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DATE: August 2009 Revised 9/20/09
TO: All FSU Faculty
RE: Arts & Humanities Program Enhancement Grants
(AHPEGs) Request for Proposals (RFP) 2009 – 2010
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Deadlines and Materials Required for Proposal Submission October 22, 2009, 11:59pm
January 14, 2010, 4:30 pm: to CRC Office, Attn: Jan Townsend - 109 Westcott
January 14, 2010, 11:59 pm, via required electronic submission process (see instructions later in this RFP)
At a minimum, the software you will need is: Internet access, MS Word, MS Excel, and Adobe Acrobat (read, write/edit and save capabilities will require that you have more than the 'free' Acrobat reader). Please be mindful that program coordinators and proposal reviewers will not be able to read all types or versions of software, so please limit your uploaded documents to MS Word (.doc), MS Excel (.xls), and Acrobat (.pdf). WordPerfect (.wp) or Lotus (.wk) formats are also acceptable, but not preferred. Do not use .mdi or any photo program to save or submit your documents. |
First DEADLINE - October 22, 2009, 11:59 pm
- Letter of Intent FORM & List of Potential Reviewers FORM Deadline: Thursday, October 22, 2009 11:59 pm via email only to jtownsend@fsu.edu This is the CRC deadline and it is FIRM, no exceptions; your department or college/school may have imposed an earlier deadline; check with them.
Second DEADLINE January 14, 2010, for: 1) Transmittal Form - due in Westcott by 4:30 pm, and 2) all remaining proposal documents uploaded to CRC proposal submission site by 11:59 pm
- The separate HAND-DELIVERY deadline for the HARD-COPY original Proposal Transmittal Form (PTF), with all required signatures in ink, is 4:30 pm, Thursday, January 14, in 109 Westcott.
- Deadline to submit full Proposal electronically: Thursday, January 14, 2010, 11:59 pm This is the CRC deadline and it is FIRM, no exceptions; your department or college/school may have imposed an earlier deadline; check with them.
- External review period: mid-January thru mid-February 2010
- Internal FSU review period: mid-February thru early March 2010
- Award notification, directly to the PI, via email w/attachments, is planned on/about April 1, 2010.
- Award Period aka Performance Dates: Variable, based on submitted PTF information
- Read all instructions now. Print out a copy of this RFP.
Overview:
The Council on Research and Creativity (CRC) is soliciting proposals from FSU faculty under the Arts & Humanities Program Enhancement Grant (AHPEG) program. In many instances, research collaboration among arts, humanities, social sciences or faculty from other disciplines could be expected to strengthen the arts and humanities (AHPEG) research proposal.
AHPEGs are uniquely designed to facilitate and enhance the productivity of FSU researchers and artists through supporting the creation, production and dissemination of arts and humanities research and creative activity. AHPEG grants are designed to encourage projects that:
- can be brought to completion only with additional internal support;
- could lead to additional external funding*;
- develop significant connections across traditional academic disciplines on and off the campus; and
- will increase the national and international recognition and stature of FSU.
*where practical and implicit as part of the proposal, submission of at least one external proposal within one year of the acceptance of this award is an expectation of the award.
These CRC grant funds can be used only to support research and creative activity.
To enhance the creativity of FSU researchers and artists and to encourage external funding initiatives or the completion of creative activity projects, we invite AHPEG proposals to share up to $100,000 in funding for one year. Any additional year funding will require resubmission of a new proposal in the next competition round in a subsequent year.
The Overall Goals of the AHPEG Program are:
- to advance the national and international recognition and stature of Florida State University in the areas of research and creative achievement in the arts and humanities;
- where practical and implicit as part of the proposal, submission of at least one external proposal, through FSU's Sponsored Research Services, within one year; and
- to encourage the development of research creativity of both students and faculty at FSU.
Eligibility, Determination of and Limitation of
Participation is open to all FSU faculty in the arts and humanities who are eligible to apply for external support. Exceptions to the eligibility policy should be submitted by email to the Vice President for Research with supporting rationale provided by the department chair, dean or equivalent official prior to the proposal deadline. It is the applicant's responsibility to plan, direct and execute the proposed project. Each application must indicate a single Principal Investigator (PI) as the primary contact person. To be eligible for funding, the deadlines shown herein must be satisfied.
Hiatus
PIs who have been awarded previous AHPEG funding may submit a new proposal only after a two-year hiatus following completion of the final year of the previous award's term.
NOTE: Only one proposal per PI may be submitted to the AHPEG program per competition round.
Important Notations regarding this AHPEG program to be considered as you prepare your proposal:
- It is the intention of this grant to fund research not already supported by other means. Therefore, faculty who already have a well-recognized, well-funded research program are discouraged from submitting a proposal to this program.
- SRAD funds are invested to support this program with the expectation that successful external proposals will be generated through FSU's Sponsored Research Services within one year after any award from this program to provide more SRAD funding to the University.
- Proposal elements must be written in clear, concise language so that reviewers will be able to understand the scholarly merit of your plan; appropriateness of the research approach and methodology; potential contribution to knowledge or scholarship; and likelihood the expected outcomes will be met.
- Reviewers (internal or external) will be following CRC review guidelines and standards for scoring the proposal. The CRC makes final funding decisions based on the number and merit scores of proposals received and funding allocated to the program. Guidelines and standards will be those specifics laid out in these notes and in the proposal text according to the Proposal Contents instructions found below.
- Each reviewer is expected to provide 'blind,' electronic feedback, not just a numeric score, which will be shared with the PI and department chair and dean. It is expected that reviewer identification will never be known by the PI.
General Information:
When preparing a proposal to this program, you must adhere to all instructions. Failure to follow instructions may disqualify your proposal.
Here is a brief overview of First Steps relative to the Letter of Intent and Reviewers:
- Submission of an AHPEG Letter of Intent (LOI) Form (to file a proposal) which will include a brief abstract statement
- No pre-proposal is needed.
- No Proposal Transmittal Form (PTF) is needed at the LOI stage.
- Names and complete contact information for five expert, unbiased, recruited potential reviewers from outside FSU, but within the United States, is required on the List of 5 Potential Reviewers Form.
- Electronic links to websites of forms are reflected below, in red; you need only complete one version of any form shown below.
LETTER OF INTENT and LIST OF REVIEWERS INSTRUCTIONS:
We recognize that considerable effort is required to prepare a competitive proposal for consideration under this program. Therefore, we will solicit a Letter of Intent (LOI) Form and a list of 5 potential reviewers from outside FSU, but inside the United States, whom the applicant has determined (through communication with the potential reviewers) are willing and available to engage as potential reviewers. The LOIs will be used to determine the research fields from which AHPEG proposals are anticipated. The list of 5 unbiased, recruited colleagues from outside FSU, but within the United States, to serve as potential reviewers will help us as we plan the review process.
Two documents must be emailed to CRC Program Coordinator Jan Townsend at jtownsend@fsu.edu by the deadline of October 22, 2009, 11:59 pm. They are:
1) Letter of Intent (LOI) FORM PDF OR Word Doc and
2) List of 5 Potential Reviewers FORM PDF OR Word Doc
Letter of Intent: You must stay within the one page LOI form as designed. You must use the type font already identified within the form, no smaller than the 11 point type therein, and the text must be single spaced. The word count in the LOI text area will not exceed 250 words.
List of Reviewers: Inclusion of the List of 5 Potential Reviewers Form will allow the Program Coordinator to randomly select up to three of the five reviewers representative of the pertinent disciplines.
Do not suggest current or past collaborators, co-authors, or others who may represent a conflict of interest with your planned research, or anyone located outside the United States.
The form for the list of potential reviewers may increase in number of pages as needed to accommodate the required detailed contact information.
Potential reviewers will have indicated to the PI that they are willing and available to review and evaluate the proposal, if selected (see Important Dates and Messages at the top of this RFP).
These two forms are to be submitted via email only to the Program Coordinator Jan Townsend jtownsend@fsu.edu. If, after submitting a Letter of Intent Form, your intentions change and you decide not to compete in this program, send an email to that effect to the Program Coordinator.
REVIEW CRITERIA
Example Proposals: Examples of selected successful proposals are available. Email the Program Coordinator jtownsend@fsu.edu for information.
Initially the proposals will be evaluated by electronic reviews completed by the external FSU reviewers. Once the external reviews (comments and scores) are received, a sub-committee designated by the CRC will recommend a priority order of projects to be funded, considering both the external reviews and FSU's current research interests and direction.
Proposals will be evaluated by all reviewers on the basis of:
- the scholarly and, where appropriate, the artistic merits of the proposed activity;
- the effect the proposal will have on advancing knowledge and understanding in the field represented by the proposed work;
- where appropriate, the potential and cultural significance of new and original works of art;
- where appropriate, the cultural enrichment impact of the project and performance capabilities of the PI;
- the vision, productivity, qualifications and capabilities of the project leader (and the rest of the team if appropriate);
- the overall integration, coherence, and credibility of the efforts among disciplines and researchers who would carry out the proposed plan; and
- the relationship of the work to existing or planned institutional research and creative programs and capacities. It is recognized that external reviewers will not necessarily have this particular knowledge, but this bulleted item will be considered by the internal FSU committee.
Reviewers will also consider the following factors:
- the proposal's quality and the PI's qualifications and capabilities (and those of the rest of the team, if appropriate);
- plans for long-term artistic, scientific and/or financial sustainability of the proposal based on increased external funding;
- appropriateness of the budget, duration, staffing of the project, purchases and capacity to utilize funds';
- appropriateness of instrumentation purchases, if any, for the work proposed;
- utilization of graduate assistants whenever possible or appropriate; and
- availability of any other existing support to leverage external funds in the future.
FULL PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS:
It is expected that any Letter of Intent automatically will be followed by a full proposal unless otherwise indicated by the PI; there will be no formal invitation to submit a full proposal once we receive your LOI. The deadline to electronically submit full proposals is January 14, 2010 at 11:59 pm.
- These documents are not submitted via email but rather through the CRC online Proposal Submission process. See instructions following the Important Notations section. Please note that, at a minimum, there are 5 required forms plus one narrative proposal with possible appendices. (If special subjects forms are needed, those are additional.)
- You must stay within all forms as designed.
- You may not modify any of the formats.
- You must use the existing type font, no smaller than 11 point.
- The proposal text is to be written in a document you create (based on the style recommended in the boxed section at the top of this RFP) with margins no smaller than 1" top, bottom and sides, and the text must be single spaced and single-sided.
- Each page of the proposal text document also must reflect your name in the top margin (header).
PROPOSAL CONTENTS
NOTE: Some forms have been modified. Do not use forms you may have stored from previous years. Old forms will not be accepted.
A complete AHPEG proposal electronic upload (upload instructions follow later in this RFP) will consist of:
- AHPEG Proposal Transmittal Form (DSR FORM 1). Word Doc OR PDF Open the document; note that there are instructions for completing the form. Fill it in electronically; save it to your computer. Print out the saved copy. Sign it as the PI. Take the printout to your department chair and dean for signature; note that they may want to read the proposal and see the budget or other documents before signing. Once you have all signatures, including those of any co-PIs and related department chairs and deans, scan the document and upload it. If you don't have a scanner, upload an unsigned document. Whether you scan the signed Proposal Transmittal Form DSR 1 or whether you upload an unsigned form, you must still turn in an ink-signed hard-copy original document to Program Coordinator Jan Townsend in 109 Westcott by 4:30pm on January 14, the date the grant must be uploaded completely.
- Abstract PDF OR Word Doc FORM Do not make the abstract any longer than the one page form provided. Use the 11 pt font established in the form. Word limit is 250.
- Proposal Text (not a form). PDF OR Word Doc The proposal text (usually 5 pages or less; excessive length can be a reason for a reviewer to discount a proposal's merit) will contain sections based on the following. Sections are to be numbered to agree with the following format. Do not put each section on a separate document page!
- Summary of the research or creative activity proposed and any plans to pursue additional external funding support; specific attention must be paid to responding to the points listed in the Important Notations section above and various instructions in this section as well.
- Description, only somewhat technical, of your proposed project, including scientific or creative objectives, data or materials to be used, methods of analysis or performance of the project, basis for evaluation of results or conclusions, and the importance, significance or contribution of your project to the field;
- Statement indicating the amount of progress anticipated during the grant period and the intended schedule for completion of the plan (including start and completion dates), publication, performance, etc. If appropriate, briefly describe the program mode before the grant period and subsequent work that will be necessary, if any;
- A proposed schedule of activities, with a detailed budget explanation, is required. The information should mirror the items you will be placing in the actual budget form.
- Statement indicating how your proposal will decisively or significantly enhance your research as outlined;
- List any professional obligations the PI has during the award period;
- It is expected that this supported research or creative activity may lead to proposals to external agencies for the further support of your proposal research or performance area, if appropriate; summarize information on anticipated outside funding sources to support any follow-up activity, including, when possible, specific programs, amount of money available in those programs, and other pertinent detail; how this award will enhance the prospects of external funding; and plans for submitting proposals to agencies or foundations;
- What federal/state or other grant applications have you made in the last five years, including FSU CRC or Cornerstone grants? Briefly list them, indicating agency, date applied, status and if funded, what was the award amount? This request would appear to duplicate information required in the Support Document (Current & Pending) form below, and so it does; this duplication is intentional.
- Keywords for electronic searches should mirror any keywords you typed into your Proposal Transmittal Form;
- Statement indicating your permission to use this proposal as an example of an awarded format in the event it is funded.
Additional pertinent documents are to be attached to the Proposal Text:
- Research Compliance FORMS as needed: Documents such as Animal Use Form, any Human Subject approval documents, any Hazardous Materials approvals, DNA, RNA approvals, must be uploaded behind the Proposal Document. These additional FORMS will NOT count as Proposal Text pages. Research activities requiring compliance review and approvals (human or animal subjects, DNA, RNA, hazardous materials or marine lab facilities for example) will require the completion and submission of appropriate forms to the appropriate FSU department or group, seeking and receiving approval for such research, BEFORE such research is attempted and BEFORE any funds can be released to the PI, if awarded. See human subjects website, site for animal research information, site for Environmental Health & Safety or SRS forms page for other compliance requirements which may apply to your research or performance plan.
- References, if any, will be placed in the Proposal Text section or, if too detailed, they can be shown as part of the appendix section. Note: include any appendix materials at the end of your Proposal Text. Then upload that document.
- Remember, while you may add any appendices or approval forms to the Proposal Text document for uploading purposes, the proposal text per se remains limited to 5 pages of text; i.e. you might have an upload in the proposal text section of 10 pages (5 proposal text pages and 5 appendices pages, or a total of 10).
- Support Document (aka Current & Pending) PDF OR Word Doc FORM
- Use this form for listing titles of current or pending funds for research projects indicating by what external agency funded/expect to be funded and at what monetary level, for the last five years.
- Concurrent submission to other agencies will not prejudice proposal review.
- You also will summarize prior CRC or Cornerstone awards, if any, for the last five years indicating the outcome of each, including successes or failures in attaining additional internal or external funding.
- Proposal Budget
PDF OR
Excel Doc FORM
- Use this form to outline your budget plan.
- Previous AHPEG proposals have ranged from $3,000 to $80,000 for a period of one year. This year up to $100,000 in available funding is proposed. Additional year funding will require resubmission of the proposal in the next competitive round in a subsequent year. Support might include, but would not be limited to:
- faculty and/or student travel associated with the project;
- personnel costs of assistants, including any fringe benefits, tax considerations, and terminal leave expense;
- traveling exhibitions;
- faculty release time, if any;
- acquisition of research materials and equipment (including books);
- rental of space for the project;
- printing subventions and dissemination costs (including those of touring arts projects). Publication per se is not a requirement.
- As indicated above, the usual award size for AHPEG proposals are in the range of $3,000 to $80,000. Proposals seeking awards larger than $15,000 will be required to demonstrate the following additional factors in the proposal text:
- Cost sharing
- Future possibilities for leverage
- Collaboration with other disciplines
- Innovative uses of proposed technology supported by multi-disciplinary collaborations
- Dissemination of artistic products and performance activities that will increase the national recognition of FSU
- The CRC does NOT support tuition or matriculation fees in its awards. Make certain to select the correct Waiver in Section 43 of the Proposal Transmittal Form (DSR Form 1). Waiver 1 will be the default if no tuition or matriculation fees are being supported using means other than the CRC.
- Account close out will automatically occur within 60 days following the award period end date. See also Payback Circumstances later in this RFP.
- Applicants are advised that requests solely for summer salary or sabbatical support through the AHPEG program will not be considered. However, summer salary or sabbatical support as part of a larger budget plan will be considered. Applicants requiring support solely for summer salary should not seek AHPEG funding, but rather consider applying to the CRC COFRS program which provides some summer salary support. See the COFRS website.
- Curriculum Vita
PDF OR Word
Doc FORM
- Use this form and complete the top of the form. Then in the body of the form, list the following:
- All academic or professional appointments beginning with the current one
- Up to 5 publications most closely related to the proposed project
- Up to 5 other significant publications whether or not related to the proposed project (all must include names of authors in proper order, article and journal title, book title, volume number, page numbers, publication year) and
- Up to 5 synergistic activities or examples that demonstrate the broad impact of the PI’s professional and scholarly activities on related research.
Special Notes:
- No-Cost Time Extension. To request a no-cost time extension, no later than 30 days prior to the current award period end date, send a detailed email to the Program Coordinator at jtownsend@fsu.edu justifying why you need this extension and suggesting a new award period end date. The CRC will consider your request and advise you by return email. It is possible that the CRC may need to discuss this request with your department chair or dean before rendering a decision.
- For additional advice on preparation of this proposal, PIs may want to consult colleagues who have been successful in other CRC funding competitions.
How to Electronically Submit an AHPEG Proposal:
(The link to the online proposal submission site is shown below in the fifth paragraph below)
You Must Use:
- the CRC Online System. The CRC has its own process and is NOT part of OMNI workflow.
- DO NOT SUBMIT A PROPOSAL INTO OMNI FOR THIS PROGRAM. If you mistakenly submit a proposal into OMNI for this program, you must email jtownsend@fsu.edu with the Proposal ID Number so that she can locate the proposal and take the necessary actions.
The CRC programs utilize a special on-line proposal submission process which provides
- an electronic method for submitting your proposal to the Program Coordinator;
- an electronic method for the Program Coordinator to assign those proposals to reviewers; and
- an electronic method by which those reviewers can submit their evaluation scores and comments regarding the proposal back to the Program Coordinator.
This office, acting as in the role of an agency (similar to NSF, NEH or NIH) will require that you submit your proposal through the CRC On-Line Proposal Submission process. You do not need special training to use the CRC On-Line system. It is only through this process that your proposal will be accessible to reviewers so that evaluations can be recorded and funding recommendations made, and perhaps awarded.
To begin the process, you will need to completely understand the instructions in this announcement and then prepare and save the various proposal elements to your computer. See Proposal Contents section above for specific forms required for submissions.
Once you have done this, then go to https://submissions.research.fsu.edu/ and follow the simple instructions.
- If you have completed a profile for the CRC Online process in the past, do not make a new profile. Go right to #3. If you have never submitted a proposal through our system, first make a profile so our database will know who you are.
- If you don't recall having created a profile, contact the Program Coordinator.
- Start the Submit a New Proposal process by answering all the questions and uploading all the required elements.
- You will have an opportunity to submit/store/save your proposal and update/edit it up until the posted deadline for the program.
- You will receive an email confirmation of your proposal submission, even in its initial form, providing you with a login name and passcode so that you can revisit your proposal in the CRC system until you are satisfied that it is final, or the deadline is reached, whichever comes first!
You should note that proposals finalized after the deadline will not be processed and incomplete proposals will not be accepted, so please revisit your proposal to make certain it is complete before the deadline.
CRC Required Reports
Within 30 days after of the close of the award period, the awarded PI will be asked to electronically report the results of this funding, plans for the next phase of research and the submissions of external proposals resulting from this award. This report is required. The PI will be sent an email reminder with directions to the website for filing the report and the required login information. This award will be followed via this report process for two years beyond the initial award year.
Payback Circumstances
- PIs who later find that they have funding from another source for similar or same support are requested to decline acceptance of this award so that funds can be redirected to provide support for other applicants who would otherwise go unfunded.
- Deans and department chairs note:
- In the event the PI resigns from FSU prior to Fall 2010, the awardee's dean or department chair has the responsibility of notifying the CRC Program Coordinator. Any expense support received by the PI from this program prior to an effective resignation date from FSU must be repaid to the CRC by the PI, the dean or the department chair.
- Sixty (60) days after the award period ends, if it is determined by the Program Coordinator that an award has a positive balance, the CRC will reclaim the unused portion of this SRAD project. Conversely, if sixty (60) days after the award period ends, the award appears overexpended, has a negative balance, the Program Coordinator will contact the designated departmental representative via email to review the records and then make arrangements for the proper transfer of the negative balance to another of the department's SRAD projects.
- If there is no response from the department after the email notification, the Office of the Vice President for Research will deduct any negative balance from the departmental SRAD account. If there are insufficient funds in the departmental SRAD account, the department's E&G or future SRAD distribution will be tapped for the negative balance. Department chair and dean will be notified via email.
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Questions?
Jan Townsend is your conduit for CRC proposal submission. Here is her contact info:
Program Coordinator, CRC
Office of the Vice President for Research
Florida State University
109 Westcott Building, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1330
