Faculty Awards

2023-2024 Faculty Award Applications are due March 20, 2023.

PURPOSE: These awards are intended to support faculty members who want to examine MBB-related issues through interdisciplinary research, education, or experiences.

WHAT IS INTERDISCIPLINARY? As fields change, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify what defines interdisciplinary research. MBB encourages applicants who are combining elements of their own field with methods or insights from another field, especially if those methods and insights have not already been appropriated by the faculty member's original field, and so long as it advances the agenda of the MBB initiative.

WHAT KINDS OF PROJECTS AND EXPENSES QUALIFY? This will be the tenth year we are offering these award, and over the years we have built in a fair amount of flexibility in how these awards might be used, but please know that MBB is primarily interested in supporting novel, interdisciplinary, Harvard faculty-led projects that are relevant to MBB’s mission. These awards are intended to facilitate inter-faculty collaboration. Therefore, all proposals must be explicitly cross-disciplinary, involving at least two principals, each from a different discipline. We have not set a maximum award amount, but we typically cap awards at $50,000, with the hope that complementary support can be secured through non-MBB funding vehicles. Only on rare occasions, and only for proposals of the highest caliber, will MBB grant an award amount that exceeds $50,000.  

An MBB Faculty Award could be used to support, up to the award amount, and including fringe benefits in the case of salary support:

  • Personnel (Postdoctoral Fellow, Visiting Research Fellow, Research Assistant)
  • Research Equipment or Supplies
  • Study Participant Payments/Costs
  • Developing and Hosting Interdisciplinary Workshops, Conferences, or Seminars

These are just a few examples of the types of projects or expenses that would qualify. All Harvard faculty members who currently work or wish to work in MBB-related fields are encouraged to apply. These awards cannot be used as salary support for the Principal Investigator(s).

EXPECTATIONS: Award recipients will be expected to:
  • Communicate their interdisciplinary experience, the fruits of their work, and the insights gained through a presentation to an MBB audience and/or a written report; 
  • Participate in other MBB activities, e.g., attend MBB-sponsored events, faculty receptions, etc.;
  • Submit a final report to MBB, including financial summary, at the end of the award period;
  • Submit copies of any publications that result from the research, and acknowledge their MBB award.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications are due March 20. We will be unable to accept late submissions. Funds are intended to support projects that coincide with Harvard’s fiscal year, i.e., July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. The application must include an itemized budget with relevant justification. MBB cannot guarantee that all successful applicants will receive the full award amount.

 

Download an application

2023-2024 MBB Faculty Award Information.pdf128 KB
2023-2024 MBB Faculty Award Application Form.docx26 KB