SoTL Linkage Grants

The 2024 call for proposals opens April 15th. View the listing of the 2023 awardees!

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Linkage Grants have been established to enable the synthesis, exploration and high-impact dissemination of interdisciplinary SoTL research. This pilot funding program supports the formation of interdisciplinary teams of SoTL researchers inquiring into fundamental questions in higher education that benefit from investigation in multiple pedagogical and curricular contexts.

The SoTL Linkage Grants are jointly created by the offices of the Provost and Vice President Academic (VPA) UBC Vancouver, and the Vice President of Research and Innovation (VPRI) UBC Vancouver, together with the Institute for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISoTL). 

For the purpose of this funding program, a SoTL Linkage team is defined as a network of SoTL researchers spanning multiple disciplines  (minimum of  three) that have been/are investigating a similar or complementary research question in their own pedagogical contexts. Teams will engage in collaborative research activities including synthesizing results, performing new studies, and disseminating interdisciplinary findings, thus affording a higher SoTL impact than would otherwise be possible.

The SoTL Linkage Grants are open to interdisciplinary teams led by tenure-track faculty members (research or educational leadership) at UBC Vancouver campus, co-applicants can be tenure-track members from both campuses and/or other higher education institutions. 

Deadlines

Call announced: April 15, 2024
Notice of Intent due: June 7, 2024 (CLOSED)
Full proposals due: July 2, 2024
Results: July 17, 2024

Information sessions

NOI info sessions

May 15, 2024 12-1pm.

Proposal info sessions

TBA

Application process

Applications include the following steps and components:

• Notice of Intent (NOI) form
  • A NOI is required to coordinate potentially overlapping applications. It is not adjudicated. 
  • You can use the SoTL_Linkage_NOI.docx template to preview the form before submission.
• SoTL Linkage Grants full proposal (link to the form will be distributed to NOI submitters)
  • Lead applicant information (must be a UBC Vancouver tenure-track faculty)
  • Co-applicants information (at least two tenure-track faculty, from different disciplines)
  • Other collaborators information
  • Project narrative
    • Research theme and research question(s) that form the basis for the proposed project.
    • Role of each confirmed team member and how they contribute to the research goals.
    • Commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion as it applies to team membership and/or research themes. A good resource for considering these issues with respect to multi-researcher projects is provided here.
    • Dissemination plan, including a project and publication timeline, potential paper titles, shortened abstracts, and venues.
  • Optional 1 page max for references
  • Optional 1 page max for figures and tables uploaded as PDFs
  • Budget Justification
  • Completed and signed Research Project Information Form uploaded as a PDF to UBC Research + Innovation Apply
  • BREB approval must be obtained prior to disbursement of funds. Accepted grants that have included SoTL Specialist time in their budgets can ask that the SoTL Specialist works on the BREB application prior to funds disbursement. (SoTL Specialists are hired directly by ISoTL and are research assistants that specialize in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning).

Eligibility

One faculty member will serve as project lead, but at least two other co-applicants from different disciplines and/or units must be included in the proposal.

The lead applicant must be a UBC Vancouver tenure-track faculty member (research or educational leadership). Researchers may be members of more than one SoTL Linkage Grant but can only be the project lead on one application. Named co-applicants may be tenure-track faculty from UBC Vancouver, UBC Okanagan or another institution. Staff, contract faculty and students may be named as additional collaborators, but cannot be lead applicants or co-applicants. 

Teams must be multidisciplinary, ideally multi-faculty and multi-department. If you are looking for collaborators, please consider submitting your name and research interests to the collaboration finder.

Projects can use pre-collected data (e.g., to compile a meta-analysis or a collection of case-studies) or propose the collection of new data. 

The proposals must clearly indicate how the work will lead to research outputs, such as peer reviewed publications and grant applications.

Applications can be for a one- or two- year SoTL Linkage Grant. Note: there is no budget increase if a two-year term is chosen.  

Both direct and indirect costs of research are eligible, but teaching release and dissemination costs (e.g., travel, journal fees) are ineligible. Applicants may apply for additional funding for dissemination near the conclusion of the project. 

Grant details

General characteristics	Examples of SoTL Linkage Grant activities
Up to $25k, up to 2 years duration Three or more researchers forming an interdisciplinary research team Researchers may already have data relevant for investigating a common research question Evidence of a strategy for dissemination of results in top-tier high-impact venues.	Synthesis and meta analysis of existing data Perform additional short term inquiry to substantiate findings Publish results in high-impact venues

A total funding envelope of $100K/year is available for this competition for each of the two funding cycles (2023 and 2024). Researchers may request up to $25K per proposal.  Applications must include a strong budget justification that aligns specific activities with goals and expected outcomes.  

All applicants will be notified of the competition results in Summer 2024 and grants will commence in September of 2024. Funding must be spent within 2 years of receipt, with a progress report due at the end of the first year. An outcomes report must be submitted to the ISoTL office 60 days after the completion of a SoTL Linkage Grant project.

ISoTL will provide successful projects the option to hire SoTL Specialists: graduate students with research experience in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. SoTL Specialists can be retained at a rate of $45/hour to a maximum of 10 hours per week. Application budgets must include the intention of hiring a Specialist, and indicate the number of hours requested on the application form.  

ISoTL will provide additional project management or light analysis assistance from within the SoTL specialist staff up to 15 hours per grant.

Review process

An interdisciplinary panel will review applications and make decisions based on merit and the ability to best demonstrate how SoTL Linkage funds will be used to synthesize or expand a broad-based pedagogical inquiry with a robust strategy for dissemination in high-impact venues. Specific adjudication criteria include:

• The research proposal addresses one or more fundamental questions facing higher-education, and funding the project has the potential for significant impact on those questions
• The research team demonstrates evidence of excellence in SoTL research
• The research proposal has a clear plan for dissemination in high-impact venues
• The research plan can be accomplished in one to two years given the proposed budget (note that there is a maximum budget of $25k per grant regardless of one or two year term)
• A commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion is reflected in Linkage membership and proposed research

Additional information

ISoTL will be hosting two information sessions for the SoTL Linkage Grants.  We encourage all groups who are interested in applying for this competition to attend one of these sessions. For further information on the SoTL Linkage Grants competition, contact Elisa Baniassad, ISoTL Director, at elisa.baniassad@ubc.ca

Timeline

FAQ