DATE: August 2008
TO: All FSU Faculty
RE: Small Grant Proposals (SGP) 2008-2009 Request for Proposals (RFP)

Important Dates and Messages:
Fall Round (for Spring 2009 funding)

• Deadline to Apply Electronically: Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 11:59 p.m. This is the CRC’s deadline and it is FIRM, no exceptions; your department or college/school may have imposed an earlier deadline; check with them
• A separate deadline for the original Proposal Transmittal Form, with all required signatures in ink, is 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, October 15, in 109 Westcott.
• Award notification, directly to the PI, via email w/attachments, is planned on/about December 4, 2008.Award Period aka Performance Dates: January 1 – June 30, 2009.

• Deadline to Apply Electronically: Thursday, February 5, 2009, 11:59 p.m. This is the CRC’s deadline and it is FIRM, no exceptions; your department or college/school may have imposed an earlier deadline; check with them.
• A separate deadline for the original Proposal Transmittal Form, with all required signatures in ink, is 4:30 p.m., Thursday, February 5, in 109 Westcott.
• Award notification, directly to the PI, via email w/attachments, is planned on/about March 19, 2009
• Award Period aka Performance Dates: July 1 – December 31, 2009.
• Read all instructions now. Print out a copy of this RFP.

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; this program is not designed to accommodate a co-PI or graduate student. 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 awards for the two-round program capped at $3,000 as a source of modest funding for small grant activity for FSU faculty. Examples of likely funding might be travel to a research or performance site, preparation for research project or artistic performances, to assist faculty with small monetary support for the completion of a project, or other like activity which department budgets are not equipped to handle.

Eligibility:

• The CRC will accept proposals from full-time FSU faculty members, or others, listed as eligible to submit proposals (see http://www.research.fsu.edu/contractsgrants/documents/InvestigatorEligibility.pdf).
• Visiting professors, whose only reason for being labeled ‘visiting’ is the expectation that they shortly will attain permanent residency status, are eligible to apply for this award.
• Generally, PIs will not be awarded more than one CRC grant during a fiscal (aka academic) year.
• Only one application from a PI may be submitted to this program per competition round.
• Co-PIs are not allowed; graduate or undergraduate students are not supported with these funds.

Hiatus:

• There will be a 2-year hiatus period. Faculty who received a SGP (previously known as OTA) award in the fiscal year (FY), aka academic year (AY), 2006-2007 or 2007-2008 will not be eligible for consideration in this round of competition.
• In order to reapply after the 2-year hiatus, the PI must clearly state that the earlier SGP (or OTA) funds were used in the full spirit and intent of the program.

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

• 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.
• This program is not intended to augment existing grants or programs or to provide faculty with salary support, but rather is designed to allow for the completion of projects for which other funding sources are not available.
• The SGP program is not intended to reimburse activity that has already occurred, but rather is to fund future objectives; unique circumstances may be considered.
• There must be no anticipated continuing commitment of funds for this award, but rather a single, distinct activity such as the completion of a project.
• Reviewers 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.

Proposal Preparation Instructions:

Example Proposals: Examples of selected successful proposals are available. Email this program’s coordinator for the instructions to this secure site.

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 Text document set-up:

• single-spaced typed pages
• single-sided typed pages
• 11 pt. font with margins no smaller than 1" top, bottom and sides

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 SGP proposal electronic upload (upload instructions follow later in this RFP) will consist of:

• SGP DSR Form 1 Proposal Transmittal Form
  You must carefully select the Fall or Spring DSR form based on deadlines applicable to your plan. Open the document. 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, scan the document and upload it. If you don’t have a scanner, upload the document without signatures.  Note:  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 Doc Do not make the abstract any longer than the one page form provided.
• Proposal Text. (See Important Notations section above)
  The proposal text (usually 4 pages or less; excessive length can be a reason for a reviewer to discount a proposal's merit) will contain separately titled sections on the following. Sections should 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 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 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. 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;
  4. List any professional obligations the PI has for the award period;
  5. A proposed schedule of activities, with a budget explanation, is needed.
  6. 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.
     1. Summarize information on potential outside funding sources to support any follow-up activity, how this award will enhance the prospects of external funding and plans for submitting proposals to these agencies or foundations;
  7. 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.
  8. Keywords for electronic searches; and
  9. Statement indicating your permission to use this proposal as an example of an awarded format in the event it is funded.
  10. Documents such as Animal Use Form, any Human Subjects approval documents, any Hazardous Materials approvals, DNA, RNA approvals, must be uploaded behind the Proposal Document. This will NOT count as Proposal Text pages.
• Support Document (aka Current & Pending)  PDF  OR Word Doc
  1. Use this form for listing titles of current or pending funds for research projects indicating by what agency funded and at what monetary level for the last five years (include any CRC or Cornerstone funding)
  2. You must summarize prior CRC or Cornerstone awards, if any, for the last five years indicating the outcome of each, including success/failure in attaining additional internal or external funding.
• Proposal Budget   PDF OR  Excel Doc
  1. Use this form to outline your budget plan
     1. Faculty salary is not allowed under this program.
     2. Equipment purchases are not allowed under this program.
     3. 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.
  2. The CRC does NOT support tuition or matriculation fees in its awards.
  3. Account close out will automatically occur within 60 days following the award period end date. See also Payback Circumstances later in this RFP.
• Curriculum vita PDF  OR Word Doc
  1. Use this form indicating the PIs name, 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 for example) will require the completion and submission of appropriate forms seeking approval for such research BEFORE such research is attempted and BEFORE any award funds are released to the PI. 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 new note above, item #9, under Proposal Text.

Other 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 Jan Townsend at jtownsend@fsu.edu indicating (1) why you need this extension and (2) 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 should consult colleagues who have been successful in CRC funding competitions.

How to Electronically Submit a SGP Proposal:

You Must Use:

• the CRC/CS 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 action.

The CRC and Cornerstone programs utilize a special on-line proposal submission process which provides

• an electronic method for submitting your proposal to the program administrator (Jan Townsend),
• an electronic method for the administrator 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 administrator.

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/CS On-Line Proposal Submission process. You do not need special training to use the CRC/CS 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 read the instructions in this announcement. Prepare and save the various proposal elements in 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.

1. If you have completed a PROFILE for the CRC/CS 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.
2. Start the Submit a New Proposal process by answering all the questions and uploading all the required elements.
3. You will have an opportunity to submit/store/save your proposal and update/edit it until the posted deadline for the program.
4. 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/CS system until you are satisfied that it is final, or the deadline is reached, whichever comes first!

You should note that proposals received 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 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 2009, 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, has a negative balance of more than $100, 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, Program Coordinator – CRC and Cornerstone -- Office of the Vice President for Research, Florida State University, 109 Westcott Building, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1330 Direct line: 850.644.8636 jtownsend@fsu.edu.