TRIP Newsletter - Message #38

Indy Arts Council is now offering Mental Health & Wellness Grants to support artists and creative workers. These grants aim to help artists who are experiencing social and emotional challenges, but don’t have sufficient means to obtain treatment. Grant awards will range from $250 to $750.

If you have a vacation or extended break away from your work space planned during the summer, remember to power down to reduce passive energy consumption in support of IU’s Climate Action Plan.

This summer, why not add some fun to your routine with a wellness challenge! Whether you're looking for a quick 15-minute activity or a 12-week commitment, Healthy IU has something for everyone. Their challenges cover a wide range of wellness topics, including drinking more water, increasing physical activity, enhancing safety, improving sleep, and  more! You can participate in these challenges individually or as a team. Please note that there is no incentive for this challenge―it's just for fun!   

Discover the broad range of tips and tricks UITS has for faculty members with the Faculty Tech Guide from security and phishing tips to services and support.  

Thanks to support from the Herbert Simon Family Foundation, Marion County residents are eligible for an IndyRides Free pass!  Once your request is approved, use Pacers Bikeshare for grabbing lunch, running errands, getting to work, and enjoying downtown Indianapolis. 

The Research Design Consultant Core (RDCC) is a pilot program led by the Indiana University Center for Survey Research (CSR) and funded by IU Research. CSR’s expert methodologists, technologists and study directors will work with faculty and researchers – at no cost to you – to provide consultation, specialized training and assistance with pilot data collection in support of an external funding application. Aligned with the initiatives from the IU 2030 Strategic Plan to accelerate sponsored research, the Research Design Consultant Core program enhances the quality and competitiveness of applications for external funding. 

The newly established IUI Community-Engaged Research to Impact Health Equity Consortium is seeking to create a network of researchers who do or wish to do research that involves the community.  Health in this Consortium is defined broadly, considering all social determinants of health, which are the upstream factors that eventually lead to poor health outcomes.  Social determinants include a broad array of factors, such as income and job security, housing and basic amenities, the environment, education, criminal justice, exposure to violence, access to care, and more. If you want to learn more or have questions, please reach out to Silvia Bigatti, ude[dot]ui[at]ittagibs.

By joining the research volunteer network, you will be connected to opportunities to learn about the thousands of health research studies that are being done in Indiana and get an email notification when a new study opens that fits your interests. You will also be contributing to a greater understanding of different diseases and conditions, how they affect each of us, and how we can best treat and prevent health conditions.

PhD-level evaluation experts from the Center for Evaluation, Policy, and Research are available to help faculty develop comprehensive evaluation plans tailored to funding program requirements. Services are available at no cost to IU faculty members.

The IU Research and Creative Activity Conference Grants, sponsored by IU Research, provide IU faculty the opportunity to apply for matching funds to curate and host an innovative conference on an IU campus. The purpose is to convene scholars from other institutions around the country and the world with IU faculty and students to explore novel ideas and initiatives, expand scholarly networks and build new research and creative activity partnerships. Funding is up to $15,000. Deadline: Open.

The IU Research Equipment Fund provides support for purchasing new research or creative activity equipment, for repairing or upgrading existing equipment and for datasets at IU university-wide that are strategically necessary to support high-quality research, attract and retain research faculty and generate external funding for IU Research. All requests should be more than $5,000 (after the required cost-share is secured). There is no maximum request. Deadline: Open.

The LASER PULSE collaboration has produced a collection of tools to aid researchers in planning for and conducting research translation. The collection includes planning and strategy tools for research translation implementation, stakeholder analysis, communication, and dissemination;  guidance on specific approaches to research translation related to policy change, community engagement, nudges, and effective storytelling; and guidance on creating briefs and other written communications to facilitate research translation.

“It is important to understand the literal meaning of research translation – just like translating between languages, it involves taking academic jargon, models and publications, and translating them into more accessible language, formats and recommendations that can be understood and used by organizations, communities and policymakers,” said Christopher Rice, research translation and policy lead for the IU Center for Global Health Equity. 

Storing data correctly is the key to keeping it safe. Storage owners must use the Institutional Storage Request Form if storing or sharing restricted or critical data. IU’s University Information Policy Office also reminds you that individually owned storage spaces such as Google at IU My Drive and Microsoft OneDrive at IU are never an appropriate place to share institutional data.

A reminder that IU faculty, staff, and students can install statistical, mathematical, and qualitative analysis software packages such as SPSS and Stata for no additional cost. Since this UITS initiative began in July 2022, the number of downloads is three times higher than it was in the prior year, with around 3,000 students, faculty, and staff taking advantage of access to the software. 

The IU Center for Survey Research has capabilities from traditional survey design and data collection (using web, mail, telephone, in-person) to qualitative interviews to specimen collection. They provide up to 2 hours of free consultation to any IU faculty, staff, or student and then charge based on hourly rates determined by the university. During the academic year, they offer free weekly consulting at two locations on the Bloomington campus (Tuesdays from 10-12 and Wednesdays from 12-1:30) but are happy to meet by Zoom for people in Indy.

The IU Presidential Arts and Humanities program provides funding in support of research and creative activity through a variety of mechanisms, including a Fellows Program as well as travel and production grants. The research website outlines each of the categories of funding as well as eligibility and application requirements. All grant categories are currently open for applications.

Do you need equipment, datasets or software to help conduct your research? IU researchers can search an online database to find university resources that are shareable with researchers or submit their own equipment from their laboratory or core to encourage broader use.

The Indiana Statistical Consulting Center supports IU faculty, staff and graduate students by helping with the planning phase, writing the methodological portion of grant proposals, carrying out the proposed analysis and writing up results once the grant is funded. Collaborators will meet free of charge with the agreement that their efforts will be compensated by the grant if funded.

IU's Innovation and Commercialization Office provides technical assistance on the commercialization of technology, including grant writing and submission in agency-specific systems such as ASSIST, FastLane, Grants.gov, eBRAP, etc. Contact Amie Frame at ude[dot]ui[at]emarfima for more information.

Private foundation and corporate funding opportunities are available through the Office of Business Partnerships and the Office of Foundation Relations. 

Indiana University faculty have access to high performance computing and storage, research software, advanced visualization and data services, and expert consulting services.

Need external funding to support your research? Discover helpful information and resources to locate relevant external funding sources.

Scholars@IU: this site provides access to Indiana University researchers. Use this information to find potential collaborators and partners.

The Office of Research Administration (ORA) provides free self-paced training videos for every step of your sponsored research.

Indiana University offers numerous internal funding programs to support development of faculty research and creative activities.