Development Project and Conference Support

Guidelines for CTSG Development Project Proposals and Conference Support

Development project funding is primarily designed for one-time support of pilot research, extension or education projects, publications, conferences or similar initiatives.

Development project proposals should be made using the CTSG development submission form and   submitted as an attachment via email to: Dr. Syma Ebbin, CTSG Research Coordinator, at syma.ebbin@uconn.edu.

If you are requesting conference support, please use this form. These requests are scrutinized very closely. CTSG may provide up to a maximum of $1,000 for conference support. Exceptions to this policy may occur if CTSG plays a substantive role in the planning and/or implementation of the conference. As with other development proposals, requests for conference support must show a clear linkage to CTSG’s areas of strategic focus.

Submissions should be well-written, include references if needed, and must:

  • Clearly delineate how the project responds or relates to the specific goals and outcomes identified in the CTSG strategic plan.
  • Describe the need for the project, the methods or approach to be used.
  • Identify the names, contacts and qualifications of the individuals involved.
  • Include a line-item budget and justification for each requested budget item.

Preference will be given to projects that develop novel methods or approaches, projects that leverage other funding and efforts, and projects that will generate substantial outcomes and accomplishments. All projects are subject both to review, and to the availability of funds. Only in rare circumstances will CTSG support development projects in excess of $5,000, and most funded projects are in the range of $250-$3,000. Requests for development funds can be made at any time.

Other limitations on development projects and budgets include:

  • Requests for travel funds are also scrutinized very closely. Support for faculty (and other full-time employee) conference travel is rarely provided, and must be justified strongly in terms of CTSG’s areas of strategic focus. Limitations to the use of development funds for travel include:
    1. Travel by tenured university faculty members (or untenured associate or full professors) is not eligible for support. Travel for untenured assistant professors and non-tenure track staff may be supported in rare circumstances, and then only if clear linkages to CTSG strategic focus areas are demonstrated, and if no other sources of travel funds are available.
    2. Student travel may be supported if funds are justified in terms of active participation with clear benefits (e.g., presentation of research results that are clearly linked to CTSG’s focus areas, and for which travel funds are otherwise unavailable).
    3. Similar limitations apply to non-university employees. Travel for senior-level, permanent employees will not be supported using development funds. Travel for junior-level employees may be available under the same limitations that apply to non-tenure track university staff.
    4. Requests for reasonable and justified amounts of travel funds for field sampling will be considered.
  • Development funds may be used to partially support stipends, salary, or hourly labor for students, post docs, technicians or research assistants, contractors/consultants, and others whose salaries are derived primarily from external grants. Development funds may NOT be used to support salary for principal investigators or full-time employees who do not fall into one of the above categories (this includes summer salary for college or university faculty). You will need to complete a final report upon completion of the project (within 30 days of the end date), to include the outcomes and impacts of the project. The report template can be found here.

We expect that awardees will acknowledge Connecticut Sea Grant’s funding contribution and, where appropriate, utilize the CTSG logo in any publications or presentations produced as a result of this endeavor. You can access the CTSG logo here (GIF, JPG). All publications related to the project must be submitted to Connecticut Sea Grant for inclusion in the National Sea Grant Library.

Requests for funding of page charges associated with publications are not accepted under this funding program.

Eligibility for CTSG Program Development Funding

Requests for support through CTSG Program Development awards will be considered on a case-by-case basis as long as funds are available. Requests may be submitted by individuals affiliated with any Connecticut-based formal or informal academic or educational institutions, research laboratories, extension/outreach facilities, state or local agencies, or for-profit institutions or companies.  Please note that any data, information, and/or technologies or other outputs resulting from such an award may not be considered proprietary. CTSG requires active sharing, extension and educational efforts and outputs in conjunction with the award of program development funding and all results are subject to NOAA data sharing policies and must be made freely available to the public.