Strategic Research Initiatives (SRI) offers workshops and classes throughout the year on proposal development, how to search for grants, current funding initiatives, junior faculty award programs, and other topics relevant to successfully competing for grants.
SRI Events & Workshops
Upcoming Events
*Virtual events will be labeled*
Annual Programs
Proposal Writing for Success (PROWESS)
Designed for entry-level faculty and new appointees in science and engineering. Spread over nine half-day sessions, it covers a broad range of topics, including proposal writing techniques, a review of prominent funding sources, and proposal preparation practice. Like most of our workshops, PROWESS features presentations from SRI staff and faculty, as well as panels of faculty with particularly relevant experience. Applications are solicited in February and PROWESS is held in June and July.
FUNDamentals
FUNDamentals is a professional development program designed for Humanities, Arts, Education, and Social Sciences faculty. Before sitting down to write a research funding proposal, successful grant-seeking requires understanding the culture of your target funding agency, communicating with program directors, and learning to articulate your research to audiences outside of your area of expertise. FUNDAmentals includes a series of workshops – including travel to Washington, DC (optional) – for faculty members who are ready to take the first strategic steps in pursuing extramural funding.
The Proposal Writing Academy
This workshop series is for Humanities, Arts, Education, and Social Sciences faculty who have identified a funding opportunity and are ready to systematically write a competitive proposal. The workshops will be aligned with the majority of grant and fellowship deadlines for NEH Fellowships and NSF grants in spring and summer, 2024, but the series is relevant for any HASSE research funding opportunity/deadline.
SRI-Affiliated Programs
Write to Unite creates new arenas in which to build faculty community at UCSB. This program provides spaces, resources, and tools to increase scholarly writing and research productivity; facilitates cross-disciplinary peer and informal mentoring relationships; and contributes to faculty retention through greater sense of belonging and success.
Open to faculty members of all ranks from the Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education (HASSE) disciplines, this Collaborative Grant Development Retreat Series is designed to help research teams identify appropriate funding agencies and submit major grant proposals for extramural funding within the next 18 months.
CAHSSA works to align social science research initiatives with the Hispanic-serving mission of the majority of institutions of higher education in California. Program activities include grant proposal writing webcasts, mentored proposal writing groups, and writing retreats for new collaborative teams.