Trans-Institutional Programs The Vanderbilt Approach to Grand Challenges Trans-institutional Programs (TIPs) create new and valuable knowledge by interweaving relevant perspectives, features, methods, and information from two or more disciplines. Trans-Institutional Programs The Vanderbilt Approach to Grand Challenges Trans-institutional Programs (TIPs) create new and valuable knowledge by interweaving relevant perspectives, features, methods, and information from two or more disciplines. Grand Challenges: Complex societal problems that require the harnessing of science, technology, innovation and the imagination to solve.

Total153 Medicine52 Arts & Science45 Engineering26 Peabody14 Law3 Owen3 Divinity2 Blair2 Nursing1 Award Participants by School 17 Inaugural Awards Granted 153 Participants 700+ Faculty Involved in the Proposal Process Support for Cross-Disciplinary Discovery and Learning Tackling Society’s Grand Challenges $50M over 5 years

Big Data Architecture Climate Change Governance Music, the Mind and Society Sterling Ranch Sustainability Research Advancing Neuroimaging Bioeffector Discovery VRAs Vanderbilt Reinvestment Awards VIAs Vanderbilt Initiative Awards The Pre 3 Initiative Institute for Obesity and Metabolism Initiative in Surgery and Engineering NetsBlox: Digital Learning Ethics of Health and Human Flourishing Wisdom Working Group Health Solutions for the U.S. South Molecular Probes Healthcare in Brazil Chronic Disease in Underserved Settings Global Health Tech

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Changes to Process 1)Timing should be less rushed 2)Online application submission and review process (REDCap) 3)Expansion of what qualifies as “trans-institutional” 4)VRAs must have letter from the relevant deans, VIAs do not need a letter from the relevant deans 5)VRAs will be judged by the TIPs Council, not review panels 6)Developing more concrete and systematic feedback on proposals 7)Some turn-over in review panels, mostly the result of leaves

Features of Successful Proposals 1)Identifying an important problem and writing the proposal in a way that resonates with an audience of humanists, social scientists, and life/physical scientists. As one panel member said, “we looked for inspiring proposals.” 2)They reflect true cross-campus collaborations that might not happen without TIPs funding. It is important that these collaborations also be trans-institutional in spirit. 3)Attention to teaching and mentoring that made it clear this aspect of the proposal was central, not an afterthought. 4)Makes a compelling case that the funding will really make a difference. Big ideas do not always require a lot of money. Thoughtfulness in budget proposals. 5)Proposal made a case for why this topic could be an area of excellence at Vanderbilt.

Common Problems in TIPs Proposals 1) Involves a project dominated by a single academic unit, with others being only ceremonially involved. Related, adding names to the proposal that were not centrally involved detracted from the proposal. 2) Project that reflects incremental aims beyond previous work by the same (or nearly the same) team. 3) Project is clearly well-suited for classical existing extramural funding programs (by NIH grants, for example). 4) Educational component did not seem earnest and/or compelling. 5) Proposals with big ideas, but no clear plans on how to execute that idea suffered.

Frequently Asked Questions Would a proposal be strengthened by having 3 or more colleges involved? The number of colleges in and of itself should not matter. It is the quality of the idea that will drive decisions. Would a proposal be strengthened by having a larger number of faculty involved? Again, the number itself should not matter. It is the quality of the engagement that is important. On the pre-proposal submission form, the number of collaborators is limited to 15. If additional faculty members need to be included, they can be listed on the cover page of the pre-proposal PDF. Does a proposal need to involve both learning and discovery? Yes. A successful proposal will need to describe how both of these critical missions will be advanced with this investment of money.