What happens when a researcher wins a grant? Where does the money actually go?
It’s a fair question. Headlines declaring that a researcher has been awarded a large sum of money – whether it’s $200,000 or $2 million — can make it seem like they are individually profiting by this amount. But in reality, when a UConn researcher wins a grant, most of the money doesn’t go to them. It doesn’t even go to UConn.
Instead, it ripples outward, enriching communities across the state.
To help people visualize this, a team of UConn software engineers created a tool called “Grant Trails.” Recently updated with FY24 data from the UConn and UConn Health research offices, Grant Trails traces the flow of grant dollars through communities across Connecticut.
“It started out as a fun project for our undergrads to work on,” says Dan Schwartz, Vice Provost for Academic Operations, who had the idea to launch Grant Trails in 2017. “What it illustrates, now, is increasingly important and useful in our current time.”
Schwartz says he hopes Grant Trails can continue to be a resource for people, both in the UConn community and beyond, to see the direct impact of research grant funding.
“I felt like there was some misconception with regard to how we spend our money – like that the money coming in just kind of enriches the university, when really, we’re practically like a pass-through,” he says. “Grant dollars come into the university, but then they get funneled outward – to people, to businesses, to carry out a whole host of needs.”
Grant dollars pay the salaries of not just the principal investigator (PI) on the project, but every researcher working with them, including graduate students and postdocs. Grant dollars pay to keep the lights on in labs (and, more importantly, to keep the fume hoods running).
On Connecticut’s coast, grant dollars pay for scientists to monitor marine mammal health. In Farmington, they pay for cutting-edge medical imaging equipment like UConn Health’s cryogenic electron microscope. Grant dollars pay for social workers to provide mental health support in schools. And grant dollars pay for UConn Humanities Center researchers to collaborate with faculty on the other side of the globe for conversations about the meaning of AI in our lives.
Between paying salaries for individuals, utility bills for facilities, and contracts with businesses across the state, grant money doesn’t just stay around Storrs (or Farmington, Stamford, Avery Point, or Hartford).
From Concept to Code
In addition to his Vice Provost role, Schwartz is also an associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology and was formerly the Director of the Center for Open Research Resources and Equipment (COR²E). As a scientist, his interests lie in developing new computational techniques to support research (“my lab is kind of split between software development and experimental biology,” he says), so his involvement with COR²E and Grant Trails was only natural.
In 2016-17, Schwartz launched and led Squared Labs, a student software development group that worked to create digital tools to assist UConn faculty. After a few rounds of internal transformation, Squared Labs and its projects ultimately found their home in the newly formed Internal Innovation & Insights group (i3), headed by Director Joel Salisbury. Salisbury, along with senior application developer Brian Kelleher, now helms the ongoing maintenance of Grant Trails.
“Over the years, we’ve helped refine the data set and ensure its accuracy,” says Kelleher. Together, he and Salisbury have troubleshot solutions to common problems, like the inherent difficulty of ascertaining where all the work on a specific grant is taking place.
i3 continues to develop custom websites, software, and apps for researchers at UConn and elsewhere.
“The entire point of i3 is to innovate for the University – to build tools for the University,” says Schwartz.
“Grant Trails is an excellent example of that mission,” adds Salisbury.
Grant Trails was and is powered in large part by student work. Schwartz especially commends the work of Jack Medrek (‘25 ENG), Quincy Miller (‘24 ENG), Natalie Lacroix (‘22 SFA), and Brandon Cheng (‘19 ENG), all of whom contributed their expertise to making Grant Trails functional, informative, and visually appealing.
“I’m extraordinarily appreciative of all the hard work and talent that went into this initiative,” says Schwartz. “We have amazing people here at UConn – that’s what this is really a reflection of.”
