IAS Research and Creative Collaborative Proposal

Next Application Deadline: Monday, October 12, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. CT

The IAS Research and Creative Collaborative program provides funding and administrative support for interdisciplinary groups with a shared intellectual interest. Groups have used this opportunity to explore new work across disciplines, organize workshops or symposia, forge relationships with community partners, or seed large interdisciplinary projects and develop grant proposals. 

Collaborative support from the IAS is intended to seed collaborations that cross disciplinary borders, are experimental in method or approach, and often have a community building or public engagement component. IAS support enables recipients to work across University of Minnesota units and campuses, as well as across institutions and communities. Successful proposals may include not only faculty and staff, but also students, community partners, or other external collaborators as project conveners.

See a list of current and past IAS Research and Creative Collaboratives

Funding Cycles

Collaboratives are funded for an 18-month period; successful Collaboratives may apply for additional funding rounds. There are two funding application periods per year: Fall (October) and Spring (February). 

  • Fall 2026 Deadline: Monday, October 12, 2026. Funding is for the period January 2027–June 2028.
  • Spring 2027 Deadline: Monday, February 22, 2027. Funding is for the period July 2027–December 2028.

Resources Provided

  • New Collaboratives may request a budget of up to $8,000 (full funding for requests is not guaranteed)
  • Renewing Collaboratives may request a budget of up to $4,000 (full funding for requests is not guaranteed)
  • Administrative support across units, campuses, institutions, and communities, such as hiring, budget consultations, processing payments and reimbursements, event consultations, project development, and more
  • Assistance with event promotion and project amplification via the IAS’s network, including our website, newsletter, and social media
  • The opportunity for community and connection with other IAS Affiliates

Eligibility & Organization

  • Collaboratives are organized and directed by conveners, usually a group 2–4 people
  • Conveners are responsible for the leadership and administration of the Collaborative
  • Conveners may be faculty, students, or staff from any University of Minnesota campus; or non-University community members. At least one convener must be a member of the University community; in cases of Collaboratives convened by primarily undergraduate students, we will require at least one faculty convener
  • An individual may be a convener of only one Collaborative, but may participate in more than one Collaborative
  • Current IAS advisory board members and staff may not serve as Collaborative conveners, but may participate in Collaboratives

Funding Priorities

The Institute for Advanced Study is open to proposals of all interests. We are particularly interested in those that include or feature:

  • Community-engaged work, i.e. collaborations with community partners
  • Public scholarship, i.e. creative works and research intended for broad audiences
  • Indigenous-led Collaboratives
  • BIPOC-led Collaboratives
  • Projects from across University of Minnesota campuses (Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Rochester, Twin Cities campuses, and Extension projects)
  • Projects focused on institutional transformation and systemic change
  • Projects involving disciplines and fields beyond the humanities and social sciences

Budget

IAS Research and Creative Collaborative members are expected to participate in the intellectual life of the IAS by making their activities open and accessible. The IAS seeks participation from all colleges, schools, and campuses across the University and encourages student participation in Collaboratives. Funds are to be used to further the work of the Collaborative; faculty salary may not be included. 

  • New Collaboratives may request up to $8,000
  • Renewing Collaboratives may request up to $4,000

Examples of possible use of funds include honoraria for community partners, bringing in scholars from other institutions to participate for brief periods in the work of the Collaborative (travel/lodging/meals/honoraria), hiring student workers, purchasing books, conducting a field trip, purchasing materials or services in support of creation of artistic work, or organizing public programming.
 

Proposal Instructions

Proposals will be submitted online via InfoReady Review. Uploaded documents must be either Word or PDF; budget documents may be in Excel, Word, or PDF.

Click the appropriate dropdown below to view instructions for those wishing to propose a new Research and Creative Collaborative, or those wishing to renew funding (apply for an additional year) for an existing or former Research and Creative Collaborative.

Important: InfoReady application portal opens by end of September

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Propose a New IAS Research & Creative Collaborative

Apply via InfoReady with the information below.

Fields to be filled in on the form:

  1. Collaborative title
  2. Number of co-conveners for your collaborative. The form will adjust with space for co-convenor information based on your response.
  3. Name, email, and department, college, and campus (or other) affiliation of each Collaborative convener.
  4. Amount requested
  5. An abstract of your proposal, which will be used for publicity if funded. (900 characters max)
  6. Contacts for notifications. List every co-convener’s email here, to allow them to receive information about the application's progress, funding awards, and other instructions.
     

Documents to be uploaded:

  1. Description of the project, including its significance, goals, and potential outcomes. Discuss why this work cannot be done in existing structures and requires IAS affiliation. Explain how you have considered making this an interdisciplinary project: how did the group come together, how did you seek participants, and what was the logic of your search for participants? Explain how your Collaborative advances research or creative work. Discuss how you will measure and evaluate achievement of your goals and outcomes. If your Collaborative engages a community outside the University, be sure to identify that. (1,500 words)
  2. Tentative list of activities that the Collaborative intends to carry out. (one page)
  3. Itemized budget with specific estimates of costs. Maximum amount is $8,000. Faculty salary may not be included. Please ask only for funds actually needed. Important: Budget documents should be saved in portrait, rather than landscape, layout.
  4. Budget justification describing why budget items are necessary and explaining the basis for cost estimates. Include information on any other funding requested or received for the project.
  5. Two-page curriculum vitae for each convener, combined into one document.
  6. List of people participating in the Collaborative, with departmental or other organizational affiliation. 

 

Renew an Existing or Former IAS Research & Creative Collaborative

Apply via InfoReady with the information below.

Fields to be filled in on the form:

  1. Collaborative title
  2. Number of co-conveners for your Collaborative. The form will adjust with space for co-convenor information based on your response.
  3. Name, email, and department, college, and campus (or other) affiliation of each Collaborative convener.
  4. Amount requested
  5. An abstract of your proposal, which will be used for publicity if funded. (900 characters max)
  6. Contacts for notifications. List every co-convener’s email here, to allow them to receive information about the application's progress, funding awards, and other instructions.
     

Documents to be uploaded:

  1. Report on your Collaborative’s activities and accomplishments to date and discussion of future plans for the project. Describe how the Collaborative is rooted in and having impact on the University—for example, development of teaching related to the Collaborative’s work, the Collaborative’s involvement in recruiting graduate students, conference presentations and/or publications coming out of Collaborative activities, public engagement activities. Explain how you have measured and evaluated achievement of your goals and outcomes. Discuss how being connected with the IAS makes possible work that cannot otherwise be done in existing structures. If your aims or goals have changed from those proposed in your initial application, explain how and why. Your discussion of the significance of the proposal may refer to your original proposal, which the IAS will provide to reviewers. Please note that in the past, selection committees have rejected requests for refunding when they found the applications to be perfunctory in their descriptions of the project or that fail to demonstrate development in the Collaborative’s research/creative agenda. (1,000 words)
  2. Short statements from 3-5 Collaborative members explaining how participation in the Collaborative has benefited their work. Each statement should be no more than one page; combine all statements into one document.
  3. Tentative list of activities that the Collaborative intends to carry out (one page).
  4. Itemized budget with specific estimates of costs. Maximum amount for renewing Collaboratives is $4,000. Faculty salary may not be included. Please ask only for funds actually needed. Important: Budget documents should be saved in portrait, rather than landscape, layout.
  5. Budget justification describing why budget items are necessary and explaining the basis for cost estimates. Include information on any other funding requested or received for the project. Important: Budget documents should be saved in portrait, rather than landscape, layout.
  6. Two-page curriculum vitae for each convener, combined into one document.
  7. List of people participating in the Collaborative, with departmental or other organizational affiliation. 
     


Questions

Questions about the program may be directed to IAS Director Bianet Castellanos ([email protected]). Questions about submission requirements may be directed to IAS Managing Director Jen Hughes ([email protected]).