CR2C2 Fiscal Year 2025 Research and Education Exploratory Grants 

1. Introduction

The Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities (CR2C2) has earmarked $400,000 in FY 2025 to fund projects under its Research and Education Exploratory (REE) Grants program. These competitive seed grants are available to faculty, researchers, and professionals within the consortium to research emerging concepts and novel approaches to addressing transportation challenges in rural and underserved communities. Work done under the REE Grants may lead to new, larger-scale projects under one of CR2C2’s Major Research Initiatives (MRIs) in later years. 

Researchers can now submit project ideas for the FY 2025 cycle of CR2C2’s REE Grants program. Submissions close on June 30, 2024. Proposed projects should last no more than one year, with recommended funding amounts of $50k – $75k. Key dates for the REE Grant program are listed in the table below. For project ideas that advance to the full proposal stage, research teams must demonstrate a 100% cost-share commitment when they submit the full proposal. CR2C2 encourages the submission of project ideas that involve collaborations among multiple universities.

 The individual who submits the project idea should be the principal investigator (PI).

 Proposals should align with CR2C2 objectives (MRIs, EWD, or T2C), CR2C2 Research Roadmap, and the USDOT’s RD&T strategic plan.

2. Tentative Timeline

• Deadline for submission of Project Ideas: June 30, 2024

• Invitation for full proposal: Aug 30, 2024

• Deadline for full proposal submission: Sep 30, 2024

• Announcement of the awards: Nov 15, 2024

• Start date: Jan 1, 2025

3. Guideline for Development of Project Ideas

Idea write-ups should contain the following information:

• Project title

• Names, affiliations, phone numbers, and email addresses of the PI and all team members

•  Indicate whether a participating non-profit institution of higher education is a Minority Institution.

• Project duration

• Anticipated funding request

• Project summary describing problem(s) the project will address, proposed method/activities, and anticipated outcomes (Word limit: 400)

• For research projects, indicate the CR2C2 MRI the project mostly aligns with

• Up to five (5) keywords

Submission Deadline: June 30, 2024; 11:55 PM.

No late submission will be accepted.

The application should be submitted as a single Word file with the size of less than 100 MB. The submitted file should follow the naming convention as Institution-PI Name-Brief Title (e.g., NCAT-Smith-Eval of AVS for Rural.docx).

Note: Project Ideas should be submitted via the Submission Link:  https://forms.gle/8WD4FZY1ZYTcDLx68 

Proposals will NOT be accepted via e-mail.

For any information or questions, please contact the CR2C2 Research Director: Doug Kreis at dougkreis@uky.edu or the Program Manager Cesar Muedas at camuedas@ncat.edu.

4. Evaluation Criteria for Selection of Project Ideas

All project ideas will be reviewed and evaluated based on the criteria listed below:

• Relevance to CR2C2 objectives and USDOT RD&T Strategic Plan: 50%

• Potential for innovation and technical merit: 30%

• Potential for technology transfer and/or educational outreach: 10%

• Team composition, expertise, and diversity: 10%

At least one project will be selected with the focus on equity.  Projects with the focus on equity will be also evaluated on their potential for equity advancement according to the following criteria:

• Relevance to CR2C2 objectives and USDOT RD&T Strategic Plan: 50%

• Potential for innovation and technical merit: 30%

• Potential for technology transfer and/or educational outreach: 10%

• Team composition, expertise, and diversity: 10%

• Potential for equity advancement: 30%

Proposers whose ideas score highly on these criteria will be invited to submit a full proposal. Once project ideas are selected, CR2C2 will distribute instructions regarding the full proposal, conduct of research, and other requirements.