Overview, Eligibility and Process

Arts & Humanities Rapid Response Micro-Grant

Program Overview

The Arts & Humanities Rapid Response Micro-Grant Fund  is designed to enhance and advance the arts and humanities at Vanderbilt. Specifically, it provides faculty the ability to seize opportunities and carry out new collaborations, ventures, projects or outreach. This funding mechanism supports either time-sensitive projects or projects that are not conducive to current funding models.

Eligibility and Funding Guidelines

  1. All full-time, VU-employed (Provost-reporting) faculty are eligible. Non-tenure track faculty must obtain approval from their dean.
  2. Faculty may submit up to one proposal per year as lead faculty.
  3. Applicants are encouraged to consider how their proposal advances inclusive excellence.
  4. Funds may not be used to support faculty salary.
  5. Faculty who received Arts & Humanities Rapid Response Micro-Grant funding are not eligible to submit another proposal for this project (as lead faculty) until their current award is complete and all reporting requirements have been met.
  6. Awards are based partly on need. As a result, each participating faculty member must disclose institutional resources available in the form of start-up funds or other discretionary research funds. All institutional research-support funds must be noted, including endowed-chair funds, annual allocations and other such sources.
  7. All funds must be used within the fiscal year for which the funding is awarded (i.e. no carry forward).

Proposal Guidelines

All proposals must be submitted online using InfoReady Review, Vanderbilt's online submissions portal.

  • Project title (less than 9 words)
  • Summary - brief review of proposed project for use in promotional materials (50 words max)
  • Detailed proposal (750 words max)
    • Discuss the overarching theme, research question, area of scholarship or creative expression to be addressed
    • Address the impact on the field, community, faculty involved and/or university
    • Detail the timeliness and/or time-sensitivity of the funding
    • Review how funds will be used
  • Measures of success (250 words max)
    • Discuss goals, expected impact and/or related deliverables
  • Disclosure of current internal resources for all VU faculty involved
  • Budget
    • Provide line items of estimated expenses, total not to exceed $5,000 (exceptions will be considered based on funds available)