CCBS is pleased to offer a seed grant competition to Center members.
This seed grant program aims to support cognitive science research, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, advance student training, and promote cutting-edge STEM research. The Center will support projects that have the potential to advance the understanding of mind, brain, and/or language and combine multiple areas and approaches within cognitive science.
Successful proposals will outline activities that will significantly increase the visibility of the University nationally and internationally. Successful applications are expected to develop new collaborations, formulate innovative ideas, and/or collect pilot data (including fMRI data). Preferences will be given to proposals involving new collaborations, although existing collaborations will not be excluded. As community building is a goal of this seed grant, previous and expected future involvement in the Center's programs, events, and activities will be taken into consideration.
For a one-year project, the PIs will be required to submit a final report at the end of the year. For a two-year project, the PIs will be required to submit a report at nine months of the first year to demonstrate sufficient progress to warrant a second year of funding and then a final report at the end of the second year. The winning PIs are also expected to present their work as a talk for the Center in the later part of the grant period and attend the CCBS Fall Retreat.
We expect to make one award, with a maximum term of two years and a maximum budget of $50,000 per year.
Anticipated Timeline, 2026 Cycle
- Call for proposals, early January
- Notification of first-round results and invitation for full proposals, late February
- Winning proposal chosen and PIs notified of award, early May
Eligibility
Interested research teams should meet the following criteria before applying.
- At least two PIs
- At least two of the PIs must have their primary appointments in distinct departments
- Each PI must be a CCBS member (Not a member? Sign up here.)
- Each PI must have PI status at OSU (Learn about OSU PI status.)
How to Apply
Interested research teams should submit a proposal, outlined below. The CCBS Executive Committee will review proposals and issue invitations for full proposals from leading teams.
Initial proposals for the 2026 award cycle will be accepted in February. Please email your proposal to ccbs@osu.edu.
Proposals must include the following components:
- Project description, Maximum of 1 page (single spaced, 11-point font, with 1" page margins)
- Intellectual merit
- Broader impacts
- Potential benefits to CCBS
- Potential benefits to the field
- STEM training of diverse groups
- Research team
- Interdisciplinary (representing at least two distinct departments)
- Proposed budget with a brief explanation
- Personnel
- Equipment
- Travel
- Other
Full Proposals
Leading teams will be invited to submit a full proposal for award consideration. A full proposal should consist of the following elements:
- 5 pages research description
- Single spaced
- 1” margins on all sides
- Min 11-point font
- Space includes figures
- References can be included on separate pages
- Bio sketches of senior personnel
- Please use NIH format for bio sketches
- Itemized budget
- Plans to develop external grant submission using data collected from the seed grant
CCBS will release invitations for full proposals in late February and full proposals should be returned in April. PIs will be notified of the final decision in May.