policymakers, practitioners, healthcare institutions, community-based organizations)?

Please direct questions to Michele Demers (mirude@umich.edu) at the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention

Timeline

About IFIP

Launched as a University of Michigan Presidential Initiative in 2019 and a University-wide Institute in 2021, the U-M Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention engages the breadth of expertise across U-M, with input from nonacademic stakeholders, to generate knowledge and advance solutions that will decrease firearm injury across the United States – while respecting the rights of responsible, law-abiding firearm owners. In order to accomplish this mission, the U-M Institute of Firearm Injury Prevention:

• • Generates actionable research to reduce and prevent firearm injury and death
  • Develops innovative evidence-based programs and scholarship
  • Collaborates with communities most affected by firearm injury
  • Catalogs and mobilizes relevant data to inform new solutions
  • Evaluates new and existing policy solutions