Research

LIONS Program

Overview

Photograph of a lion with the phrase "large interdisciplinary & otherwise nasty submissions"

Large‐scale, complex grants provide opportunities for faculty to engage in new or emerging areas of interdisciplinary research that may have significant impact on rapidly advancing a field or discipline. Typically involving multiple departments, disciplines, and colleges these proposals require significant time and resources to plan and prepare for.

The LIONS program helps build the research capacity of the university by providing “enhanced support” to teams of faculty interested in preparing and submitting large, complex grant proposals to external funding agencies. Projects selected for participation in LIONS will be eligible for additional pre‐submission and post award support from the Office of Research and Graduate Studies which can include:

  • Tier 1: General Planning and Support (early guidance to help form competitive interdisciplinary teams and research activities)
  • Tier 2: Proposal Development Support (enhanced project management and coordination)

Tier 1 and Tier 2 activities may include:

Activity Tier 1Tier 2
Initial strategic planning meetings to identify/validate funding opportunitiesXX
Building relationships with other PSU faculty, building faculty teamsXX
Establishing connections with external partners & collaboratorsXX
Early advice to develop concept papersXX
Assembling early concept paper reviewsXX
Project management (organizing team meetings, file sharing, etc.) X
Establishing team timelines and benchmarks (Gantt charts, etc.) X
Landscape analysis of previously funded proposals X
Gathering templates for university statistics, other key metrics X
Communicating with external partners, following up on letters of support, cost sharing X
Coordinating the creation and collection of non-technical documentation X
Facilitating internal/external reviews of 95% complete proposals X
Coordinating with SPA on budgeting, compliance, etc. X

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I request LIONS support?

To maximize the effectiveness of our support and your proposal's competitiveness, it is essential to request services at least 10 weeks prior to the proposal deadline via the LIONS program support form.

How are requests evaluated and prioritized?

The Office of Research & Graduate Studies receives more high-quality requests for support than can often be provided. Reviews of new requests are conducted by the Associate Vice President for Research and the Research Development team, taking into a number of factors that include:

  • Current portfolio workload, timeliness of request
  • The potential for multi-, inter-, or transdisciplinary research, as evidenced by the involvement of PIs from 2+ disciplines
  • The degree to which the proposed research spans college boundaries
  • The impact on the PI team as evidenced by diversity in discipline and career stage
  • The impact on students (undergraduate and/or graduate) as evidenced by the budget and training program
  • The impact and size of the budget relative to discipline

Does the total dollar request for a proposal impact my chances of receiving LIONS support?

Budgets vary significantly across disciplines, and we are committed to supporting research across the entire PSU community, using the above criteria as a guide. For STEM fields, “large” might mean several million dollars, while humanities proposals may be more modest. Investigators across all disciplines are encouraged to apply for assistance when developing LIONS.

Please contact Annie Lindgren with any other questions