Microsoft Productivity Research

Can multiple universities submit a joint/single proposal?

Yes, multiple universities can submit a joint/single proposal together. Please clearly indicate in the budget section how the budget, not to exceed $250,000 USD, will be shared.

If a proposal is submitted by more than one university, jointly, is it possible for Microsoft to pay each university directly or do we need to subcontract to each other?

Yes, Microsoft will pay each university directly provided the budget clearly illustrates the amount to be paid to each university with a total not to exceed $250,000 USD.

Are there constraints on how many applications can come from one university/department?

While we will accept multiple proposals from a single university, only one MPR unrestricted gift will be awarded to a single university. To optimize the chances of receiving an award, we encourage researchers from the same university to consider submitting a single, joint proposal (rather than multiple individual proposals) that benefits from their various skills and interests to create the strongest possible proposal.

How long can my proposed collaboration with Microsoft last?

Project timelines should be approximately 12-18 months. They should reflect the total time estimated to complete the research proposed.

Are proposals required to choose one of the research areas described in the RFP (Interaction and Sensing; Machine Learning and Machine Teaching; Attention and Engagement; Collaboration and Human Learning)?

Yes, proposals must indicate which of the listed research areas will be investigated as part of the proposed research to be eligible for consideration.

Is it a requirement or advisable to have a Microsoft champion who supports our proposal?

It would be considered a positive for the proposal to have a researcher in Microsoft who is supportive but we don’t require it or expect it. If a researcher in Microsoft is interested in expressing support for your proposal, they should send an email of support to MPR_RFP@Microsoft.com with the university PI(s) on cc when the proposal is submitted.

Can proposal budget requests be less than $250,000 USD?

Yes, proposal budget requests can be of any amount up to $250,000 USD.

Does the budget table specified in the Proposal Requirements section count toward the seven-page limit?

The budget is part of the seven-page limit. Scholarly references/bibliography can be submitted in addition to the seven pages and will not count toward the seven-page limit but all of the other required components will count toward the seven-page limit.

If we are to include a letter of support from our university, would this count towards the seven-page limit?

No, letters of support will not count toward the seven-page limit.

Is it an issue if our cover page is more than one page if our proposal is still within the seven-page limit?

As long as the full proposal doesn’t exceed seven pages the rest of the section lengths are flexible.

Does the proposal need to include Microsoft technologies (APIs, specialty hardware, dataset, or SDKs), open data sets, or the productivity resources found in the Microsoft Researcher Tools Index and Microsoft Research Open Data Repository?

No, proposals are not required to or expected to include these resources. They are merely referenced as optional resources.

What is the maximum number of specialty devices that can be requested?

Applicants should request a limited number of specialty devices (low single digits) that are critical to answering the research questions in the proposal.

The Selection Process and Criteria identifies “Evidence of university support contributed in-kind to directly support and supplement the research efforts”. Is Microsoft looking for cost-share commitments, and if so, is the cost-share considered mandatory or voluntary per the terms of the award?

We would be looking for cost-share. This is not a mandatory requirement.

Will Microsoft consider indirect costs (since they are not allowed) evidence of university support?

We would be looking for contributions that directly support the research efforts here so indirect-costs that cover items such as facilities and infrastructure would not count toward university support/cost-share/in-kind contribution.

Is there a percentage or dollar amount that is expected or required as evidence of university support?

Since this is not a requirement, there is no expected amount.

Is the money considered a 'gift'? Are there conditions put on the funds?

The funds will be considered a gift that has no restrictions on how it is used.

Can the grant money can be used by the receiving institutions freely, e.g. to pay an expert postdoc affiliated to one of the participating universities, however, residing in a different country during the project?

There are no restrictions on how the funds are used. We do request that how the funds will be used is clearly illustrated in the required budget portion of the proposal.

Can funds be used to cover costs for Master’s students?

There are no restrictions on how the funds are used. We do request that how the funds will be used is clearly illustrated in the required budget portion of the proposal.

Are overhead and indirect costs allowable in the budget?

The proposal budget should reflect your university’s policies toward receiving unrestricted gifts and should emphasize allocation of funds toward completing the research proposed.

Is it possible to budget for some of the PI's time as part of the Microsoft Productivity Research Award?

As unrestricted gifts, it will be entirely up to the winners to decide how to spend the award to achieve the research goals in the proposal.

To further improve and facilitate our research it would be beneficial to use as many videos as possible. Would it be possible to access Microsoft's internal corpus of Skype conversations?

I’m afraid we will not be able to provide access to any data that is not already publicly available.

Can the data and the results of the project be used for future research by the authors, as it is common in the context of commercial research grants?

Yes, the results of this research are meant to be open and public for unrestricted use by future researchers and technologists.

We plan to have one mid-stage PhD student and three professors in the proposal. Is it advisable to have an additional professor, PhD student, or postdoc in our university MPR team?

You are encouraged to assemble a team that is most likely to achieve the greatest results within the time and budget parameters required.

How implementation-centered should the planned research be? Is it also valuable for Microsoft to i) receive insights on how people work together using their current technology leading to implications for the design of their future tools or should be ii) more focus on creating tool prototypes, per se?

Both of these scenarios are valuable. The results of this research will be open and public and so they are meant to drive future research and technology development. More insight on how people work together leading to implications for designs of future tools – though not designed just by Microsoft but others as well that are working in these topic areas would be of interest. However, if you feel you can develop breakthrough prototypes that also inform future research then that would also be interesting.