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Research

Outstanding Cross-Disciplinary Team Research Award

The Cross-Disciplinary Team Research award recognizes exemplary collaborative research conducted by multiple investigators from different disciplines. Please note that this is a University Award for previous accomplishments, not a research grant program for planned work.

Team nominees and the selection committee will adhere to the definition of research as provided by the University Research Council and appearing in the Criteria for the Evaluation of Scholarship and Creative Productivity.

This award recognizes research teams of two or more investigators for their (a) nationally, even internationally, visible research, (b) high quality of scholarly work, and (c) contribution to multiple professions/disciplines.

Award amount: $3,000

Application deadline: October 7, 2023

Announcement of award: December 2023

View Award Winners

Criteria for Eligibility

  1. A research team must be composed of two or more investigators.
  2. At least one member of the research team must be employed by Illinois State University as a tenure-track or non-tenure-track faculty member or an administrative/professional staff member. This person must have been at Illinois State University for a minimum of three academic years prior to nomination.
  3. One or more members of the research team may be associated with an entity external to Illinois State University, including non-academic entities such as corporations.
  4. Research teams must include members from at least two different units (e.g., departments, colleges, divisions, or offices).
  5. Research teams with members currently serving on the University Research Council are ineligible. Previous recipients of the award are ineligible.

Procedures for Submission of Applications

  1. Award information will be disseminated to the campus research community via the University Research Council and College Research Committees. Application materials are to be submitted directly to the Associate Vice President for Research, who will then pass them along to the University Research Council for review.
  2. Research teams must seek letters of support for their applications from at least two sources (e.g., department chairperson, college dean, unit leader, or division head). At least one of these letters must be provided by a source external to Illinois State University.
  3. The letters of support should address the contribution of the research team members to their fields of study, including the extent to which the team is recognized nationally or internationally for their collaborative, cross-disciplinary research.
  4. The final evaluation of applications will be made by the University Research Council. During deliberation, the Council may request supporting materials from the teams.
  5. Recommendations regarding team award recipients will be forwarded to the Provost by the University Research Council.

Applications

Applications for this award are to be submitted through Illinois State University's Review website. The following items will be required:

  1. A statement from the team describing its current collaborative, cross-disciplinary research. The statement should be written at a level appropriate for researchers outside the team’s disciplines. In addition to a description of current activities, the statement should address the contribution of team’s research to each member’s field of study and practice. The statement should be no longer than 2,000 words.
  2. A full career vita for each team member. Research accomplishments should be categorized and listed, beginning with the most recent, using the Criteria for the Evaluation of Scholarship and Creative Productivity. Complete citations must be given for all published works.
  3. At least two written letters of support for the application, including one provided by an source that is external to Illinois State University, which addresses the:
    1. national and, perhaps, international scope of the team’s research;
    2. quality of scholarly work; and
    3. contribution of the research to the team members’ professions/ disciplines. (See Criteria for Evaluation below.)
  4. A written description of ways award monies will be used to further advance the collaborative, cross-disciplinary work for which the award is being given. Award monies cannot be used for salaries.

Criteria for Evaluation

  1. A team’s record of collaborative, cross-disciplinary research and publication while working together will be given greatest weight in the Council's deliberations, although the full career vitas for each team member will be reviewed.
  2. Team nominees will be evaluated for
    1. research that is recognized nationally and, perhaps, internationally,
    2. quality of scholarly work, and
    3. contribution to professions/disciplines.
  3. Written letters of support for a team’s nomination should address these criteria:
    1. Importance of the team’s research nationally and internationally.
    2. Quality/uniqueness of scholarly work.
    3. How research makes unusual contribution to professional disciplines.
    NOTE: Please be aware that reviewers of the Cross-Disciplinary Team Research Award nominations are colleagues with expertise in diverse scholarly fields. It is important to address a team’s research achievements with information clarifying how the work qualifies as outstanding in the particular disciplines represented. (For example, scholarly activity in fine arts may be judged in quite different terms from scholarship in physics.)
  4. The written description of ways award monies will be used to further advance the collaborative, cross-disciplinary work for which the award is being given is clear and logical.

Distribution of Award

  1. The award of $3,000 is to be used for any expenditure allowable within University budgetary guidelines with the exception of faculty salary. The award is made to the team, not its individual members. Team members will jointly decide how award monies will be used to further advance the collaborative, cross-disciplinary work for which the award is being given. If the team includes members from outside the University, the Provost’s Office must be consulted for expenditures by the outside member.
  2. The recipient must inform the Provost's office of how the funds are to be encumbered by February 1 of the academic year in which the award was announced.