Big Proposal Bootcamp Coaches Researchers Pursuing Big Awards

Pitt researchers are increasingly reaching for big awards. They’re attacking big problems with interdisciplinary teams within Pitt and beyond. 

Big Proposal Bootcamp offers in-depth training for researchers on crafting proposals for large-scale, cross-disciplinary projects. Few, if any, other research universities offer similar training.

Launched in 2019, Big Proposal Bootcamp is an 11-week program that introduces a small cohort of faculty members to the needed skills and connects them to Pitt’s diverse resources. In addition to the training, the final week is a pitch competition with a $20,000 prize for the most promising proposal concept. 

“We want to put in place the resources that will help them put these teams together,” says Rob A. Rutenbar, Pitt senior vice chancellor for research. “Fields differ in the cost of performing research; they differ in the language they use to describe research questions; they differ in methods; they differ in their cadence of publishing results. All these factors and more can impede creating teams that span fields.” 

Big Proposal Bootcamp presents researchers with the common components of bigger awards—some of which are less familiar to many faculty—and uses case studies to illustrate the project planning, complex budgeting, team management, and partner ecosystem development that faculty will encounter in building these big proposals. Research administrators are able to attend a separate Big Proposal Bootcamp offered for staff. 

“Knowing how federal agencies and foundations make large strategic investments in team-based research and review big proposals is unfamiliar territory for many faculty,” says Michael Holland, vice chancellor for science policy and research strategies. “We have the expertise in the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research to know how these investments come together. We want to position our faculty for success as they pursue these funds.”