Call for Letters of Intent: Educational Research Grant and Fellowship for Scholarly Innovation in Medical/Biomedical Sciences Education

Call for Letters of Intent
Educational Research Grant and
Fellowship for Scholarly Innovation in Medical/Biomedical Sciences Education

Introduction
Educational scholarship is a significant component of the education mission of the University of Virginia School of Medicine (SOM). To further scholarly work in these areas, the Center for Medical Education Research and Scholarly Innovation (CMERSI) and the Academy for Excellence in Education (AEE) are pleased to announce the 2023-2024 Call for Letters of Intent (LOI) for two distinct types of awards:

1. Educational Research Grant

OR

2. Fellowship for Scholarly Innovation in Medical/Biomedical Sciences Education

These awards support faculty in the NxGen, BIMS, and public health educational programs to: (1) conduct rigorous educational research or (2) develop projects that involve new educational approaches or novel applications of established approaches. Grant and fellowship funds are not available for graduate medical education (GME) or for faculty development programs.

Faculty interested in submitting a proposal for either a research grant or for a fellowship award will follow a two-phase application process that applies to both award opportunities. Depending on the specifications of the project, faculty will first submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) for either the Educational Research Grant or the Fellowship for Scholarly Innovation in Medical/Biomedical Sciences Education.

Please note that these funds are for distinct types of projects.
A. Scholarly innovation projects must:

• focus on the creation or application of novel teaching strategies, curricula or interventions/programs related to learner assessment
• outline an integrated series of learning activities designed to meet specific objectives
• align the innovation’s overall objectives with the educational program in which they will be implemented
• include a detailed evaluation plan that includes early/short-term outcomes of the educational innovation that can be measured during the funding period

B. Educational research projects must:

• be hypothesis-based or hypothesis-generating studies
• use conceptual frameworks to ground the work
• outline appropriate research methodologies for the design and analysis
• align results with the conceptual framework/educational theory used to inform the work

Faculty whose LOI is endorsed by the designated review committee will move to the second phase of the application process and be invited to submit a full proposal. The following sections outline the expectations and process for each award type.

Eligibility
The primary investigator/fellowship applicant must be a UVA faculty member in the SOM.

Timeline
The timeline outlined below applies to both the Educational Research Grant and Fellowship for Scholarly Innovation in Medical/Biomedical Sciences Education calls.

• January 13 Call sent to all SOM faculty
• February 6 Letters of intent for both submission types due by 11:59pm to Elizabeth Bradley, PhD, at ejb4a@virginia.edu
• February 13-19 Review committee evaluates and endorses research grant and scholarly innovation fellowship LOIs
• February 21 Applicants notified of review decisions and faculty receiving endorsed LOIs are invited to submit full grant or fellowship proposals
• March 1 – April 28 Attend required proposal development workshops (details below)
• May 1 Full proposals for both submission types due by 11:59pm to Elizabeth Bradley, PhD, at ejb4a@virginia.edu
• June 1 Final notification of awards sent

Required Faculty Development Workshops
Applicants invited to submit full Educational Research Grant or Fellowship for Scholarly Innovation in Medical/Biomedical Sciences Education proposals must attend the following proposal development workshops. The sessions are designed to help applicants develop the plans for their research and scholarly innovation proposals. Faculty may want to consider blocking the time on their calendars prior to the LOI review period to ensure their availability if they are invited to submit a full proposal.

Scholarly Innovation Fellowship and Educational Research Grant Applicants

1. Writing Research Question/ Writing Goals and Literature Reviews for Educational Interventions (March 14th from 12-1 pm)
2. Use of Conceptual Frameworks to Inform the Design of Scholarly Work in Education and Evaluation Strategy | Educational Research Design, Data Collection and Analysis (April 18 from 12-1 pm)
3. Drop-in mentoring sessions (April 26th from 12-1pm)

In addition, awardees will be expected to submit a work-in-progress abstract for presentation at the 2024 Excellence in Education Week (dates TBD; typically first week of March).

Mentorship for Awardees
A mentor with specific expertise related to an awardee’s project will be assigned to work with the awardee throughout the funding period. Participants who receive an award and their mentors will be expected to attend periodic “work-in-progress” sessions for grant and fellowship awardees (dates/times TBD). Additional professional development sessions for awardees will be scheduled to meet needs and/or address challenges experienced by the awardees.

Please review the instructions below for submitting a LOI for either the:

• Fellowship for Scholarly Innovation in Medical/Biomedical Sciences Education or the
• Educational Research Grant

Letter of Intent
Fellowship for Scholarly Innovation in Medical/Biomedical Sciences Education
Faculty interested in applying for a fellowship award should submit a one-page letter of intent (LOI) describing the innovation and its benefit to UVA’s educational programs to Elizabeth Bradley, PhD at ejb4a@virginia.edu. The deadline for the LOI is listed in the Timeline section.

Scholarly innovation projects must:

• focus on the creation or application of novel teaching strategies, curricula or interventions/programs related to learner assessment
• outline an integrated series of learning activities designed to meet specific objectives
• align the innovation’s overall objectives with the educational program in which they will be implemented
• include a detailed evaluation plan that includes early/short-term outcomes of the educational innovation that can be measured during the funding period

LOI Format
Fellowship for Scholarly Innovation in Medical/Biomedical Sciences Education
LOIs are limited to one-page, single-spaced, 1-inch margins, in Times New Roman 12 pt font. Please include these headings and sections in the LOI:

1. Title of the scholarly innovation project
2. Name, title, department of the fellowship applicant
3. Background and problem statement (please include no more than 4 references to describe the background for the scholarly innovation and identify the problem/gap/need the proposed innovation will address.) Citations should be placed in the LOI as a footnote or on an additional page submitted with the LOI.
4.  Proposed objectives for the educational innovation
5. Brief description of the proposed intervention to address the identified need/gap and the plan to evaluate outcomes of the intervention
6. Brief description of expected benefit to UVA educational programs
7. NOTE: If the innovation project will be incorporated into an existing course/clerkship/program that the fellowship applicant does not direct, the director of the course/clerkship/program must approve it in advance. A letter of support from the course/clerkship/program director should be included with the LOI, and sufficient time during the course must be negotiated and noted in the LOI if appropriate.

LOI Review
Applicants whose research grant or fellowship award LOI is endorsed by the designated review committee will be asked to submit full proposals (see Timeline section).

Letter of Intent
Educational Research Grant
Faculty interested in applying for an Educational Research Grant should submit a one-page letter of intent (LOI) describing the educational research study to Elizabeth Bradley, PhD at ejb4a@virginia.edu. The deadline for the LOI is listed in the Timeline section.

Educational research projects must:

• be hypothesis-based or hypothesis-generating studies
• use conceptual frameworks to ground the work
• outline appropriate research methodologies for the design and analysis
• align results with the conceptual framework/educational theory used to inform the work

LOI Format
Educational Research Grant
LOIs are limited to one-page, single-spaced, 1-inch margins, in Times New Roman 12 pt font. Please include these headings and sections in the LOI:

1. Title of the research project
2. Name, title, department of the PI and all co-investigators
3. Background and problem statement (please include no more than 4 references to describe the background for the study and identify the problem/gap the proposed research intends to address). Citations should be placed in the LOI as a footnote or on an additional page submitted with the LOI.
4. Proposed research question
5. Brief overview of the proposed methods and outcome measures to address the research question
6. Brief description of expected impact/implications to the literature/educational community

LOI Review
Applicants whose research grant or fellowship award LOI is endorsed by the designated review committee will be asked to submit full proposals (see Timeline section).

Filed Under: Faculty, Research