Call for Concept Papers for potential statewide research initiatives

Concept Papers Due: November 21, 2014 

Submit concept papers to the Chief Research Officer at your home institution: 

JSU: Dr. Loretta Moore, loretta.a.moore@jsums.edu 

MSU: Dr. David Shaw, dshaw@research.msstate.edu 

UM: Dr. Alice Clark, amclark@olemiss.edu 

USM: Dr. Gordon Cannon, gordon.cannon@usm.edu 

Mississippi Research Consortium (MRC) 

The Mississippi Research Consortium (MRC) aims to develop and sustain nationally competitive research programs in the state of Mississippi. While its fundamental goal is to support basic and applied research, the MRC also works to increase public awareness of science, engineering, and mathematics at all educational levels; establish and maintain a solid scientific infrastructure in our university system by developing equipment and facility resources, collaboration resources, private sector links, and federal laboratory partnerships; and expand the state’s economic opportunities through technology and knowledge transfer, including greater commercialization, increased technical assistance, and the education of a workforce that can support technology-based industries. 

Formed in 1986, the MRC includes Mississippi’s four research universities: Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi, and the University of Southern Mississippi. The MRC’s Board of Directors is made up of the Chief Research Officers from these institutions. The board serves as the Science and Technology Research Advisors to both the Executive Branch and the Legislature in Mississippi, and integrates science and technology initiatives with economic development plans in Mississippi. 

The MRC’s member institutions collaborate through mutual respect and trust. All agree that their individual institutions have secured more resources by combining efforts than any one of them could have accomplished independently. This cooperative attitude has been successfully conveyed to faculty members, who often initiate collaborative efforts and recommend that certain proposals are directed through MRC. Generally speaking, the MRC operates by forming faculty teams from several universities to address research opportunities. The organization has received praise from the National Science Foundation and others, and has been cited as a national model for how to best form a state science and technology infrastructure. Often MRC works with all of the state’s eight public universities to strengthen research infrastructure and collaboration.

Purpose of this RFP 

The MRC is putting forth this Call for Concept Papers to identify potential statewide research initiatives, enabling multi-disciplinary research programs that capitalize on existing and potential strengths in Mississippi and increase the breadth and depth of research at the MRC institutions. These concept papers will help the MRC identify unique opportunities for funding initiatives from a variety of sources. These concept papers will help position the MRC to capitalize on opportunities as they arise, and to advocate for the creation of new opportunities through agency and congressional leadership. The concept papers will also play an important role when competitive selection is necessary for statewide proposal submission efforts such as NSF EPSCoR, NASA EPSCoR, DOE EPSCoR, and NIH INBRE. The MRC solicits concept papers that are visionary, dramatically expanding the scope of research capabilities in the state. Concept papers should also be forward-looking, envisioning where the next frontiers of science will be. 

In creating these concept papers it will be helpful to peruse the Blueprint Mississippi Report, which compares Mississippi with peer states and provides recommendations on how the state can best position itself for progress. See http://www.msmec.com/blueprint-mississippiĀ 

The concept paper should be a brief overview of a project idea summarizing the project and how it aligns with State Research and Development (R&D) goals and objectives. The concept paper should include the overarching goals and concept, objectives, technical approach, and major project milestones and key partners/collaborators. Concept papers should be no more than three pages, single-spaced with no less than 12-point font. 

Please submit the concept paper via email and in PDF format. 

Concept Paper Elements: 

Project Title: 

Brief Description: 

• Purpose of proposed project; 

• Benefits of the proposed project to our State; 

• Project objectives; 

• Products to be derived from the project; 

• Current capabilities; 

• Limitations of current capabilities; 

• Requirements for success; 

• Time needed to carry out scope of project 

 

Faculty Involved, Including Roles and Responsibilities 

Collaborating Academic Institutions: 

Collaborating Agencies or National Labs:

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