The Population Studies and Training Center (PSTC) invites applications for its 2025 Research Seed Awards. The purpose of these awards is to encourage faculty members to develop projects that will obtain funding from the Population Dynamics Branch (PDB) of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) or other competitive extramural sources. 

We welcome all proposals focusing on the causes and consequences of population dynamics. Funded projects at the PSTC have ranged broadly across our thematic areas, which currently include Migration and Urbanization; Population, Development, and Environment; Children, Families, and Health; Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS; and the Social Foundations of Health Disparities. 

The PDB branch at NICHD funds social science research in the areas of demography, reproductive health, and population health. On their website, they describe these priorities as follows: “In population health, the branch supports research on how demographic, social, economic, institutional, geographic, and other factors influence human health, productivity, behavior, and development, with an emphasis on research using population-representative data and natural and policy experiments using methods addressing selection and other sources of bias.”

The number of seed awards granted will depend upon the number, cost, and quality of the applications received. Seed requests of any size up to $40,000 will be considered. Project requests for larger amounts should lead to a large, new PSTC multi-investigator project and an NIH population-relevant or PDB R01 application. We expect that other requests will range from $5,000 to $10,000. 

This program receives support from the NICHD and from Brown University. 

Faculty Associates of the Population Studies and Training Center are eligible to be PI. Multi-investigator teams that span disciplines are encouraged, particularly for larger requests. PSTC is happy to work with you in assembling a team. Projects using a range of methods and/or targeting funders other than NIH are welcome. We particularly encourage collaborations among PSTC faculty and projects that will be administered at PSTC. 

All proposals should include the following in a single document:

1. Title
2. Short Abstract
3. List of Key Investigators
4. Proposal (~3 pages):
   1. Specific aims
   2. Significance
   3. Innovation
   4. Proposed activities
   5. Project timeline
   6. Planned applications for NIH or other external funding, with dates.
5. Budget, with brief justification
6. NSF or NIH biosketch, or CV, for all key investigators

Applicants should indicate whether the seed project has human subjects or foreign components at the time of application. Applications with human subjects will need to obtain necessary IRB reviews before any seed award is finalized. No funds can be released until IRB approval is forwarded to PSTC. Applicants should also have current CITI certification and will need to confirm active certification at the time of application.

Apply here. 

Proposals will be evaluated by an interdisciplinary Faculty Review Committee. Review criteria include the project’s significance and innovation; its relevance to the PSTC mission and to the Population Dynamics Branch Research Programs; the importance of the seed project for advancing a larger project and future grant proposal; feasibility and cost-effectiveness; and PSTC engagement. 

We will announce award decisions by late February 2025.

Generally, seed funds cannot be used for faculty salary support at Brown or elsewhere or for travel to professional meetings. However, faculty who are ESI (early-stage investigators, per NIH) and are appointed as 12-month research faculty at PSTC, may request up to 10% effort in salary support. Funds may be used for other research expenses such as hiring data analysts or hourly RAs; conducting interviews; and field-testing questionnaires. PSTC staff programming time, including assistance with construction of data files and spatial programming, is also an allowable expense.

We encourage all award recipients preparing PDB proposals to workshop their proposal in an informal small group meeting with PDB-experienced researchers. Recipients may also request funding to obtain feedback on their proposal from external experts in their field, if those scholars are not at Brown.

The award period is March 1, 2025, to February 28, 2026. A very brief project update summarizing progress with respect to applications for external funding, grants, publications, and presentations will be due August 31, 2025, with a final report due March 31, 2026. 

Please contact Kristin McCutcheon of the PSTC for questions regarding preparation of a seed funds application. Please contact Margot Jackson (PSTC Director) or Zhenchao Qian (P2C Development Core Director) for advice regarding subject matter areas and match between your potential project and funding agencies.