The 1U4U Innovation Funding initiative is designed to seed faculty collaborations in areas of mutual research, scholarship, education and institutional opportunity, bridging both academic affairs and health sciences.

The program is based on the idea that the biggest social and scientific/engineering problems are too complex to be solved by a single discipline. This initiative aims to allow the type of collaborations that often result in true innovations.

“We also hope that young researchers and scholars on our campus will have the opportunity to participate in partnerships that will help grow and shape their careers,” said Dan Reed, senior vice president for Academic Affairs.

Reed is co-sponsoring the initiative with Mike Good, senior vice president for Health Sciences.

Briefly, here is how the project works. Each project must include three faculty members from at least two different colleges and representing both academic affairs and health sciences. Faculty who are on career/tenure-line are eligible to participate in the 1U4U Initiative. Each project must consist of new work and a new team; collaborators must not have been on a previously shared, external project. Eligible faculty information has been preloaded into the system.

Of note: Project teams may include staff and other non-faculty members with a dean’s approval, and not all projects require a research focus. If you are a university staff member or non-tenure/career line faculty, please contact your dean or vice president to be added to the system.

Teams may request funding for either $15K or $30K, depending on the size and scope of a proposal. More details are available at 1U4U.utah.edu. If you have questions about the mechanics or the website, please email 1U4U@utah.edu.

At this time, eligible faculty may propose projects, find collaborators and build a project team at the website. Teams will be able to submit proposals beginning Jan. 13, 2020.

Academic Affairs and Health Sciences have committed $400,000 in seed funding; in addition, some colleges and entities have committed varying sums to supplement funding.

Please help us get the word out about this opportunity and thank you for your support.