Office of Research Development

The Office of Research Development team at the University of Michigan strives to connect researchers to resources and increase its investigators’ competitiveness in obtaining extramural research funding. ORD activities include coordinating internal funding programs, matching faculty to funding opportunities, offering workshops for skill-building, developing online resources and facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations.

With a focus on supporting researchers to increase competitiveness and leverage resources and best practices to build research capacity, the Office of Research Development: 

  • Leads Bold Challenges, a program to provide funding, project management staff, and programmatic structure to support interdisciplinary teams in pursuing large-scale grants to address complex societal challenges;
  • Coordinates internal funding programs and institutionally limited submissions;
  • Provides effective, efficient proposal management, including graphics and editing, for external grant proposals; 
  • Facilitates meetings and workshops for brainstorming, skill-building or strategic planning, and
  • Develops online resources and tools to guide research efforts. 

Vision, Mission

The Office of Research Development (ORD) strives to catalyze interdisciplinary collaborations and increase investigators’ competitiveness in pursuing extramural research funding.  We coordinate internal funding programs and institutionally limited submissions; offer proposal development and editing services; manage programs to enhance team science and leadership; facilitate brainstorming sessions to surface innovative ideas; present workshops for orientation and skill-building, and create valuable online resources.

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Contact Us

Contact the entire team: RD-support@umich.edu

Jill Jividen, Senior Director of Research Development: jjgoff@umich.edu

Stephen Alvey, Graphics Specialist: salvey@umich.edu

Neil Carver, Bold Challenges Research Development Officer, carvern@umich.edu

Tricia Ebright, OVPR Grants and Awards Manager, triciamc@umich.edu

Kelsey Ebbs, Assistant Director of Bold Challenges, klucinda@umich.edu

Mariah Gavin, Research Cores Office Project Manager, mgav@umich.edu

Sean O’Connor, Bold Challenges Project Manager, spoconno@umich.edu

Adrianna Trusiak, Bold Challenges Research Development Officer, atrusiak@umich.edu

Kelly Walters, Bold Challenges Research Development Officer, kelwalt@umich.edu

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