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MIT-France Seed Fund
The MIT-France Seed Fund, a $2 million endowment funded equally by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and MIT, supports budding research collaborations between faculty and research scientists at MIT and their counterparts in France.
Through an annual call for proposals, the fund primarily supports travel costs for exchange between a team at MIT and colleagues in universities and public research in France. The French colleague(s) must be identified in advance, and the proposal must be submitted jointly by both teams.
Applicants are encouraged to involve qualified undergraduate and graduate students in the project. The maximum award is $30,000 ($20,000 maximum for faculty and researcher expenses / $10,000 maximum for students).
Priority will be given to projects that:
- propose a balanced exchange between the MIT and French participants
- demonstrate complementarity between the MIT and French teams
MIT-France funds cannot be used to support salaries or to cover materials or instrument usage costs.
The MIT-France Seed Fund is a part of the MISTI Global Seed Funds. The below MISTI GSF criteria apply.
MISTI Global Seed Funds - general criteria:
Eligibility
The MISTI GSF is open to all MIT faculty and members of the research staff with principal investigator privileges. This includes faculty, principle research scientists and senior research scientists.
Students
MIT students and postdocs are encouraged to participate in projects but may not apply directly for funding. MIT students funded to participate will be expected to attend country-specific training through MISTI.
Funding available
Funding may be used to cover travel, meeting and workshop costs to facilitate international projects and collaboration. Funds may not be used to cover salaries or materials. Applicants should include 10% for MIT overhead in their grant requests.
Travel expense guidelines
Awards may cover up to 75% of the US Department of State maximum per diem rate
http://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem.asp
for the proposed travel plus a reasonable estimate of the transportation. For instance, if the maximum per diem rate for Paris is $454, you may request up to $340 per day for a trip to Paris, plus airfare. If you have any questions or concerns about these guidelines, please contact us.
Application process and deadline
Please complete the PDF application form and email it to misti-gsf@mit.edu by Monday, September 14, 2009. If you have trouble with the PDF form, please contact us.
Review and selection process
- Projects will first be evaluated by MIT faculty knowledgeable about the field within which the proposal falls. These evaluators will review a proposal taking into consideration the importance of the scientific problem or project and its potential contribution to the field.
- The finalists will then be selected by a selection board composed of MIT faculty drawn from all of MIT's Schools. The selection board will review proposals based on the requirements and priorities of the fund (see above). In addition, priority will be given to:
- new projects or projects that are entering a new phase
- projects that involve students
- projects that are likely to be sustainable beyond the grant period.
Results
Awards will be announced in fall 2009. Funds will be available for use starting in January 2010 through August 2011.
Funded MIT-France projects:
