Northern Kentucky University

Center for Integrative Natural Science and Mathematics

Guidelines for 2004 CINSAM Grant Proposals

The primary purpose of CINSAM research grants is to provide support for research with students in CINSAM-related departments.  The policies below are intended to maximize the number and quality of student research experiences, especially those that are integrative in nature, with the intended outcomes being presentations by students and presentations, publications, and grant proposals by faculty.  Funds available this year should allow for funding of around 10 proposals at an average of $10,000 each.  There is not a dollar limit on any proposal, rather note the criteria below.

Faculty are required to submit proposals as described below by the deadline of October 24, 2003.

General policies:

·         Eligible faculty from sciences, mathematics, and/or science/math education may submit a proposal.

·         Grants will run during the calendar year 2004.  The grant activity can be carried out any time during the year.  Under compelling circumstances, a project may be extended to the end of the next academic year (May 2005) provided a case for such an extension is made in the proposal.

• Primary funding requests should be for faculty summer salary, student stipend, student travel to present results, and modest research supplies. 
• Expenses for faculty travel to conferences for presentation purposes should not be requested here.  They will be considered outside the proposal process after other sources of travel funds (department, faculty development, etc.) are exhausted.
• The following will serve as guidelines for personnel costs:
• Students – a maximum of $3200 each per year at $9/hr for work during the summer, the academic year, or some combination thereof.
• Faculty
• Normally a maximum of one month salary is granted to a faculty member for supervising two or more students with a half month salary for supervising one student. 
• Recognizing that interdisciplinary research requires extra effort on behalf of the faculty members involved, we will allow 25% more salary per faculty member on an integrative project that is being supported for the first time. 
• Finally, the salary will normally be taken in the summer, but with the support of the faculty member’s Department Chair, reassigned time can be obtained using the salary dollars to pay for part-time teaching replacement.
• FICA – 7.65% of any summer salary for either faculty or student.
• Normally, sabbatical salary support is not available through a CINSAM grant.

o        Normally a faculty member will not receive more than two months of summer salary for all projects supported by CINSAM including outreach and research.   University policy may also place limits on summer salary.  It is the proposer’s responsibility to ensure that all appropriate policies are followed.

• Requests for supplies and/or travel should normally be limited to $500 per faculty member, but in the case of many good proposals, this is an area that would be cut. 
• Requests for equipment and/or travel funds for fieldwork will be considered only if the proposal contains a significant cost-share by the department(s) of the faculty investigator(s) and/or other sources. A letter of support from the unit providing the cost-share must accompany this request.  Again, this is one of the first areas where cuts will be suggested given many good proposals.

·         A project that has received support from CINSAM for two years is generally ineligible for funding without evidence of a serious attempt to acquire external funding for the project.

·         Reports that are due for the investigator’s previous CINSAM projects must be on file before the proposal will be fully evaluated.

Criteria to be evaluated:

• Soundness of proposal – clarity, completeness, and evidence of need.
• Potential impact and outcomes especially relative to the CINSAM goals. 
• Describe desired outcomes – scientific results, impact on students, impact on the faculty member(s) and department(s), etc., including means for evaluating the outcomes.
• Describe the potential of the proposed work for future external funding?
• Efficiency – is there “bang for the buck?”
• Competency of proposer(s) in the area of the proposed work.
• Preference will be given for

o        Proposals from tenured and tenure track faculty.  This does not exclude instructors or adjunct faculty, but they will receive lesser preference.

o        Proposals from faculty who have not previously received CINSAM research grants, especially faculty who are new to the University.

o        Proposals involving integrative, cross-disciplinary topics that include active involvement of faculty and students from two or more departments.  Each faculty member’s contribution to the collaboration must be described.  This does not rule out research directed by a single faculty member but, in that instance, a strong case must be made for the integrative nature of the project as well as for the capability of the faculty member to direct all aspects of it.

Evaluation process:

·         Outside evaluators will review proposals based on the criteria and policies listed above. 

·         The department chairs and the CINSAM director will allocate the grants based on reviews.

·         In some cases, the requested budget may be cut and the proposer will be given the opportunity to modify the scope of work and budget accordingly.

Post-award procedures:

·      An account will be set up and administered by the CINSAM office.

·      The awardee(s) will not be penalized for receipt of other grants, whether internal or external.  

·      Requests for budget revision will be considered within the scope of the guidelines above.

·      Unexpended funds will not be carried beyond Dec 31, 2004 unless explicitly requested in the proposal and authorized as part of the award.

Submission of proposals:

·      The proposal should be submitted electronically via email attachment as a Word (*.doc), Rich Text Format (*.rtf), or PDF document to schmidtph@nku.edu with 2004 Grant Proposal in the Subject line.  Contact Phil if you cannot submit in any of these formats.  We will distribute these for review as electronic documents.

·      The proposal should include:

• A cover page (a copy is included).
• The project description (no more than six double-spaced pages) including:
• A description of the need for the work.
• A description of all project related activities.
• Preference characteristics referred to above (optional).
• Expected outcomes from the project and means for evaluating them.
• Plan for dissemination of results.
• Record of previous funding for related projects.
• Indication of sources of potential future funding for continuation of this project.
• Feasibility of the project – background and expertise of the proposer(s).
• A detailed budget showing estimated expenditures for personnel, stipends, supplies, and travel.  Prospective cost-share arrangements must be addressed with supporting documentation from the interested parties. 
• A brief curriculum vitae including documentation of faculty and/or student publications and presentations that have resulted from previous CINSAM grants.
• Proposals must be submitted by Friday, October 24.  You will be notified by the end of Fall semester regarding the disposition of your proposal.

If you have any questions regarding the proposals, please contact   Phil Schmidt, CINSAM Director -- NS 447 -- X6571 --schmidtph@nku.edu