RCEI Groundwork Grants

We are now accepting submissions for the 2025 RCEI Groundwork Grants through June 2, 2025 at 5:00 PM.

Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute recognizes that navigating the complex landscape of grant applications can often be daunting. RCEI’s Groundwork Grants are conceived to serve as a catalyst, empowering affiliates of RCEI to develop comprehensive, competitive external funding proposals. These modest planning grants are offered to RCEI affiliates, including tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty, and staff scientists.

This grant will fund capacity building activities such as:

organizing collaborative meetings or workshops;
fostering networking opportunities;
analyzing existing data or models for use in external funding proposals; and
literature review for preparation of external funding proposals.

Refer to our Budget Guidelines document for what this grant will not fund.

Proposals should use funds to develop a project or idea aligned with the specified theme below with the goal of applying for external funding. However, we recognize that the federal funding landscape has shifted dramatically and there may not be an external funding opportunity that is immediately available. Proposals that include some form of matching and/or in-kind contributions are welcome, but matching is not required. There is a limit of one grant application per faculty/staff member per cycle.

Submission for the 2024 RCEI Groundwork Grants is now open through June 7, 2024 at 5:00 PM.

Climate, Energy, and Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – the development of smart systems and machines that are task-oriented, is inextricably linked to our modern, everyday lives. As technology advances and more software and data become open-source, AI and Machine Learning (ML), a subset of AI that enables machines to improve over time, become more accurate at tasks such as object detection, pattern recognition or making predictions based on data. RCEI aims to direct Rutgers scholarship toward the emerging global emphasis on harnessing the power of AI and ML tools to address challenges within the climate and energy space.

All affiliates of RCEI including tenured and tenure‐track faculty and research staff are eligible to apply. (NTT faculty will need to provide a letter from their Dean, Chair, or Director stating support for the proposal). It is expected that the applicant holds a position that will be renewed for the duration of the grant period. Non-RCEI affiliates may be listed as a co-investigator in the grant.

Grant proposals should be submitted via the online application portal link.  

Completed applications for all Groundwork Grant proposals must be submitted on or before 5:00 p.m. on June 2, 2025. The Principal Investigator must be a current RCEI affiliate; however, the co-PI does not.

A list of the questions that you will find in the submission portal can be found here. The online application process will have a place for you to upload the following required documents: 

A completed and fully signed coversheet. NTT faculty will need to provide a letter from their Dean, Chair, or Director stating support for the proposal, and that it is expected that the applicant is in a position which will be renewed for the duration of the grant period. Please attach this letter to your coversheet.

A project description (2 pages maximum) that includes the following sections:

1. Alignment with Theme: Describe your project and how it aligns with the theme. Applicants are encouraged to outline their unique strengths, expertise, and resources of their project team that position them competitively to secure external funding. Emphasize any innovative approaches, interdisciplinary collaborations, or novel methodologies that distinguish the project and make it well-suited for funding consideration. Be sure to explain in plain language how what you’re proposing pertains to climate change and/or renewable energy.
2. Purpose and Objectives: Clearly articulate the purpose of the grant, emphasizing its role in laying the groundwork for one (or more) competitive proposals for external funding. Define specific objectives such as organizing collaborative meetings or workshops, fostering networking opportunities, analyzing existing data or models for use in external funding proposals, and/or literature review for preparation of external funding proposals.
3. Timeline: Develop a clear timeline outlining the duration of the Groundwork Grant and key milestones to be achieved. Break down the timeline into specific tasks such as organizing meetings, analyzing existing data or models, drafting proposals, and finalizing collaboration agreements. Align milestones with the overall goal of submitting competitive grant applications to external funding agencies, if applicable.

Detailed budget. Use the budget template (see link below) provided by the Office of Research when submitting your proposed budget. Budget guidelines can be found below.

A detailed budget narrative. Use the template below.

A 2-page CV from the Principal Investigator and co-PI at Rutgers.

Documents and templates needed for online submission:

Proposal Coversheet

Budget Guidelines

Budget template: Please use the Budget Template from the Office of Research.

Budget Narrative template. Please include matching, in-kind, or other contributions,

RCEI Groundwork Grants FAQs

Please be aware that the awarded amount may be less than requested. Applications requesting more than the maximum allowable amount, excluding matching and/or in-kind contributions, will not be reviewed. A faculty or staff member may submit only one application for a Groundwork Grant per cycle.

In general, priority will be given to proposals based on:

Alignment with theme: the extent to which the proposed activities align with the theme of this competition and focus areas of the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute.
Feasibility and Impact of Groundwork Activities: the feasibility of the proposed planning activities, considering factors such as timeline, budget, resources, and logistics.
Innovation and Competitiveness: the level of innovation demonstrated by the proposed project idea and how competitive it is to successfully obtain identified external funding.

A final report will be due at the end of the grant period. RCEI staff will provide a Qualtrics form that will serve as the final report.

The applicant agrees to comply with the Institutional Review Board (IRB), IACUC, and conflict of interest (COI) requirements as a condition of receiving awards. If the research project involves human or animal subjects, the recipient must provide proof that they have complied with IRB/IACUC requirements. The recipient must also have entered the appropriate information into the COI website. Funds must be spent in accordance with the proposed budget and follow all University policies on the use of funds. Requests to modify one’s budget or plan should be emailed to rcei_contact@rutgers.edu along with a justification. If awarded an RCEI Groundwork Grant, the awardee must acknowledge RCEI in any publications or presentations that were facilitated through this funding.

Note that all travel must be booked using the Rutgers online booking tool found here.