Guidance for Faculty Proposers

Bass Connections welcomes year-long research project proposals that bring together faculty and students from Duke University and Duke Kunshan University (DKU). These collaborations draw on the distinctive expertise, experiences and perspectives of both campuses while creating meaningful opportunities for students to work across institutional and national contexts.

This guidance outlines how faculty from Duke and DKU can partner to develop strong project proposals and includes information on proposal development and the application and review process.

Proposals for 2027-2028 project teams are due November 2, 2026, at 5 p.m. EST.

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Bass Connections Overview

Bass Connections is a university-wide academic program at Duke that supports faculty-led, vertically integrated research teams that draw on perspectives and methods from multiple disciplines, as well as robust engagement with communities, stakeholders and decision-makers. The program is part of the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs at Duke. 

Each year, Bass Connections supports approximately 70 year-long project teams. Projects last 9-12 months, with the option to re-apply for funds annually. Project teams include at least two team leaders, as well as 5-20 graduate and undergraduate students, who work together to address a societal challenge through interdisciplinary research. Staff, graduate students, postdocs and trainees/fellows may also co-lead projects, but all projects must have at least one faculty team leader. 

Faculty propose projects through our annual call for proposals which runs from mid-August to early November of each year. 

Call for Joint Duke-DKU Proposals

Duke and DKU faculty may partner to submit joint Duke-DKU project proposals that involve substantive collaboration across institutions. Joint proposals must be led by at least one Duke faculty team leader and one DKU faculty team leader and may include additional faculty and staff from both institutions.

Proposals for 2027-2028 project teams are due November 2, 2026, at 5 p.m. EST. All proposals must be submitted through the online proposal form.

Joint proposals must include:

  • Co-leadership by at least one faculty member from Duke and one faculty member from DKU that are committed to shared research, teaching and project development
  • Meaningful opportunities for student participation across both Duke and DKU campuses, including shared meetings, collaborative subteams, virtual activities, workshops, etc.
  • Shared project outputs, such as publications, exhibits, policy products or other deliverables

Some joint proposals may also include collaborative fieldwork or other shared project activities, as is appropriate.

Examples of current and past joint Duke-DKU Bass Connections teams include:

Things to Consider During Proposal Development

Strong joint Duke-DKU proposals should articulate why participation from both Duke and DKU are important to the project. The collaboration should be substantive and contribute meaningfully to the project’s intellectual, educational, and/or community-engagement goals.

Proposers should also consider how their project will support reciprocal learning. The goal is not simply to add participants from another campus, but to create a genuinely collaborative experience in which Duke and DKU students and faculty contribute to and learn from the project’s development and outcomes.

As you develop a Duke-DKU proposal, please consider the following:

  • Roles and contributions: What will faculty, staff, and students from each campus contribute? How will responsibilities be shared, and what expertise, resources or partnerships does each campus bring?
  • Student participation: How will Duke and DKU students both be involved as full members of the project? How will you manage academic credit for DKU students who are based at DKU (see below for guidance)? What responsibilities, mentoring, training and opportunities will students have to work across campuses? All joint Duke-DKU teams should integrate shared meetings and joint project outputs. Teams may also consider collaborative subteams, workshops or fieldwork (where applicable).
  • Project coordination: How will the team communicate, meet, and make decisions across campuses? How will you address differences in time zones, academic calendars, and access to resources? How will you budget and track fund expenditure across institutions?
  • Data and technology: Will the project involve sensitive, personal, proprietary, or restricted data, materials, software, equipment, or technology? If so, how will these resources be shared and protected?
  • International activities and approvals: Will the project involve travel, fieldwork, external partners, or activities in China or elsewhere outside the United States? Consider whether you may need approvals related to human subjects, privacy, intellectual property, export controls, data security or other international activities.

DKU Student Engagement and Academic Crediting:

DKU students are eligible to apply to any Bass Connections project if they will be studying at Duke during the fall or spring semester of the project year. All DKU students, regardless of whether they plan to study at Duke, are eligible to apply to any joint Duke-DKU project team.

When a DKU student is based at Duke, the student’s participation works in the same way as that of a Duke student. The DKU student will enroll for academic credit on the Bass Connections team through the Duke course listing associated with the project.

DKU students who participate from Kunshan may receive academic credit through an independent study listing established at DKU under the DKU faculty leader on the team. The DKU faculty leader should work with their academic unit or other appropriate DKU office to establish the independent study. The DKU faculty leader will serve as the instructor or instructor of record; however, all team leaders may contribute to determining each student’s grade.

Fund Management at DKU:

If awarded, joint Duke-DKU project funds are managed through institutional fund codes at Duke and DKU. Team leaders must submit a “term sheet” outlining anticipated expenditures at each institution, and the DKU-based team leader must work with their unit to establish a fund code to manage DKU-based team expenses. 

Team leaders at each institution are responsible for tracking expenses incurred locally and ensuring that expenditures comply with institutional policies and the approved project budget and term sheet. Once the project has concluded, Duke will transfer funds to DKU to reimburse expenses incurred at DKU, based on the approved budget and a final reconciliation of expenses.

Application Requirements

Joint Duke-DKU proposals must complete the standard Bass Connections proposal application and provide answers to additional questions related to cross-institutional collaboration.

In addition to the standard application questions, joint proposers will be asked to:

  • Disclose any current federal funding;
  • Identify affiliations with STEM-related research centers or hubs;
  • Describe active collaborations outside Duke and DKU; and
  • Identify the Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET) area most closely related to the proposal and explain how the proposed project is distinct from that area

This information will support the proposal review and research security processes. Applicants should consult the application instructions for the specific questions and submission requirements.

Review of Joint Duke-DKU Proposals

Joint project proposals will undergo the standard Bass Connections faculty peer-review process, which is coordinated by the thematic area to which the proposal is submitted. Duke faculty and staff reviewers will use the standard evaluation rubric to provide feedback that informs funding decisions. Bass Connections will make an effort to include at least one DKU faculty reviewer.

In partnership with the Duke Office of DKU Relations, joint proposals will also undergo a research security review, which is standard for all research endeavors spanning both campuses.

This review is intended to help identify potential issues related to:

  • Data privacy and information security
  • Export controls and/or regulated technologies
  • External partnerships
  • Other institutional, legal or security considerations
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