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UNI Seed Grant Competition

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Proposal Deadline: January 10, 2011


Information Sessions:

Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 2:00, Maucker Union - Presidential Room

Thursday, Dec. 2 at 11:00, Schindler Education Center - Room 244/245

Thursday, Dec. 2 at 3:30, Maucker Union - Presidential Room


- Printable Version of RFP -

- Seed Grant Cover Page -

- Seed Grant Budget Form -

 

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) is pleased to announce that the Executive Vice President and Provost has made seed funding available for research and related projects by UNI faculty and staff to be undertaken this spring and into the following summer and academic year (February 1, 2011 – May 31, 2012). The purpose of this funding is to support research and creative activities at UNI and to enhance the ability of faculty and staff to apply for external funding. All projects will be required to lead to external funding proposals within one year of the completion of the seed grant. 

Eligibility and Purpose

All faculty and staff at UNI may apply for funding. The funding must be used for pilot studies, small-scale research or demonstration projects, instrument testing, curriculum or training development, or other preliminary activities that are necessary to be successful in obtaining external funding for research, teaching, or service projects or programs.  Often, success in securing external grants and contracts involves demonstrating that the project director is capable of managing grant funding effectively, that the team has the expertise and experience to carry out the project, and that the topic is worthy of serious consideration – all factors that seed funding can help to address. Funders also frequently value and encourage interdisciplinary and inter-organizational efforts, which small-scale support can be used to establish. Thus, this program is being used to support activities that will enhance the ability of UNI faculty and staff to secure competitive external funding. 

Funding Categories

1.  Small Scale Seed Funding - In this category, grants will be awarded for any amount up to $5,000 each for faculty and staff involved in the development of innovative, early stage research/creative activity/outreach projects by providing the funding for the initial phase of the project. A seed project is usually short-term, with the purpose of completing pilot studies, collecting and analyzing initial data, validating new methodologies, or developing new partnerships. The purpose of these grants are primarily to help faculty build their CVs, obtain pilot data that is critical for external support and develop relationships with other scholars to enhance their projects and grant success.

2.  Large Scale Seed Funding - In this category, 2-4 awards are anticipated in the range of $5,000 - $15,000 each for faculty who intend to seek external funding for projects of significant magnitude. The intention for these is essentially the same as for the small-scale grants, but you must have identified an external funding opportunity you wish to pursue at the level of $200,000 or more. Interdisciplinary or Inter-institutional collaboration is encouraged, but not required.

3.  PreK-12 Education Innovation - In this category, one award is expected of up to $20,000. This special purpose category is intended to support the ability of UNI to become a national leader in education. Applications are therefore encouraged that are innovative, scalable and replicable, and designed to generate evidence-based results that will provide the foundation for a larger scale project and competitive grant proposal. This category has a special requirement that the project include collaboration with Price Lab (as the new R & D school) and as appropriate, other schools in the community or across the state or nation. 

Program Requirements and Preferences

Criteria for the reviewers will be based on the quality and completeness of the narrative sections, as well as the appropriateness of the budget and the extent to which the applicant complied with proposal formatting and content requirements. 

The requirements for applications in all three categories are as follows:

  1. Applications must be received by OSP no later than January 10, 2011. 
  2. They must follow the required formatting and page restrictions (see below).
  3. Budgets must be in the attached Excel form and request no more than the amount listed for the category in which the application is being submitted.
  4.  Any special requirements listed by category above must be followed (e.g., collaborate with PLS in Category 3).
  5. In addition to proposing projects that have a sound purpose and design, investigators must clearly delineate the targeted funding opportunity or opportunities, including the deadline for applying.   Applicants who are unfamiliar with external funding options are encouraged to visit the OSP website (http://www.uni.edu/osp/finding-funding) and to contact an OSP Grant Specialist (hillery.oberle@uni.edu or sarah.bridges@uni.edu). 

Preference will be given to proposals that include undergraduate and graduate students in the project activities. 

Each project or activity may only be proposed in one category, but individuals may participate in more than one proposal for separate, independent projects. 

Matching funds are not required, but faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to seek matching support from within their own departments and colleges. If such matching support is committed, it must be shown in the project budget. 

Project Period

All projects must propose start and end dates between February 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012. The length of the project period within those parameters is optional. Please note the funding for this competition was allocated for the current fiscal year. However, the funds may be carried over into the next academic year to allow faculty and staff adequate time to develop and carry out their projects. Any funds carried forward into FY12 will be considered part of the 1% carryover of University funds, and applicants should therefore confer with their department heads about any grant funding they plan to use during FY12.   

Review Process

A formal scoring and review process will be used. The review committee will consist of faculty and staff from across campus. Decisions will occur by the end of January, and notifications will be made to the project director, any co-investigators, department heads, and college deans.

Compliance Requirements

Awardees will be required to have met all applicable compliance requirements prior to initiating the project. For example, if human or animal subjects review is required for the project, that process must be completed before the project can move forward. Applicants planning a February start date are encouraged to take this into account.

Project Follow-Up

All awardees must submit a written report of 2-3 pages describing the outcomes of the project no later than 30 days after the end of the project or June 30, 2012, whichever comes first. A copy of the report must be submitted to each appropriate Department Head, College Dean, and the OSP office. Failure to submit the report on time may make the recipient ineligible for future internal seed funding.

All awardees will also be required to submit an external proposal for funding within one year of the completion of the internal grant project. All awardees will receive individual assistance from a Grant Specialist, as needed, in identifying funders and developing competitive applications. 

Questions

Please direct questions to Anita Gordon, Director of Research Services, at anita.gordon@uni.edu, or Hillery Oberle, OSP Grant Specialist, at hillery.oberle@uni.edu. Christina Clark (cmclark@uni.edu), OSP Assistant, will be receiving and processing grant submissions. All OSP staff can also be reached at 319-273-3217.  

Proposal Content and Submission

Please follow these directions exactly. 

A complete proposal will consist of: 

1) cover page (provided below) with abstract and appropriate signatures;
2) proposal narrative of up to 8 pages;
3) required budget form (provided below); and
4) any allowable appendices as listed below. 

- Seed Grant Cover Page -

- Seed Grant Budget Form -

 

Items 2, 3, and 4 must be emailed to Christina Clark, OSP Assistant at cmclark@uni.edu.  The cover page may be signed and sent as a hard copy or it may be scanned after signatures are obtained and submitted electronically with the other items. If by hard copy, the cover page should be directed to Christina Clark, OSP, 213 East Bartlett Hall, mail code 0394. Please do NOT send the proposals by hard copy.  All items must be received by Christina on or before January 10, 2011.

Proposal Components

I.  COVER PAGE – Use provided cover page. After obtaining signatures, deliver separately, or scan/email with the proposal.  Applicants are reminded to allow time for signature routing before the deadline (typically 2-3 days).

II.  NARRATIVE SECTION – MAXIMUM 8 pages (double spaced) – use 12 point font and normal margins.

A. Goals and Objectives/Specific Aims

  • Introduce your project or topic, and specify what you hope to accomplish and/or, if research, what your research questions are.

B. Need and Significance

  • Explain why this is an important activity or topic, grounding it in what you and others in your field have already established and what still remains to be done. How will this project contribute to your field and/or to the community, state, or nation?

C. Design and Methods

  • Be specific about your project or research design and/or exactly who will do what and when. Make certain your design aligns with your stated goals and objectives.
  • Explain how you will know if you have accomplished your objectives.

D. Outcomes and Implications

  • How will this seed project help you develop and/or otherwise become successful in grant-seeking?
  • Which funder(s) have you identified, what are their deadlines, and why are they the best options for you to target? 
  • For Category 3 applications only:  Explain how the proposed project is innovative, replicable, scalable, and designed to generate evidence-based results. 

E. Qualifications and Resources

  • Who will be working on this project in which capacities? 
  • What resources, qualifications, experience, and/or expertise do you and each of the other members of the team bring to the project? (Briefly, why are they on the team?) For students, simply explain how they will participate. Colleagues from other institutions or other consultants may also work on the project as necessary. 
  • Are there any other resources, cash or in-kind, being contributed to the project? If so, what are the sources of those? (Include any match funding in the budget.)
  • Explain how you will work with any external organizations, such as schools or community organizations, if any. (For Category 3 applications – at a minimum, you must discuss how you will work with PLS.) 

 F. References Cited

III.  BUDGET – All applicants must use the provided Excel budget form and line items. In the justification boxes, explain how you calculated anything that is not obvious (e.g., explain what “supplies” or “equipment” you are referring to and how you estimated the cost). If we cannot follow your budget and understand how you will spend the money, this will leave unanswered questions for the reviewers and lead to a lower score on your proposal. For budgeting information/questions, visit the OSP budget development webpage (http://www.uni.edu/osp/budget-development) or contact an OSP Grant Specialist. 

Budget Requirements

  1. The total requested may be no larger than the amount for the category under which you are applying.
  2. Budget expenditures should follow standard budget practice and must be consistent with university rates and policies. 
  3. Funding may not be used to supplant regular salaries, and special compensation will not be allowed.
  4. Summer appointment for faculty is allowed, but you must budget fringe benefit costs as well. 
  5. Funding may be used for a course buy-out, provided that the funding is budgeted and actually used for an adjunct, and is approved by your Department Head. The cost of the adjunct should be shown in the salary section; verify the correct adjunct and fringe benefit rates with your departmental administrative assistant.   
  6. Do not budget for indirect costs.

IV.  APPENDIX 1 – 2 page bio sketch for each key personnel (summary of educational and work background, key publications that are relevant to the proposal or project, etc.). Students are not considered key personnel. 

V.  APPENDIX 2 – Any sample research materials, prior results, or instruments you feel are important for the committee to see.  Do not use this appendix to extend the narrative, and only include if the item is really necessary for an adequate review.

Items NOT to Include in Your Proposal:

  • Support letters of any kind
  • Complete CVs
  • Job descriptions or other HR materials
  • Human or animal subjects review materials (although human or animal subjects review must be sought, if required)