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~ Faculty Research Grant Program Guidelines ~

 

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Applications must be received in the Office of Sponsored Projects (Sherman Hall 320) by 12:00 pm (noon) on April 8, 2008 (Tuesday). Submit the originally signed application plus 10 copies.

URC support is intended to promote research or its scholarly equivalent in appropriate fields by providing "seed" money for the initiation of new projects. The URC should not be viewed as a funding source for research projects that are one time only, in process, or in their final stages. Priority will be given to those proposals which are likely to result in external funding and publication in peer-refereed journals, or exhibitions and performances. Some emphasis will be given to assisting new faculty in beginning their research activities. All applications will be reviewed by the URC but those that adhere to these guidelines will be evaluated first by the committee.

  1. Applicant Eligibility
    Applicants . . .
    1. must be tenured or tenure-track faculty;
    2. may not be a member of the URC at the time of application;
    3. may not be an applicant or co-applicant on more than one proposal per funding cycle. Submission of two or more proposals per funding cycle will result in a disqualification of all of them; and
    4. new funding will be contingent upon receipt of final report from all previous URC grants.
    5. applicants cannot receive a URC award concurrent with a Foundation Summer Stipend award.

  2. Project Eligibility
    1. General Guidelines.
      1. The project may not be dissertation research or used in any way to fulfill degree requirements.
      2. Projects cannot be for textbook writing, curriculum development, or personal development.
      3. A signed original plus ten (10) complete copies of the typed proposal must be delivered to the Office of Sponsored Projects by the specified time/date. The 11 copies are necessary so that each member of the URC may have a copy for individual review and evaluation.
      4. Proposals are to be received by the stated time and date.
      5. Applicants may not submit a URC and Foundation Summer Stipend proposal for the same project.

    2. Specific Proposal Format Guidelines.
      Each proposal is to be developed according to the following format. See Appendix I for a detailed explanation of these items. You may use the forms shown in Appendices II and III or type them in the respective format.
      1. Cover Page signed by the Applicant(s), Department Chair(s), and Dean(s)
      2. Support Letter signed by Department Chairperson(s)
      3. Budget and Budget Justification Page
      4. Project Description
      5. Other Supporting Documentation

  3. Evaluation of the Proposals
    It is the intention of the URC to support projects of a research nature or projects which otherwise demonstrate originality and creative scholarship and would be recognized as such by peers.

    The proposals will be evaluated and awards determined by the members of the WIU University Research Council who represent the academic colleges. Most members will not be technically knowledgeable in all proposed research areas, so it is incumbent upon the applicant to present the project in such a way that it may best be evaluated by this group.

    Applicants are encouraged to contact the URC member representing their college or discipline for advice or review prior to submitting the application to the Office of Sponsored Projects. (A list of current URC members is available from the Office of Sponsored Projects.)

  4. Award Administration
    Awards will begin immediately upon notice by the Office of Sponsored Projects on behalf of the URC and will continue for one year. There will be no time extensions. Any funds remaining at the award termination date will be forfeited. Note that the awards will run across the summer. The successful applicant need not be concerned about the beginning and ending of the University's fiscal year.

    Each individual award is established for the awardee in a "3-" account in the Business Office by the approved line-item award. The awardee is the fiscal agent of the account and is responsible for expending the grant in accordance with the URC-approved budget. Any restrictions or special conditions on the award will be a part of the letter notifying the applicant of his/her award.

  5. Reporting Requirements
    A comprehensive final report must be submitted to the Office of Sponsored Projects within two months of the award termination date. A publication reprint will suffice for the report if one is available at the time the report is due. Notice of any publication resulting in whole or in part from the award should acknowledge the URC support and should be sent to the Office of Sponsored Projects. (If possible, a reprint should be included).

  6. Special Considerations
    1. Human Subjects in Research
      In addition to those human beings upon whom experiments are to be conducted, this category includes those subjects from whom a research investigator obtains data through intervention or interaction with the individual or obtains identifiable private information.

      "Intervention" includes both physical procedures by which data are gathered and/or manipulation of the subject or the subject's environment for research purposes.

      "Private information" includes information about behavior that occurs in a context in which an individual can reasonably expect that no observation or recording is taking place.

      It also includes information which has been provided for specific purposes by an individual which the individual can reasonably expect will not be made public.

      Contact the Office of Sponsored Projects for procedural information for projects involving human subjects.

    2. Animal Welfare/Radiation Safety/Recombinant DNA Research
      All research involving either animals, radioactive isotopes or other biohazardous materials, and/or recombinant DNA must be conducted within formal procedures providing adequate safeguards against any infringement upon either the welfare of animal subjects or the safety of the University community.

      If any of the foregoing special considerations apply to the proposed research project, contact the Office of Sponsored Projects (298-1191) for procedural information.

Appendix I -- Explanation of the Proposal Details

Since the URC must read and evaluate a large number of proposals in each competitive cycle, it is essential that the proposal be assembled with the following information and in the order listed: Use the attached forms for items (1) and (3) or have them typed in the respective formats.

  1. Cover Page (See Appendix II)
    Before submission, the cover page must be completed and signed by the applicant(s), department chairperson, and college dean. For co-applicants in different departments or colleges, signatures of all appropriate department
    chairpersons and deans must be obtained.

  2. Support Letter signed by Department Chairperson(s)

  3. Budget and Budget Justification Page (See Appendix III)
    Applicants should ask for sufficient funds to obtain enough data for publication or to form the basis of a proposal to a potential sponsor. The URC will accept requests of up to $5,000. It is the applicant's responsibility to make sure the requested funds are placed in appropriate WIU budget line items.

    Because of limited funds available to the URC and in order to increase the degree of interest of the departments and colleges in the results of the research and any proposals to outside sponsors, the URC strongly urges the departments and colleges to participate by contributing the combined amount of 25% of the total project costs (In fact, preference will be given to proposals with departmental and college support). All purchases and payments are to be made in accordance with University policies and through appropriate University channels. College and department contributions towards equipment purchases are especially welcome.

    1. Personal Services
      1. No funds will be awarded for faculty salaries.

      2. In the graduate assistant and student help categories, explain exactly what each assistant/student will do and why it is not being done by the investigator. When requesting student help, refer to rules regarding hours, pay rates, etc., in the latest edition of Student Employment Regulations. This document is available on request from the Financial Aids Office.

        While it is anticipated that graduate students will receive research experience while assisting on a URC grant and that some aspects of the research may be valuable in such graduate students' theses, it is not the intention of the URC to fund graduate student research (i.e., the faculty member merely "lends" his/her name to the proposal)
        .
      3. Payments to research subjects are allowable but must be fully justified and shown to be logistically
        possible. It is not possible for the University to prepare checks for small amounts to a large number of
        individuals.

    2. Travel
      Funds for travel must be required to conduct the project. Travel to meetings is not allowable. If properly justified, travel for consultants to campus may be allowed; but, no honoraria will be paid. Travel outside
      of the United States must be for the purpose of conducting the research and must be fully justified.

      Support for travel will be limited to an amount not to exceed that required for coach (tourist) class fare or allowable mileage, plus lodging (single occupancy rate), and per diem.

    3. Equipment
      Title to any equipment purchased remains with the University. However, during the term of the project, control of the equipment remains with the award recipient. At the termination of the URC grant, the equipment may be used for other departmental research or teaching purposes in the same manner as other departmentally purchased equipment.

      It must be clear that the equipment is necessary to the project and is not available on campus.

    4. Budget Restrictions
      The maximum amount that can be requested from the URC is $5,000. The following cost items are not allowable:
      • Faculty salaries
      • Consultant honoraria
      • Travel to meetings
      • Books and periodicals

  4. Project Description
    Use the headings on page 6 in the development of your project description. The description should describe precisely the experiments or actions to be taken to achieve the stated objectives. Appropriate references (citations) should be included in this section. Although essential technical or scientific terms may be used, the description should be free of jargon and buzz-words and should be clearly written for a multidisciplinary group of reviewers.

    The project description and the statement of significance of the work are the most important factors in judging the merit of the proposed project.
    1. Abstract of the project (250 words or less).
    2. Introduction/background.
    3. Stated objectives.
    4. Clear explanation of exactly what you are going to do, measurements to be made, treatment of data, etc. (Where appropriate, hypotheses to be tested should be stated.)
    5. Statement of significance (likely impact on the field) or a comparison of the artistic merit with other works in the same creative field.
    6. Procedures to be used to evaluate the effectiveness or success of the project.
    7. Cite your previous work and/or publications most directly relevant to this project (or the equivalent for creative arts).
    8. What are your publications and/or dissemination plans upon completion of the project?
    9. Has application been made for support from non-University sources? If so, to whom and what was the response? If not, justify why you have not attempted to secure external funding and what contacts you have made with the Office of Sponsored Projects Staff for assistance.
    10. To what external sponsors will you apply to support the next phase of this research project?
    11. References

  5. Other Supporting Documentation
    1. Survey instrument(s) to be used.
    2. List manuscripts accepted and/or publication citations from previous URC grants in refereed journals or the equivalent for creative arts.
    3. Curriculum Vitae

Appendix II

University Research Council Grant Program Proposal Application Form (PDF)

Appendix III

Budget (PDF)