DATE: August 2009
TO: All FSU Faculty
RE: Committee on Faculty Research Support (COFRS) Regular Summer Awards Request for Proposals (RFP) 2009 - 2010

Important Dates:

Overview:

The Council on Research and Creativity (CRC) administers several grant programs to support the development of research and creative endeavors by FSU faculty members. These programs, made possible by FSU research-generated funding, aka sponsored research and development (SRAD), have been established to promote faculty scholarship generally, but are also intended to assist and encourage faculty members in seeking additional or continued funding for their endeavors from external sources.

These CRC grant funds can be used only to support research and creative activity.

Herein, the CRC announces the availability of grants to faculty for summer salary support capped at $14,000 in support of research and creative activity during Summer 2010. This is the regular COFRS program and is distinct from the special program for First Year Asst Profs (FYAPs).

Eligibility, Determination of and Limitation of:

• Participation is open to all FSU faculty 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. Generally, PIs will not be awarded more than one CRC grant during a fiscal (aka academic) year.

Hiatus:

• For COFRS, there will be a 3-year hiatus period, following completion of the previous COFRS award's term.
• Faculty who have received a COFRS award in the fiscal year (FY), aka academic year (AY), 2006-2007 or 2007-2008 or 2008-2009 will not be eligible for consideration in this round of COFRS competition.
• Only one proposal from a PI may be submitted to this program per competition round.

Important Notations regarding this COFRS program to be considered as you prepare your proposal:

• Teaching while utilizing a 2009-2010 COFRS award will be permitted; however, the PI must make clear, in the proposal text, how teaching will not hinder his/her program of research or creative activity.
• There will be less emphasis in the proposal review on the eventual acquisition of external funding. However, this does not totally remove the need for external funding consideration. 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 the award from this program to provide more SRAD funding to the university.
• Proposal elements must be written in clear, concise language so that reviewers from any discipline immediately will be able to understand the scholarly merit of your plan; appropriateness of the research approach and methodology; potential contribution to knowledge or scholarship; likelihood the expected outcomes will be met.
• Priority will be given to meritorious proposals from those PIs without current support, but who provide evidence of plans to seek additional external funding through FSU's Sponsored Research Services following this project.
• If the project is being brought to completion during or shortly after the award period, the PI should explain, in the proposal text, how its completion positions him/her for obtaining external funding for a subsequent project or new phase of research. In both cases, the PI must specify likely funding sources and the amount of support those sources may provide.
• A review process has been established for COFRS whereby the PI must recruit two FSU faculty reviewers willing to serve as part of the university-wide review group to review your proposal and approximately 5-6 other COFRS proposals. It is expected that the reviewers will be anticipating this task, have agreed to assume this task and do not plan to submit their own COFRS proposal during this competition round. A section of your proposal text will be dedicated to this topic; see Proposal Contents, Proposal Text.
• COFRS reviewers are FSU faculty members, not CRC members, and 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 later in this RFP.
• Each reviewer will provide 'blind,' electronic feedback, not just a numeric score, which will be shared with the PI and department chair and dean. Reviewer identification will never be known by the PI, except the reviewer he/she recruits.

Proposal Preparation Instructions:

Example Proposals: Examples of selected successful proposals are available. Email the Program Coordinator at jtownsend@fsu.edu for examples.

When preparing a proposal to this program, please adhere to all instructions as these make it possible to properly and expeditiously manage the process. Failure to follow instructions may render your proposal unacceptable.

Proposal Contents

NOTE: Some forms may have been modified. Do not use forms you stored from previous years. Old forms will not be accepted.

A complete COFRS proposal electronic upload (upload instructions follow later in this RFP) will consist of:

• COFRS DSR Form 1 Proposal Transmittal Form. 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 document before signing. Once you have all signatures, including those of any co-PIs (co-PIs are rare in a COFRS proposal) and related department chairs and deans, scan the document and upload it. If you don't have a scanner, upload the unsigned document.  However, you must also bring the original signed document with ink signatures to the Program Coordinator for additional processing at least before 4:30 p.m. the day of the electronic deadline (see last page of this RFP for the delivery location).
• Abstract   PDF OR  Word DocDo not make the abstract any longer than the one page form provided. Use the 11 pt font established on the form. Word limit is 250.
• Proposal Text.   PDF  OR Word Doc (See Important Notations section above) The proposal text (usually 10 pages or less; excessive length can be a reason for a reviewer to discount a proposal's merit) will contain separately titled 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!
  1. Summary of the research or creative activity proposed and 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.
  2. 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;
  3. Description of the status of existing knowledge concerning your proposed project;
  4. 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.
  5. Statement indicating the amount of progress anticipated during the grant period and the intended schedule for completion of the project (including start and completion dates), publication, performance, etc. If appropriate, briefly describe program mode before the grant period and subsequent work that will be necessary, if any;
  6. List any professional obligations the PI has for the award period;
  7. It is expected that this supported research or creative activity will lead to proposals to external agencies through FSU's Sponsored Research Services for the further support of your proposal research or performance area.
     1. Summarize information on anticipated outside funding sources to support 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 through FSU's Sponsored Research Services to agencies or foundations;
     2. Provide a statement of impact or intended outcomes;
  8. List two or three source references or bibliographic citations that the interested reviewer might investigate for further information about the planned research or activity;
  9. What federal/state or other grant applications have you made in the last five years, including 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.
  10. Keywords for electronic searches should mirror any keywords you typed into your Proposal Transmittal Form;
  11. Statement indicating name, department, phone number and email address of two recruited* FSU faculty reviewers to read and evaluate your proposal (see Important Notations); and
  12. Statement indicating your permission to use this proposal as an example of an awarded format in the event it is funded.
  13. 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 text. This will NOT count as Proposal Text pages.
  14. References, if any, will be placed in this section or, if too detailed, they can be shown as part of an appendix section. Note: include any appendix materials at the end of your Proposal Document text. Then upload that document.
  15. Remember, while you may add any appendices or approval forms to the Proposal Document text for uploading purposes, the proposal text per se remains limited to no more than 10 pages; i.e. you might have an upload in the Proposal Document text of 15 pages (10 proposal text pages and 5 appendices pages, or a total of 15).
  *"Recruited" means that you have communicated with a faculty member about serving as a COFRS reviewer, reading your and possibly 5-6 other COFRS proposals, AND they have agreed to do so, AND they are not also seeking COFRS funding this year.
• Support Document (aka Current & Pending)  PDF  OR Word Doc
  1. Use this form for listing titles of current or pending proposals for research projects indicating by what agency funded or expect to be funded and at what monetary level, for the last five years.
  2. Concurrent submission to other agencies will not prejudice proposal review.
  3. 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 Use this form to outline your budget plan
  1. Typically, COFRS proposal funding is applied as support toward one PI's salary for 6.5 pay periods during Summer 2009-2010, specifically May 10 through August 6, at an award maximum of $14,000.
  2. PIs may request that the salary support be waived and the award applied to Other Expense items such as travel or supplies, and it is possible for the PI to instead request salary support for a student, or a combination of salary and travel, for example.
  3. Regardless, whenever salary is supported, fringe benefits expense, tax consideration and terminal leave expense** must be subtracted from the $14,000 award.
  4. Purchases for equipment, computers or computer devices or similar purchases are not encouraged, but can be considered, subject to full PI justification and approval of the CRC.
  5. We encourage you to request and justify the full available award amount; there is no advantage to you by submitting a 'lower bid' so to speak.
  6. The CRC will support a stipend for a student hired on this grant; stipend only.
  7. 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 (DSR) Form. Waiver 1 will be the default if no tuition or matriculation fees are being supported using means other than the CRC.
  8. Account close out will automatically occur within 60 days following the award period end date. See also Payback Circumstances later in this RFP.
  ** Fringe benefits rates are available at http://www.research.fsu.edu/contractsgrants/documents/factssheet.pdf. Income tax deductions can also occur with any salary component. Insurance can also be a component of fringe benefits. All must be deducted from the $14,000 COFRS award, meaning a portion will be salary and a portion will be fringe or taxes or insurance, etc., with the total award being $14,000 nothing greater.
• Curriculum vita PDF OR  Word Doc
  1. Use this form indicating the PIs name, academic history, history of employment, publications, grants and awards (including any FSU awards), and other data pertinent only to the research or activity proposed in this submission.

Research Compliance Notes:

• 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
• Also see Proposal Text, item #13.

Other Special Notes:

• No-Cost Time Extension. While it is rare for COFRS awards to require an extension, it is possible providing your award is for a category other than salary or fringe benefits. 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 wish to consult colleagues who have been successful in other CRC funding competitions.

How to Electronically Submit a COFRS Proposal (the link to the online proposal submission site is shown below in red:

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 online 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 whereby those reviewers can submit their evaluation score 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 OnLine Proposal Submission process. You do not need special training to use the CRC OnLine 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 read the instructions in this announcement and then prepare and save the various proposal elements in your computer. See Proposal Contents section above for specific forms required for submission.

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 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 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's 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 or 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 required 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.

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
Direct line: 850.644.8636 or jtownsend@fsu.edu