Internal Funding Programs
Proposal Development Grant Program
Information and Application Guidelines
Eligibility: Faculty and professional staff
Applications available: immediately
Application Deadline: Friday, January 16, 2009, at 5:00 pm
Awards announced: March 9, 2009
Maximum award: $7,000
GENERAL INFORMATION
These grants support individual faculty and professional staff members or a team of faculty and professional staff members who will engage in the preparation and writing of a competitive proposal for submission to an external funding agency to support a research, training, or service project at UMass Boston. Proposal development grants are funded through a reallocation of UMass Boston research trust funds obtained from the recovery of facilities and administration costs of sponsored programs. Recipients of an award under this competition are required to submit through the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) a competitive grant proposal to an external funding agency by June 30, 2010. Efforts to develop and submit a proposal to secure extramural support for any form of research, training, or service project may be funded through this grant program. Requests for support of pilot research that does not lead to the writing and submission of a proposal to an extramural sponsor will not be considered for support under this program. Preference will be given to proposals for multiyear, multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, and multimillion-dollar projects. A committee of volunteer university faculty and professional staff members, drawn from various disciplines and program areas, will review all applications and make recommendations to the vice provost for research for the allocation of the proposal development grant funds. Allocations for grants are based on the significance of the project, the merits of the proposal development strategy, the likelihood the proposal will be selected for funding by an extramural sponsor, and the reasonableness of the budget request.
NATURE OF THE PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
A total of $56,000 has been allocated from the university’s research trust funds for these awards. Applicants may request up to $7,000 in grant funds. Eligible budget items include research assistants, technical and clerical support beyond that normally available through the applicant’s department, communications, buyouts, and travel. Stipends (taxable remuneration), supplies, and equipment will not be funded by the proposal development grant program.
HOW TO OBTAIN AN APPLICATION PACKAGE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Application packages for the proposal development grant program are available from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) located in Quinn Administration Building, 3rd floor. The OVPR provides organizational support for all internal grant program competitions.
WHO MAY SUBMIT A PROPOSAL
Any UMass Boston faculty member with the rank of instructor or above, and any UMass Boston professional staff member, is eligible to submit a proposal for consideration. Joint proposals from a research team of multiple individuals will be considered; however, the maximum award for such proposals will remain at $7,000. A single principal investigator (PI) must be identified for the proposal development project. An individual faculty or staff member (as PI) may receive:
- one grant in a given year from all internal grant competitions (e.g., Healey, public service, proposal development),
- up to four total grants from any combination of internal grant competitions in 6 years, and
- up to two grants in 6 years in a single competition (e.g., two proposal development grants in 6 years).
SUBMISSION DEADLINE
Application proposals must be received by the close of business (5:00 p.m.) on Friday, January 16, 2009. Submit all materials to Paul M. Mullane, Office of the Vice Provost for Research, Quinn Administration Building, 3rd floor. It is the responsibility of the individual submitting the proposal to ascertain that one complete copy of the proposal has been received for processing by the deadline.
WHAT TO SUBMIT
In order to expedite the review of proposals, applicants are required to submit proposals in the following format. Please note that only one copy of the complete proposal needs to be submitted.
- Cover sheet (form attached) with applicant and proposal information, a 50-word abstract, list of all internal grants previously awarded to the applicant, and signatures from the appropriate persons or groups.
- Budget (form attached) presenting a breakdown of project expenses by category.
- Budget narrative explaining each item requested on the budget form. Requests for stipends for the applicant will not be considered. Requests for faculty or staff buyouts must be supported by a clear justification of why the buyout is necessary. Refer to the "Faculty Buyout Guidelines" document that is available from the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Funds budgeted for buyout will not be awarded to the PI but will be transferred to the personnel budget pool in the provost’s office and used to hire replacement personnel. Requests for graduate assistants during the academic year must conform to the pay scale and other requirements of the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) bargaining agreement which can be found here. Requests for professional consultants to assist in the preparation and writing of the proposal (e.g., research design or statistical analysis consultation, proposal review and critique) will be considered, but budget requests to pay a grant writer will not be considered. Support for symposia, conferences, and the costs of postage, communication, and travel necessary to support a research investigation will not be considered. Include also a description of any other project costs that are being provided by the department, college, unit, or other source.
- Project narrative describing the project for which funding is being requested. The project narrative is the core of the proposal. Members of the review committee will make their recommendations based on their interpretation of your project as described in this section. It is to the applicant’s advantage to provide background information in enough detail to convey why the project is significant, what will be accomplished, the schedule of activities, and how the project fits into an ongoing research plan and advances UMass Boston's research agenda. The applicant must be as clear as possible, remembering that the readers will represent various disciplines and program areas and will not have expertise in the subject matter of the proposal. If the work of others is referenced, include a list of the sources cited. The project narrative must be limited to eight (8) double-spaced pages and must include the following:
- Résumé of the applicant (not to exceed 3 pages) focusing on research, scholarship, and publications that relate to the proposed project and a list of any external grants received. Include a résumé for each individual if a team is developing the project proposal.
- Other documents, such as letters of commitment from other organizations, departments, or units that may be collaborating on the proposed project.
a) significance of the proposed project that will the subject of a proposal to be developed and submitted to an extramural funding source;
b) brief review of relevant literature or prior art related to the proposed project;
c) strategy for the development and submission of a proposal for the proposed project to an extramural funding source, including goals, objectives, and a set of activities, with a timeline for accomplishment;
d) extramural sponsor to which the proposal will be submitted; and
e) qualifications of the applicant that ensure the success of the project if funded by the extramural sponsor (especially important if the attached résumé does not reflect previous work of this nature).
REVIEW OF PROPOSALS
A committee composed of volunteer faculty and professional staff in the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and professional fields will review all proposals. The committee will make recommendations to the vice provost for research who will make all final decisions. Grant awards will be announced by March 9, 2009.
Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Significance – The extent to which the proposal to be developed and submitted to an extramural funding source will make an original and important contribution to the field of inquiry it addresses.
- Project development strategy – The extent to which the goals and objectives are appropriate and the set of activities will yield a sound proposal for the proposed project.
- Likelihood of funding – The likelihood the proposal to be developed and submitted will be selected for funding by the extramural sponsor.
- Budget and cost-effectiveness – The extent to which the funding requested is adequate and appropriate to support the proposed objectives and activities.
GRANT MANAGEMENT
All university-supported proposal development grants are administered in accordance with established university fiscal procedures and policies relating to the conduct of sponsored programs. Accounts for all awards will be established by June 30, 2009, and project expenditures can begin on July 1, 2009. All funds must be expended by June 30, 2010. The following conditions are attached to the award and must be accepted by the recipient at the time of the grant award:
- A competitive proposal to an extramural funding agency must be submitted through the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs by June 30, 2010.
- A final project report must be filed with Office of the Vice Provost for Research by September 1, 2010, summarizing grant project activities, outcomes, and expenditures.
- All documents, papers, and publications associated with the activities supported by the grant award must acknowledge the assistance of the proposal development grant program of the University of Massachusetts Boston.
For additional information, please contact Paul M. Mullane at 617.287.7879 or by email at paul.mullane@umb.edu.