Support for research
The CEHD Office of Research and Policy (ORP) coordinates the college's research support activities, including pre-award proposal development, compliance management, RCR training, assistance with large-scale collaborations, and internal funding programs.
Research development
Funding opportunities
CEHD's Office of Research & Policy maintains an online listing of funding opportunities. Access the listing in this spreadsheet (restricted to UMN logins).
The funding opportunities have been identified by the CEHD grant coordinators as relevant to CEHD investigators. If you're interested in more funding opportunities, please contact your CEHD grant coordinator or explore the resources below.
- University of Minnesota subscription funding databases
- University of Minnesota Foundation's charitable grants opportunities
- (alternative spreadsheet)
Other search tools and resources are available through the University of Minnesota Libraries.
Red team reviews
Designed to evaluate multidisciplinary proposals, a “red team review” brings together a group of several subject matter experts to assess a proposal’s competitiveness. A trained facilitator keeps the focus on the sponsor’s review criteria, brings reviewers to consensus on how to improve the proposal, and presents the reviewers’ comments and recommendations for the proposal team. Teams benefit by receiving specific recommendations rather than vague reviewer comments that may conflict with one another. Contact Ellen Freeman for more information.
Proposal review honoraria
CEHD will fund peer reviews of grant proposals in preparation. Amounts will vary depending on proposal scope. To arrange a review and payment, contact Ellen Freeman at least 3 weeks before the proposal deadline.
Pre-award proposal development
CEHD’s grant coordinators are researchers’ first stop for proposal development. Grant coordinators:
- Conduct individualized searches for funding opportunities
- Prepare proposal budgets
- Interpret sponsor regulations and University of Minnesota policies
- Coordinate proposal materials
- Work with sponsored projects administration to submit proposals
Recommended proposal development and preparation timeline
- Sponsored projects administration reviews and submits all proposals for external funding.
- Complete proposal must be submitted to SPA by 9:00 a.m., three business days before the sponsor deadline. Calculate SPA's deadline.
- Route proposal routing form (PRF) for approvals from all participating units
- Grant coordinator completes proposal forms and readies proposal for submission
- Draft specific aims, research plan, and other narrative elements of the proposal
- Send drafts to external reviewer, if using
- Write human subjects protocols, if applicable
- Work with grant coordinator on budget drafts
- Prep biosketches for all participants
- Finalize title
- Select and contact co-investigators, subcontractors, consultants, and other partners
- Solicit letters of support
- Identify and contact external reviewers, if using
- Meet with grant coordinator to set proposal timeline
- Generate proposal ideas
- Check if a letter of intent is required by the RFP
- If the sponsor is new to you, check with grant coordinator about submission method
- Discuss proposal idea with subject matter expert(s)
CEHD's institutional commitment to research
The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) promotes and sustains an active research and learning environment. CEHD comprises seven academic departments, two college-wide research centers, and more than a dozen departmental centers in the curricular, organizational, and research aspects of education and human development. CEHD enrolled over 4,100 students in fall 2023, and granted 1,574 degrees in the 2021-22 academic year. The college is home to over 160 faculty members and 16 endowed chairs and professorships, and 250 CEHD professionals are directly involved in research. In fiscal year 2024, the college was awarded over $50 million in externally funded research.
Collegiate investment in research takes several forms, including pre-award proposal development assistance, post-award sponsored project management, training in the responsible conduct of research, internal seed funding awards, and support for strategic research initiatives. CEHD’s Research Methodology Consulting Center (RMCC) supports researchers in study design, statistical modeling, and statistical analysis. Departments and centers regularly host research lectures and symposia, as well as offer opportunities for collaborative work. In addition, CEHD’s Education Technology Innovations group works with faculty to rapidly develop software and technology products that accelerate the impact of CEHD research.