ASRC Grants 101 Bootcamp

The focus will be conceptualizing one’s research to fit a specific federal funding agency or major external sponsor (e.g., NSF, NIH, DOD, DOE, IES, or foundations such as Spencer, Simons, discipline focused foundations, etc.). Participants will develop a 1-3 page concept or whitepaper for discussing your idea with agency program officers.

The program is particularly relevant for:

• Research active CUNY faculty who have not yet previously written & successfully submitted a grant proposal to a federal funding agency.
• PIs with NIH funding who would like to learn how to reframe their research to fit NSF
• PIs who would like to apply for competitive foundation grants
• CUNY tenure track assistant professors who plan to apply for the ASRC’s NSF CAREER Bootcamp in 2026 and have not been the PI on a prior positively reviewed NSF proposal (not necessarily funded) and/or are ready to start conceptualizing their research to apply for an NSF CAREER award.

Activities will include informational slides, reading & writing assignments, and group discussions with constructive feedback on ideas and work-in-progress. Groups of no more than 8 faculty will meet for about 2.5 hours a week. These are intensive bootcamps meant to help PIs conceptualize research questions and shape the foundations of a competitive proposal, for a highly competitive funding environment.

COMPLETING THE 101 BOOTCAMP MAY BE A PREREQUISITE FOR ACCEPTANCE INTO THE 2025 ASRC NSF CAREER BOOTCAMP

• Up to 4 groups will be formed. Meeting days/times TBD (generally between 11 a.m.-6:00 pm) based on consensus of availabilities. Groups are expected to be approximately 6 PIs per group. Weekly meetings are ~2 ½ hrs.
• We will meet during the following weeks (subject to change, if needed due to external factors):
  • Sept 29, October 6, 9, 13, 20, 27; November 3, 10, 17, December 1, (and tentatively, December 8).
• Bootcamps will meet on Zoom. Zoom video plus proficiency with OneDrive are required.