Extramural Coordinated Funding

UM Submission Instructions: AIM-AHEAD Program for Artificial Intelligence Readiness (PAIR) - Cohort 2 2025

Sponsor:	AIM-AHEAD
Award Title:	AIM-AHEAD Program for Artificial Intelligence Readiness (PAIR) - Cohort 2
Amount:	$100,000 The first phase will provide awards of $100,000 each to around 15 institutions to build multidisciplinary teams, assess feasibility and further develop their research proposals. Up to 10 of these institutions will advance to the second phase based on the criteria described in the PAIR Program Plan section above. In the second phase, awards of $150,000 each will be provided to up to 10 institutions for setting up their AI/ML Health Equity Lab and finishing their proposal for NIH-funded research. It is expected that all funds will be expended on or before September 10, 2025.
UM Deadline:	12/18/2024
Sponsor Deadline:	01/15/2025
Description:	The Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) Consortium to Advance Health Equity and Researcher Diversity (AIM-AHEAD) consortium was established to increase the participation and representation of researchers and communities currently considered underrepresented by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) definition (https://diversity.nih.gov/about-us/population-underrepresented) in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social science professional careers in the development and application of AI/ML, to address health disparities and inequities. The AIM-AHEAD Program for AI Readiness (PAIR) aims to leverage AIM-AHEAD resources to jump start AI research for health equity in minority serving institutions (MSI) with inadequate resources. Many of the low-resource organizations face considerable challenges due to their limited experience in AI/ML research as applied to health equity, insufficient AI/ML infrastructure, lack of synergies across disciplines, and inadequate grant funding capabilities. The PAIR program is designed for these organizations to strengthen the foundations for sustainable success in AI/ML health equity research. Through a two-phase funding model, PAIR will connect institutions with AIM-AHEAD resources, AI/ML and health equity experts, and grant-writing coaches to help establish AI/ML Health Equity Research Labs that host cross-disciplinary teams for research projects and grant writing. PAIR will facilitate collaboration from multiple disciplines such as computer science, biomedical sciences, social sciences, behavioral sciences, healthcare, ethics, and statistics, which is essential for using AI/ML to improve health equity.
Number of Applicants University is Allowed to submit:	1
Additional Requirements:	None
Sponsor Guidelines:	https://www.aim-ahead.net/call-for-proposals-year-2/pair/
UM Nominations Process:	This is a first-come/first-served opportunity. Please contact collabor@umn.edu with any questions.
Peer Review Coordination:	Research and Innovation Office contact email
Status:	No longer accepting applications.
Please note:	To be considered for peer review and internal selection, faculty must follow the above submission guidelines and meet the UM deadline as set by the office coordinating the peer review for this opportunity.

General Information

Each posting has information about the external sponsor and opportunity as well as the internal application instructions.
Opportunities can be sorted by column headings; just click on the heading to re-sort by that column.
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If you know of an opportunity that is not on the list, please contact Kristin Mead.

Internal Requirements

Sponsor: Name of funder.
Award Title: Funding opportunity nameAmount: Range/Maximum dollar amount awarded.
UMN Deadline: Submission deadline for internal proposal as determined by the coordinating office.
Sponsor Deadline: External deadline identified by the sponsor.
Description: General information about the sponsor and the funding opportunity. Usually describes the purpose of the funding opportunity, overview of what the sponsor is looking for, including distinctive criteria. This is not meant to take the place of the sponsor guidelines; please read the sponsor guidelines before deciding to apply.
Number of Applicants University is Allowed to Submit: The maximum number of applications the sponsor will allow the university to submit.
Additional Requirements: Identifies any special requirements such as cost sharing, partners, etc.
Sponsor Guidelines: Link to the sponsor’s funding opportunity website.
UMN Nominations Process: Contains specific internal submission requirements including internal proposal instructions, deadline, eligibility, internal nomination process, contact information.
Peer Review Coordination: The name and contact email of the office coordinating the funding opportunity. RIO coordinates most limited submissions, but opportunities coordinated by other offices or programs are also posted on this webpage.
Status:
- Open: UM deadline has not passed and the opportunity is open for application.
- Forecasted: The funder has not yet formally published the opportunity. The deadline has yet to be determined.
- Archived: The opportunity has been archived by the funder.
- Spots Remaining: UMN deadline has passed, with some applicant spots still available. Contact collabor@umn.edu if interested
- First-Come, First-Served: Applicants accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact collabor@umn.edu if interested
- Contact Us: The internal deadline has passed, but no applicants were selected. Please contact the office coordinating the peer review for more information.
- In Review: Peer review process is in progress for the opportunity.
- PI Selected: The PI(s) have been selected as the official UMN nominees.
- Closed: UMN is no longer accepting applications.

UMN Selection Process

Once the internal deadline has passed, if the number of applicants is less than or equal to the number of spots the university is allowed to send forward, the applicants automatically become the UMN nominee(s).
If the status of an opportunity is "First-Come, First-Served", there was not time to hold an internal review. Applicants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
If there are no applicants, the status will change to "Contact Us". At this point, the opportunity changes to a first-come, first-served opportunity.
If there are multiple applicants, the office coordinating the nomination will determine the review criteria and coordinate the review process. The status will change to "In Review".
Once the review has been completed all parties will be notified via email.
Nominees will be provided with an email from RIO (or the designated coordinating office) indicating that they are the university's nominee. This letter should accompany the nominee's proposal.
SPA is notified of the university's nominee(s) and the status is updated to "PI(s) Selected".

*If you have questions about the University's process related to extramural funding opportunities requiring nomination or if you have any technical issues with the site, contact collabor8@umn.edu.