Faculty Development

Research and Faculty Development offers faculty training programs designed to enhance the skills that lead to successful proposals, from finding funding opportunities, to interacting with program officers, to writing effective project narratives.

Click here to learn more

Proposal Development Academy (PDA), What you need to know before you write, is a nine-week workshop series held in the Spring Semester where participants learn essential skills and best practices to enhance the competitiveness of future grant proposals. Cohorts of 10-12 early-career faculty member PDA participants are selected in the fall of each year, and we request nominations from college deans to begin that process.

Planned weekly topics usually include:

• Developing a 5-year Research Funding Plan
• Crafting a Research Funding Profile
• Know Your Funder
• Building Relationships with Program Officers
• Dissecting Proposal Solicitations
• The Anatomy and Architecture of a Successful Proposal
• Storyboarding
• Program Officer Outreach
• Presenting 5-year Research Funding Plans

Each 90-mintue session is divided into three parts: (1) a 15-20 minute presentation to provide an overview of a specific topic and how the topic relates to proposal competitiveness; (2) a group activity for participants to become more familiar with the topic; and (3) 15-20 minutes for participants to reflect about how they can use this new knowledge to advance the competitiveness of a future proposal to a funding opportunity they have in mind. 

The cohort meets each Spring on Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to noon p.m. PT and it is expected that participants attend all nine sessions. The cohort will meet in-person but those not in Moscow will participate via Zoom.

Please contact Carly Cummings, Sr. Director of Research and Faculty Development (ccummings@uidaho.edu) with any questions.

The University of Idaho NSF CAREER Club is a cohort-based program for early career U of I faculty who plan to submit a National Science Foundation CAREER proposal. Facilitated by the Research and Faculty Development Team, this six-month program provides participants with a suite of valuable tools and events to use in a step-by-step approach to building a compelling, competitive proposal. NSF CAREER Club runs from January to July and a four-week application window typically opens in October. There are a limited number of seats awarded each year through a competitive selection process.

Contact the RFD Team to learn more

Offering a two-part, competitive U of I faculty development program to enhance proposal readiness to secure National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for faculty members with research relevant to the agency’s priorities.

NIH Funding Success Part 1

NIH Funding Success Part 1 is an 8-week cohort training program offered every other fall that is designed to enhance faculty readiness to apply for NIH funding. This mixed series uses webinar and applied workshop formats to introduce concepts that participants apply to their chosen proposal idea, reinforcing skills and positioning for proposal development success. Up to 12 participants are chosen for each cohort. Part 1 graduates are eligible to apply to the InterFACE (Part 2) program where they develop and submit a competitive NIH R01 proposal.

Our team will send notifications early in the Spring semester for the following Fall semester’s cohort. The application for the next cohort will be released in Spring 2026 for Fall 2026 programming.

InterFACE

Inter-Faculty Academy of Competitive Excellence (InterFACE) picks up where Part 1 leaves off by offering peer and expert mentoring support in service to developing and submitting an R01 application. InterFACE is a multi-institutional, collaborative R01 development program for a cohort of faculty members from University of Idaho, Montana State University, Utah State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Nevada-Reno that includes NIH proposal-specific curriculum presented by the AtKisson Training Group (ATG) as well as one-on-one coaching and proposal development review from the ATG team.

Eligibility is limited to NIH Funding Success Part 1 graduates. Three or four participants will be selected for each cohort through a competitive application process. The applications are due during the Fall semester for the following Spring semester’s cohort. The multi-month programming runs from March to February, with the opportunity for participants to submit their R01 for October or February deadlines. The next cohort will be recruited in Fall 2025 for programming to begin in Spring 2026.

Program Logistics

All applications, selection and submission dates are subject to change, and programming relies on available funding. Please watch the OSPPI listserv, the Daily Register and personal email notifications announcing the application windows for these NIH training programs.

One-on-One Assistance

If the planned programming dates do not meet your availability, please schedule a one-on-one appointment with the RFD Team by submitting a Level 0 service ticket. We are happy to help you develop a plan for individualized support.

Contact the RFD Team to learn more

A competitive National Science Foundation (NSF) grant proposal must include a compelling Broader Impacts (BI) section. The Research and Faculty Development Team (RFD) offers a recurring Broader Impacts 101 Faculty Success Seminar. Designed for anyone interested in applying for NSF funding, this seminar details the meaning of “Broader Impacts” and outlines how faculty can plan BI activities that align with their research as well as their professional and personal interests. The seminar is typically offered in the fall semester, and one-on-one BI consultations are available year-round from the RFD Team. The BI 101 seminar is designed to be useful to those who are new to BI and those who would like a BI refresher.

Contact the RFD Team to learn more

RFD partners with an external consultant group, the AtKisson Training Group (ATG), to offer an eight-week Research Leadership Development program every other fall (next offering will be Fall 2025). ATG seeks to help early-stage faculty understand the roles that a new investigator must play, and how to focus their time and talents to provide a solid base for long-term success. Cohorts of 10-12 early-career faculty member participants are selected through competitive processes in the spring semester ahead of the fall offering.

Please contact Carly Cummings, Sr. Director of Research and Faculty Development (ccummings@uidaho.edu) if you are interested and/or have any questions.