Internal Funding Programs
Public Service 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: $5,000
GENERAL INFORMATION
Funded in part by the Office of the President of the University of Massachusetts, these grants support projects that enhance the university’s public service mission, making the specialized knowledge and expertise of its faculty and professional staff available to government, business, civic groups, schools, and the community at large. Public service grants must support well-defined, time-limited outreach and service projects that address an immediate problem and that are replicable by others. Proposals for research or scholarly activities with a public service application are not eligible for funding under this grant program. 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 public service grant funds. Allocations for grants are based on the significance of the project, the success potential of the proposed activities, and the reasonableness of the project budget request.
NATURE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE PROGRAM
A total of $20,000 is available for this competition. Applicants may request up to $5,000 in grant funds. Funds may be used to pay project expenses including: research assistants, technical and clerical support beyond that normally available through the applicant’s department, travel, communications, and supplies. Only in unusual circumstances will the purchase of equipment be funded by this grant program. Stipends (taxable remuneration) and buyouts will not be funded by the public service grant program.
HOW TO OBTAIN AN APPLICATION PACKAGE AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Application packages for the Public service grant program are available from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR), located in the 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 multiple individuals will be considered; however, the maximum award for such proposals will remain at $5,000. A single principal investigator (PI) must be identified for the public service project being proposed. 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 year, and
- up to two grants in 6 years in a single competition (e.g., two public service 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. If equipment is requested, provide exact specifications and cost, and explain why existing departmental or university equipment cannot be borrowed or used. Requests for stipends and course buyout for the applicant will not be considered. 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 are available here. 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, the target audience, what will be accomplished, the schedule of activities, and how the project will contribute to UMass Boston's public service mission. 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. Public service grants must support well-defined, time-limited outreach and service projects that address an immediate problem and that are replicable by others. Proposals for research or scholarly activities with a public service application are not eligible for funding under this grant program. 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 previous experience that relates to the proposed public service project and a list of any external grants received. Include a résumé for each individual if a research team is submitting the project proposal.
- Other documents, including letters of support or cooperation from the participating community groups or organizations that will be involved with or will benefit from the project documenting the need for the project and demonstrating that individual or organizational contacts exist to support the project. Include letters of commitment from other UMass Boston departments or units that will be involved with the project.
a) significance of the proposed project:
b) primary target audience of the proposed project;
c) project goals and objectives with a timeline for accomplishment;
d) set of activities that will be used to carry out the proposed project;
e) anticipated outcomes of the proposed project;
f) plan for follow-up and evaluation to determine that the project will build community capacity in
the area addressed; and
g)qualifications of the applicant that ensure the success of the project if funded (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 proposed project will make an important contribution to the public service mission of the university.
- Success potential – the extent to which the project narrative is presented clearly and cogently and the likelihood the project goals and objectives can be met given the proposed activities and available resources.
- Budget and cost-effectiveness – The extent to which the funding requested is adequate and appropriate to project objectives and activities.
GRANT MANAGEMENT
All university-supported public service 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 final project report must be filed with the OVPR by September 1, 2010, summarizing grant activities, outcomes, and expenditures.
- One copy of any submitted, published, or conference papers that result from the project activities must be submitted to ORSP when they become available.
- All publications resulting from the project must acknowledge the assistance of the public service 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.