Seed Grants FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Can I log in and see all the question fields without submitting?  
    • Yes, you can take a peek at the fields and prompts in the application by logging in (CAS) and paging through.
  • Can I be on more than one grant?  
    • You can only be listed as lead PI on only one grant.  And, you can be listed as a teammate on multiple grants.  
      • For example, if you propose a research grant and are listed as PI that’s your one.  If you also want to participate in a workshop grant, someone else needs to be the lead PI and you can be listed as a teammate.
  • How do I know if I qualify to be a PI?  
    • Check in with your department head about your qualification to serve as a PI on external grants.    
  • Does Yale have compute resources available for AI Seed Grants?
    • Yes, the Yale Center for Research Computing (YCRC) Bouchet HPC cluster has dozens of H200 and A5000 Ada GPUs available for use by Yale researchers. Compute resources are available at no-cost to the researcher and priority access can be granted at a nominal rate (Priority Tier Cost Calculator).
  • Can I buy high performance compute?  
    • Please check on the YCRC HPC resources first.  If you need to buy HPC specifically for your project, your budget narrative would be strengthened by a short explanation for how it meets a need that the YCRC resources do not.
  • Can I bring in collaborators from beyond Yale?
    • We recommend looking for internal Yale partners first. 
    • Outside consultants are allowable with an explanation of why their expertise is needed and the impact for the project.
    • Contracts for specific services are allowable.
    • Interinstitutional subawards are not allowable on this internal seed grant.
  • I see that ladder-track/tenure track faculty salaries are not allowable–what about staff and research scientist salaries?  
    • Yale M&P research staff salary is allowable.  Please keep in mind when strategizing research arc sustainability that these seed grants have end dates and are not designed to fund staff positions long-term.
    • Associate Research Scientist, Research Scientist and Senior Research Scientist salaries are allowable.    
  • I am faculty and was told that I need at least a 1% salary contribution.  
    • The 1% rule does not apply to this internal Yale seed grant
  • Is $100,000 the total budget regardless of if it is a 1.5 or 1 year budget period?  
    • Yes, $100,000 total (or less) for research grants regardless of time frame.
  • Will the AI Seed Grants be offered again next year?
    • Yes, we will offer them again in 2026.
  • Do I have to use a special CV format such as for NIH or ladder-track reviews?
    • No.
  • Proxy Submissions - can I submit for someone else?  
    • Yes, InfoReady is configured for proxy submissions.  The PI would need to log into InfoReady to grant permissions to the proxy.  Then the proxy can submit on their behalf. 
    • Help Guides 
  • Research References - Can the references go past page 5?  
    • Yes, the reference list can trail onto page 6.
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