The Office of Research and Economic Development has established a new grant program to support faculty travel to sponsoring program officers.

The goal of the program is to improve the competitiveness of proposals from Mississippi State University faculty and researchers by facilitating interaction with prospective sponsors. Visits with program officers also provide opportunities for faculty members and researchers to provide general information about MSU and their area(s) of expertise.

ORED will reimburse faculty members to support a round-trip, out of town visit for the purpose of meeting with a program officer. The reimbursement will not exceed $2,000 and is limited to one reimbursement per faculty/per year (July 1 – June 30). Cross-college teams of 2 or more members may request support up to a total of $4,000 for a joint visit to multiple agencies. Requests should be submitted to ORED at least four weeks in advance of the travel dates. The request will be reviewed within two weeks. Trips taken prior to travel grant approval will not be reimbursed by ORED.

Successful applicants are encouraged to maximize the opportunity to travel. Meeting with two or more program officers at one agency, or program officers at two or more different agencies during the visit provides the most value for the time and funds expended. Travel awards will be determined by scope of visit and availability of funds. 

For more information on the program and instructions for applying, visit ORED’s internal funding page at https://www.research.msstate.edu/initiatives/internal-funding.

Questions about the program may be directed to Dr. Devon Brenner at devon@research.msstate.edu.