Initium AI

Are you undermining your own grant writing search? Here's one way you might be ⬇️ When searching for grants, don't just look for calls for proposals where the project description aligns exactly with your own ideas. Remember, there's also broader omnibus funding out there, too— think the Simons Foundation's Mathematics and Physical Sciences division, or NASA's ROSES (Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences) program. Expand your search to expanded RFPs, and you might find the one for you 💫

You're a researcher and a grant writer. You know AI tools are out there to help you write your grant proposal more efficiently and more accurately. However, there's a lot of anti-AI rhetoric in academia. So, how do you use AI ethically? Here are our top tips from our experts 🦾Collaborate, don't outsource. AI is a very useful tool to help you research and revise, but don't let it overtake your writing. Doing so will weaken your own writing and research skills, as well as diminish the innate passion you have for your project that comes through in your writing, to say nothing of possibly violating integrity requirements of the grant funder. Make sure AI is a copilot rather than a controlling force. 🧐 Fact check AI, every step of the way While AI can do some remarkable things, like finding papers relevant to your literature review, offering feedback on early drafts, even finding the correct grant that suits your vision, it can also experience "hallucinations", or produce incorrect information. If AI tells you a paper or a fact exists, make sure to verify it independently. 🧠 Investigate the funder's policy on AI Some funders are more pro-AI than others, and when it comes to writing a grant for them, taking a look at their AI policy is essential. Some will let you use it for actual writing, others just for research or other background help. Moreover, regardless of funding policies, don’t let AI dilute your originality— that's what makes you stand out in a proposal As researchers, grant writers, and academics ourselves, we've built a platform for people like us - and you! - that makes AI your copilot without overtaking your own writing, with built-in, easy fact-checking resources to make AI work for you, not instead of you. Try it out at app.initium.ai

AI Scientist, an autonomous research tool, first released in 2024, has now undergone peer review, highlighting its strengths and limitations go.nature.com/47oRQdd

We loved seeing so many people at our NSF CAREER workshop on Monday! Supporting researchers is at the heart of what we do, and we are especially grateful to have the opportunity to support those at the start of their careers. If you missed our first workshop, we're hosting a second (and final) NSF CAREER workshop on Tuesday, April 7th. Sign up here: initium.ai/initium-nsf-ca…

All too often, researchers, students, and academics are utilizing AI to replace their scientific writing skills instead of improving them. Here's how to fix that🧫 A 2023 study expands on AI's best uses in research, primarily as emulating social interaction of the research process. They found that AI can help brainstorm ideas by asking clarifying questions, provide feedback and scaffolding for drafts, and prompt users to deepen their thinking. Use of AI as a copilot is also equitable, seeing as it can help ESL researchers with language acquisition and translation. As the study puts it, when used ethically, AI can drive "a more equitable advancement of scientific knowledge, understanding, and communication". (P.S.: This is exactly what our platform is for! At Initium, we believe in AI as a copilot for the grant writing process, encouraging human creativity and communication. Try us out!) Full study: sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

The Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI) released their guidelines on utilizing general AI in research proposal development. Let's take a look at their fifth recommendation: SRAI highlights "low-risk, high-value" uses of AI, especially when searching for and synthesizing literature, noting that "[AI tools] can help writers to improve the readability of their proposals for sentence structuring and flow." We couldn't agree more - and we're proud to have a platform aligning to SRAI's guidelines. While our platform will not write your grant for you — keeping in accordance with SRAI's policy to preserve "innovation, novelty, and creativity" when using AI — we offer red-team reviews, where two AI agents with academic backgrounds of your choosing ask probing questions and offer suggestions pertaining both the readability of your draft and its adherence to your selected call. Try it out at app.initium.ai, and read the rest of the SRAI's guidelines here: srainternational.org/blogs/srai-new…

Generalist biological artificial intelligence in modeling the language of life go.nature.com/3NdkqaE

🌟Funding Opportunities Alert🌟 The Burroughs Welcome Fund's Climate Change and Human Health Seed Grants aim to support research drawing connections between basic/early biomedical sciences research; ecological, geographic, and planetary-scale thinking; and epidemology and public health. Proposals should either be from more than one institution or, if submitted by a single institution, the proposal must develop partnerships that previously did not exist, and collaborations between a variety of institutions, such as community organizations, physicians, advocacy nonprofits, and more. Successful proposals will emphasize impact on fomenting growth of non-traditional partnerships and conduct thorough research on how climate change affects human health, and will receive small, early-stage grants ranging from $2,500 to $50,000. The rolling application deadline is April 23rd, 2026. Learn more about the application process here: bwfund.org/funding-opport…

🚨Funding Opportunities Alert🚨 Do you have a bold idea for preparing the world for a new chapter in AI? The Institute for Progress's Launch Sequence might be willing to pay you up to $10k for it. To apply, submit a 200-400 world proposal detailing a project that will accelerate science, strengthen security, or adapt institutions in anticipation of widespread advanced AI. Whether you plan to or have the capacity to lead the project or not, Launch Sequence encourages you to submit your idea. Authors of published proposals will receive $10,000, and if your idea is selected but you don't lead it, you still receive $1,000. Ideas should be focused on adapting institutions or science. See more examples and how to apply here: ifp.org/rfp-launch/

All submissions should also endeavor to reflect the ACL Caregiver Challenges AI principles, which include supplementing, not replacing, human connection; ensuring affordability and access; supporting caregivers' well-being; protecting privacy, dignity, and choice; personalized and flexible care; and safety, reliability, and transparency. Eligible applicants should reside in the US, not be a federal entity/employee, and not related to challenge judges. See more information on eligibility, judging criteria, and more here: acl.gov/caregiver-ai-c… (4/4)

👥 Track 2: AI Tools for Extending the Caregiver Workforce Track 2 focuses on identifying AI tools that create efficiencies to help extend and strengthen the direct care workforce, particularly organizations playing key roles in caregiving support. ⚙️ This includes design and scaling of AI tools, reducing administrative burden, improving scheduling and deployment of staff, and more. ⛑️ Track 2 is separated into the same three phases of Track 1, and offers the same maximum of 10 submissions awarding of up to $100,000 in the first phase, as well as the same possible additional $50k based on the same merits. (3/4)

🌟Funding Opportunities Alert🌟 The Administration for Community Living (ACL) is offering a unique grant — aimed at those devoted to developing AI-powered solutions for caregivers. Applicants can submit to one of two tracks: AI Tools to Support Caregivers or AI Tools for Extending the Caregiver Workforce. All applications must meet the competition’s Caregiver AI principles, incorporate user-centered design, promote high-quality care, and minimize the potential for harmful/biased/unsafe use of AI. Both tracks have three phases with cash prizes awarded in each, with the first phase giving up to $100,000 to successful applicants and a possible additional meritorious prize of up to $50,000. Let's break it down ⬇️ (1/4)

Find out which grants you're eligible for, faster — with our eligible applicants feature 🏋‍♂️ When you sign up for Initium, you're able to select the institution(s) you work for under the Profile tab. We currently offer options for state, county, city/township, or special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled higher education institutions; and federally recognized Indigenous tribal governments. If you work for one of these, select it and further refine and perfect your suggested grant opportunities in our "Grant" feature! Try it out at app.initium.ai

Writing grant proposals for the federal (or state) governments vs. foundations and private institutions varies widely in time, effort, and style. Here's how to succeed at both: - Choose which path your want to follow based on the type of research you're conducting. Government grants often focus on more traditional lab reserach, whereas foundations are more flexible with their parameters and are often more eager to fund daring research and take risks - Additionally, think about which parts of your research you want to prioritize. Foundations are more likely to cover indirect costs than federal grants, which are very strict and direct about where you can use funding - If you need a quicker turnaround time, you might want to consider a foundation. Federal grants take longer to deliver a response than private institutions - Federal grants are often a lot more complicated to write, with more steps and hoops to jump through. Consider writing a detailed version of your grant for federal funding, and repurposing a shorter version for a foundation - While both federal and private institutions' grants are swayed by leadership, foundations usually have a much stronger ideological focus than federal grants. For more neutral grants, look to the government That's all we've got for you! What are the biggest differences in foundation and federal grants you've noticed? Put it down below ⬇️

The quality of a literature review can make or break your paper. Here are our top 5 ways to write a strong lit review = better research. 🗂️Organization There are four ways you can organize your literature review: thematically (recurring aspects of your research subject), chronologically (following the development of your subject over time), theoretically (discussing foundational theories essential to your subject), or methodogically (how research methods and their results differ in your subject). Different disciplines tend towards different organizations - for example, humanities fields often need a theoretical framework for their lit review, whereas sciences might tend towards methodogical. Look at past examples in your discipline to get a better idea of how to organize your lit review. ⚓️Try out an anchor article One way to make your writing process easier and faster is to identify an anchor article - a well-written, published article with seminal research on your chosen topic that helps you understand the discussion surrounding your subject. An anchor article can help you identify useful search terms, understand how to organize your literature review, and just provide a good example on good, scholarly writing. 🚫Select your sources carefully, but don't be afraid to criticize them Since your sources build the bedrock of your paper, make sure they're reliable and relevant - but they don't have to be perfect. A key component of your lit review is analyzing sources, so evaluating them for bias or flaws can strengthen your own paper. However, be sure to avoid sources with blatant misinformation or sloppy research. 🤝Identify gaps and connect sources On the flip side of criticizing sources, make sure to synthesize and connect the sources you do choose. Ask yourself: Do these sources build on one another? Do they help fill in research gaps? Do they highlight an area you hope to expand on? Analyzing sources can also help you find out where research gaps exist - gaps your research can fill. 💥Impact, impact, impact For all sources in your literature review, ask yourself: Why am I including this? How will my research connect back to these sources? By always remembering the "why", your paper will come out stronger than ever before. (line break) Want to supercharge your lit review process? Try our Background Materials feature at app.initium.ai - let us know what you think! 😊

There is still time to make your voice heard on NIH's proposal to establish a new policy harmonizing requirements for controlling access to human participant research data. Comments are due by March 18. More information at: bit.ly/4sOnIAj

Conducting innovative basic research? Want to (or are already) work with a team of researchers from labs around the world? The Human Frontier Science Program might have the grant for you. With an LOI due March 26th, HFSP grants support innovative, basic research into the life sciences - though interdisciplinary collaborations are highly encouraged, and the grants aim to support knowledge exchange across borders. Grants are available to teams of independent researchers or early career researchers. Learn more and apply here: hfsp.org/funding/hfsp-f…

Did you know❓According to a Pew Research study, 79% of Americans say that AI has been very helpful or somewhat helpful to them. We're working towards directing this functionality towards grant writers and academics to aid them win more funding 💵