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Inspired Program

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What is it?

The INSPiRED Program focuses on training and equipping faculty with the skills and resources needed to effectively work in large, multi-disciplinary research teams/centers. The program will train faculty in building, coordinating, and directing large interdisciplinary research efforts.  

How will it work?

Faculty will participate in an onboarding session in late August and two meetings a month during the academic year. The first meeting will be an all group meeting where we’ll talk about relevant issues, challenges, and problem solving related to team science at UM. The second will be a small group (their proposed research/creative groups) to translate information to their specific project. At the end of the 2024-2025 academic year, each group should have a fully developed proposal for a pilot project that CLA and Research Development will co-sponsor and support submission of funding proposals.

How do we sign up?

Faculty should participate in the appropriate thematic session, and work with potential collaborators to submit a 3-5 page concept paper. A member of the research team should include a letter of support from the chair of each department engaged in the proposal. A committee from CLA and ORSP will select at least one proposal in each area. Thematic meet and greet sessions will be hosted late Feb-early March. Concept papers and chair support letters will be due May 1. Notification of selection will take place by May 20. Applications should be emailed to amcafer@olemiss.edu.

2024-25 Thematic Areas

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Environmental Studies

Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary academic field focused on answering questions concerned with human interaction with the environment.  

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Health and Wellbeing in Southern Contexts

Health policy and service landscapes in the South are dire. Multi-pronged approaches are needed to address long-standing issues and ultimately support equitable healthcare access, improved access to health advocacy, and robust social determinants of health, especially for the rural South.  

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Data Science for Public Good

Data science is a powerful multidisciplinary analytical approach for extracting meaning from big data to support decision-making. Data-driven decision-making is not new, but the rapid pace of generation of large data sets and increasingly novel modes of data analysis present challenges for their use in decision-making.