In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the research community valiantly implemented a rapid ramp down of on-campus research, continued much research remotely and, since June 8, has been resuming on-campus research safely and effectively. The resilience of the community has been inspiring. Nevertheless, these circumstances have had a profound impact on research. And it has become clear that the negative impact on research progress, and potentially on career trajectories, is not distributed equally across the community. In addition to highlighting the obvious, that bench research, human-subjects research, and field research are more impacted than is theoretical research, recent studies have quantified the disproportionate impact on some groups, including women, families with young children, underrepresented groups, and pre-tenure faculty. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0921-y) And recent events have emphasized that many in these groups also struggle against systemic racism.

In the face of these challenges, we have been responding to the pressures on our research enterprise. In the last few months, we have:

• Temporarily suspended the five-year limit on postdoc terms to provide flexibility in the challenging employment environment
• Opened the upcoming Provost’s Diversity Post Doc program to Penn graduates
• Underwritten the budget deficit in animal care so that it will not impact research budgets
• Provided PPE and disinfecting supplies from FRES and EHRS and from the schools
• Submitted a FEMA application for funds to cover research related emergency expenses
• Advocated for spending flexibility on federal grants and for federal allocations to fund supplements and COVID-19 related research

As we look forward, many challenges remain. The Research Recovery Program is designed to mitigate some impacts of the pandemic on research at Penn. It will be supported with a combination of funds redirected from current programs, augmented with funds from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. The goals of the Research Recovery Program are to:

• Mitigate negative pandemic related impacts on research at Penn
• Prioritize those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic

The Research Recovery Program establishes four new mechanisms to mitigate unexpected costs, exploit new research opportunities, and support bridge projects. This program will emphasize the challenges in populations disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
 

Research Disruption Mitigation Fund (opening September 20)

The Research Disruption Mitigation Fund will make grants up to $40,000 to mitigate the financial impact of research ramp down and resumption. The grants will be awarded for unexpected costs expended during the shut-down or required for ramp-up. Pre-tenure faculty and/or those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic are eligible.
 

Research Transition Fund (opening September 20)

The Research Transition Fund will make grants up to $15,000 to support COVID-19 induced gaps in research experienced in social science and humanities disciplines. Pre-tenure faculty and/or those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic are eligible.
 

Social Inequality in Health Status and Health Care (open now: submit ASAP but no later than September 23)

This program will curate research grant concepts that qualify for the Pennsylvania CURE program. Grants range from $200,000 to $800,000 over four years. Eligible fields are biomedical basic science research and health services research including behavioral research and healthcare delivery. The emphasis for this research opportunity is on:

• Topics addressing various aspects of disparities in health status
• General biomedical research carried out by faculty disproportionately impacted by COVID-19
• Faculty in all disciplines are eligible with the exception of those fields/programs with substantial support already committed from this program

 
Bridge Grants (schedule determined in the schools)

Bridge grants are designed to provide gap funding between external grants when it is expected that the extra support would secure a new grant.  Given the extended disruption in research this spring, it is anticipated that this need will increase compared to previous years. Processes are in place within the schools to manage bridge grant requests. Information should be available from department chairs.

—Wendell Pritchett, Provost
—Dawn Bonnell, Vice Provost for Research