The Digital Innovation Incubator (DII) brings together personnel and resources from the Digital Innovation Lab (DIL), the Office of Arts and Sciences Information Services (OASIS), Information Technology Services (ITS), and the UNC Libraries. Coordinated by the DIL, the incubator provides support for humanities and arts projects that promote teaching, research, and engagement through emerging digital methodologies.
The DII is requesting proposals for participation in a program designed to support faculty pursuing medium- to large-scale research endeavors. Research projects should involve significant digital activities under the supervision of Teaching or tenure-track Professors affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences. The program will facilitate a two-year cycle of incubation that provides selected projects resources that include:
- the use of physical space in the DIL
- the commitment of 20% of staff hours from available DIL personnel
- grant development and implementation support from the College of Arts and Sciences
- access to technical infrastructure and support through ITS
- programming and consultation resources from OASIS
- consultation and access to resources for potential long-term archiving from the UNC Libraries
If selected, project investigators will coordinate closely with incubator personnel to:
- set project milestones and accountability assignments
- identify and gain access to necessary resources and infrastructure
- provide needed professional development to investigators
- develop sustainability plans
- complete prototypes or release versions of projects
- submit external funding requests
Eligibility: To be considered for support, projects must:
- include significant digital components linked with innovations in research, teaching, and/or engagement,
- represent disciplines in the humanities, arts, or humanistic social sciences,
- be principally coordinated by a tenure-track or fixed-term faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences,
- be supported by (ideally with resource commitments) department Chairs or unit leaders.
Selection: Projects will be selected by the DII Administrative Board. The board will seek to identify projects that:
- provide opportunities to investigate emerging innovations in digital research or production methods
- propose feasible endeavors that can be implemented during the two-year development cycle
- have a strong likelihood of achieving sustainability
- promise to create opportunities for seeking external funding
- provide DII personnel and affiliated graduate students with hands-on, digital research opportunities
- leverage campus infrastructure and initiatives
- engage with multiple communities across and beyond campus
- promise to create new research opportunities and methods in the humanities and arts
- create opportunities for collaboration and interdisciplinary work
Submission: To request that a project be considered for possible incubation, prepare to submit a proposal using our online form. Submissions will be asked to:
- clearly delineate the research project and its goals during the two-year incubation
- list and discuss potential contributions of participants
- identify interdisciplinary connections and collaborations that might be pursued through the project
- demonstrate the ways in which the project promotes innovation in digital research methods
- provide details about potential curricular links or student involvement in the project
- discuss concrete opportunities or potential advantages the project might provide for external funding requests
- outline plans for sustaining the project beyond the two-year incubation period
- discuss the ways the project leverages or supports initiatives or strategic efforts on campus
- discuss any departmental or additional in-kind support available to the project
- submissions should include CVs of all primary participants and a proposal document of no more than 2,500 words
Submit your proposal and supporting documentation at this link by Friday May 3rd.
For questions related to the proposal process, contact Daniel Anderson (iamdan@unc.edu).
