Funder: Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station
Due Dates (Anticipated): February 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Up to $60,000 over two years or $35,000 for one year
Summary: SPARK supports ACES assistant professors undertaking exploratory interdisciplinary research to generate preliminary evidence for external funding proposals.
Key Information: Lead PIs must be assistant professors with a primary ACES appointment and have an aligned Hatch or Multistate Hatch project to receive funds.
Description
Supporting Pathways for Advancement, Research and Knowledge (SPARK) is an interdisciplinary seed-grant program funded by the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station through the ACES Office of Research at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. It supports early-career faculty working with research partners to develop creative research ideas, identify questions that expand the principal investigator’s research, and collect preliminary data or results for external funding proposals.
The expected outcome is preliminary evidence supporting a fundable extramural interdisciplinary proposal. Projects should align with the College of ACES research scope and USDA NIFA’s Science Emphasis Areas and Knowledge Areas Crosswalk. Collaboration within or across departments and colleges is expected, with each collaborator contributing distinct expertise. Teams are expected to achieve milestones and actively pursue significant support from federal agencies, industry, or foundations.
