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Incubator Proposals: Format for Concept Papers Incubator grant concept papers should include the following elements. Total length should not exceed 5 pages. A cover letter addressed to Dr. Nasseer Idrisi, Director, (Ag.) CMES, C.V.’s of project investigators, and letters of support from collaborators should accompany each concept paper. 1. Cover page with abstract Include the title of the project as well as the email address and phone number of each investigator, and a one-paragraph abstract, suitable for use in public reports, that describes the research to be done. 2. Research problem and background Articulate (a) the problem and why it is important and (b) what has already been done. 3. Objectives Project objectives should clearly (a) correspond to the research problem, (b) define the strategy to overcome the problem, and (c) contribute to the achievement of broader economic development goals for the Virgin Islands. 4. Inputs Project inputs needed to achieve project objectives could include people (eg. researchers, students, local partners), travel costs, equipment, supplies, facilities. 5. Activities and duration Summarize clearly and succinctly what will be done to achieve the project objectives, when, and how. 6. Outputs Project outputs should be clearly related to the objectives. Outputs could include information such as reports or publications, events such as workshops, intangible outputs such as decisions, and tangible outputs such as technological innovations. Outputs should include at least one proposal for external funding. 7. Beneficiaries and impacts Describe what benefits are expected, when, and how; and who will benefit. Benefits could include both direct and spillover effects. 8. Project management Identify the project leader, list collaborator(s), and briefly describe who will be responsible for each activity. 9. Draft budget Provide an estimate of project costs, attempting to explicitly note ALL expected costs. Include any resources (monetary or in-kind) expected from other sources including investigators’ home institutions. 10. Plan for seeking external funding Briefly describe plans for seeking external funding, including funding agencies to be approached, any prior contacts with those agencies, expected timing of applications, expected scale of the larger project, and how the incubator grant activities will support efforts to seek external funding for the larger project. 11. Relevance of proposed activities to VI-EPSCoR mission and relation to existing research Address how the proposed research fits into the VI-EPSCoR thrust on Bio-complexity of Caribbean Coral Reefs (BCCR), and what types of collaboration will take place. The intention of these incubator grants is to stimulate new collaborative research initiatives within the BCCR theme. If the incubator grant proposal is related to on-going, funded research in any way, include a short narrative describing how it is related, and how the incubator grant activities will extend the existing project “beyond” what is currently supported. 12. Short curriculum vitae for each investigator Maximum of two pages. 13. Letters of support from collaborators Letters from each collaborator should confirm their willingness to participate in the intended activity.