Strategic Planning in the Sciences at Carleton

Planning for our Next HHMI Grant & Other Proposals

We have embarked on a planning process to prepare our 6^th grant proposal to HHMI, due October of 2007. The HHMI/CISMI Advisory Board has proposed using a "harvest model" to brainstorm, gather, and strengthen ideas from a large community of involved faculty and staff. The timeline for the process is sketched out below. This process will undoubtedly yield good ideas that will not be included in the final HHMI proposal. The Board will also advise on how to move these ideas forward in a productive way.

1. Fall 2006. "PLANTING & GROWING SEEDS". Short concept papers (1-2 page letters of intent) for potential HHMI projects have been solicited from individuals and groups. The Advisory Board sent out an email in late August with information about the process and grant guidelines. Groups with common interest were invited to apply for funding for meetings (food, stipends) to conceive and create short concept papers (email Trish Ferrett). Proposals arriving in late December will receive equal consideration. What can be funded with this HHMI grant?
2. January-March 2007: "STRENGTHENING". The HHMI/CISMI Advisory Board will oversee a multi-step process to strengthen emerging ideas for HHMI and other funding. They will:
   • Provide supportive feedback in January to authors of the concept papers submitted in 2006.
   • Publish concept papers here under emerging intellectual themes, through a password-protected website for the involved Carleton community to peruse and discuss. Involved Carleton people will receive the username and password for access via email in early January 2007.
   • Host conversations for groups with common intellectual interests (e.g., the Transitions Group, Neuroscience, Modeling & Visualization).
   • Encourage science and math faculty and staff to submit "opportunitistic proposals" by March 1 that build upon and strengthen the emerging intellectual themes. Authors of these new proposals can request informal feedback from members of the Advisory Board at any time before early March.
   • Formal proposals for HHMI funding are due on April 1to the Advisory Board. Proposals must include: a 2-page narrative that describes the project and addresses these criteria, 1-2 pages of a budget and budget narrative, and an optional 2 pages of supplementary material. Keep in mind that any single project will get at most 1 paragraph to 1 page of text in the final proposal to HHMI.
3. April-June 2007: "STRENGTHENING & PRUNING". The Advisory Board will review and critique proposals, using a process similar to that used by NSF and NIH. The Board will provide clear feedback to proposal authors and make recommendations for projects to include in the HHMI grant. They will also encourage other high-priority projects to move ahead with funding from other sources. The Advisory Board will produce a concept draft for the HHMI 6 proposal and send it to Rob Oden in June 2007.
4. July-August 2007: "HARVESTING THE CROP". The CISMI leadership will work with the Dean of the College Office and Corporate and Foundation Relations to draft and revise the proposal to HHMI. The head writers will be: Fern