A. Grant Program Overview

The Equipment + Infrastructure Enhancement Grant (EIEG) program provides funding for new interdisciplinary equipment or infrastructure enhancements (such as upgrades to existing equipment, data set purchases, and data or tracking systems) that cannot be obtained through other internal or external funding channels.

The goal of this program is twofold - to provide the needed equipment for FSU's campus community, and to increase the number of multidisciplinary FSU alliances for research and creative activity.

B. Award Information

Award Amount: Averages $40,000 per award. Proposals with higher or lower amounts are acceptable, but proposals with significantly higher proposed award amounts must especially justify their research necessity.

Award Distribution:  Funds will be disbursed on a cost-reimbursable basis throughout the award period in accordance with university policies.

Requirements:

• Proposal Submission: Applicants are to submit a well-written, competitive proposal that clearly indicates a need for the equipment, a plan for its use and maintenance, and its potential to increase research and creative capacity.  A committee of selected faculty members will review the proposals and provide feedback. Proposals will either be (a) approved for funding or (b) denied for funding.
• Progress Reports: Awardees must respond to post-award progress reports, emailed at 6, 12-, and 18-month intervals.

Restrictions:

• EIEG grants do not support salary of any kind.
• This program does not support project-related expenses including installation, operation, repairs, maintenance, or replacement of this equipment or tool.
• Computers and/or computing equipment are not allowed on CRC grants.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: 

• The EIEG award only provides funding for equipment that supports multidisciplinary FSU alliances involving research and creative activity.
• Equipment purchased with EIEG funds must be housed in an FSU campus facility.
• Departmental or other SRAD sources of cost sharing are strongly encouraged; Letters of Commitment by the contributing parties should be included in the application. Formal Cost Share Commitment forms are not required.

C. Eligibility

• Participation is open to all full-time, active-status FSU faculty who are eligible to apply for CRC funding. Please refer to the Job Code Eligibility list for specific information.
• 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. Full-time, active status must be achieved by the award date in order to receive funding.
• FAMU-appointed Engineering faculty members are eligible to apply for funding from the CRC.
• Students and post-docs are not eligible to be a PI or Co-PI on CRC grants.
• No more than 5 Co-PIs may be included on each proposal (LIMIT: 1 PI + 5 Co-PIs = 6 "named" personnel per proposal).

D. Important Dates for the 2023 - 2024 Round

• Fall 2023 Round
  • Proposal Deadline: Thursday, October 5, 2023, @ 4:59 pm
  • Award Notification: Mid December
  • Award Period: February 1, 2024 - January 31, 2025
• Spring 2024 Round
  • Proposal Deadline: Thursday, February 29, 2024, @ 4:59 pm
  • Award Notification: Mid May
  • Award Period: June 1, 2024 - May 31, 2025

E. Proposal Preparation Instructions

• Only one proposal per PI may be submitted to this program per competition round; however, an investigator may be listed as a Co-PI on an additional proposal. Individuals not submitting as a PI may serve as Co-PI on up to two proposals per round.
• Proposal submissions must include at least two investigators (PI and Co-PI) and involve multiple departments or centers.
• The proposal must be written in clear, concise language so that reviewers from any discipline will be able to understand; field-specific jargon and acronyms are discouraged unless they are plainly defined within the proposal text. TIP: Have a colleague or friend that is unfamiliar with your work read your proposal for clarity. The Research Development Coordinator for your area may also be able to assist with this.
• Proposals with incomplete information in required fields will not be able to submit until all required fields are completed; any required fields left incomplete will result in the proposal being disqualified from competition.

-- PROPOSAL APPLICATION --

Applicants must complete the application for the EIEG program using the online submission portal. All sections must be completed to submit your application. If you would like to make changes to your application after you have submitted it, contact the Internal Funding Program Manager for CRC submissions. Changes cannot be made to an application once the submission deadline has passed.

-- CURRICULUM VITAE --

The Curriculum Vitae Template provided by the CRC is the preferred format for internal funding competitions. If you choose to not use this specific form, your CV must contain the following information: Education from baccalaureate-level forward including Institution, Degree, Field of Study, and Completion Date; Previous Positions; Publications related to the proposal; and Research Support including completed and ongoing grants related to the proposal. You may also include other data pertinent to the research or activity proposed. Regardless of which form you use, the CV must be no longer than 2 pages at no less than 11 point font, with 1" margins, in Arial or Times New Roman font.

To view CV examples, please click on the subject area that is closest to your field of research: Arts, Engineering, Humanities, and STEM.

IMPORTANT:  A CV must be included for the PI and all Co-PIs indicated in the Proposal Text and application portal. 

-- BUDGET --

This section must be completed by utilizing the portal application. For the EIEG program, please enter the proposed amount of funding in the Equipment Section of the budget form. Salary, travel, and all other non-equipment-related purchases are not allowed in this program. Please note that computer and/or computing equipment purchases are not allowable on any CRC grant.

Cost sharing is strongly encouraged for this program. Including a cost share form is not necessary, but Letters of Commitment should be included in the application.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  CRC grants are awarded in part based on the appropriateness and feasibility of the proposed budgets. Approved budgets must be followed as proposed/awarded unless a budget amendment request is approved in advance by a representative of the CRC.

-- PROPOSAL TEXT --

The Proposal Text cannot exceed 8 pages (not including References and Appendices). Pages must be formatted with 1" margins, utilizing 11pt Times New Roman or Arial font. Only a PDF version of your proposal will be accepted. Review and complete the required sections within the Proposal Text Template; explanations for each section are provided within the template and may be deleted prior to document submission.

-- PAST, CURRENT, & PENDING GRANTS --

This section is completed within the online program application. Applicants must list all CRC grants awarded to the PI and any Co-PIs within the past 5 years (AHPEG, COFRS/SRS, EIEG, FYAP, PG [sunsetted], MDS [sunsetted], SGP, or Honorary awards), as well as any pending internal grant proposals. If the PI and/or Co-PI(s) received previous CRC funding, they must explain in the comments section of the award the outcomes of that funding, including any pending research and creative results, and any external awards, fellowships, publications, etc. obtained as a result. Use of previous CRC funding is one factor in the evaluation of this proposal. Failure to include applicable CRC awards will result in proposal disqualification.

PIs are also encouraged to list any past, current, or future grants, fellowships, exhibits, etc. that may be relative to the application.

F. Proposal Examples

• Examples of successful proposals are available on Research Development's Successful Proposal Database. Your FSU username and password will be required.
• Please note that some examples shown may include items that are no longer allowable under CRC Policies. Please contact the Internal Funding Program Manager for clarification or questions related to these proposals.

G. Research Compliance

Typically, research compliance approvals are not necessary for EIEG proposals since the funding is strictly for the purchase of equipment.

However, any future proposals utilizing the equipment are subject to compliance requirements as determined by the individual proposal scope. Research activities requiring compliance review and approvals (Human or Animal Subjects, DNA, RNA, Hazardous Materials, or Marine Lab facilities) require the completion and submission of forms to the appropriate FSU department or group. 

H. Proposal Submission Process

• Applicants must complete the application for the EIEG program using the online submission portal. All sections must be completed to submit your application. If you would like to make changes to your application after you have submitted it, contact the Internal Funding Program Manager.
• Once the proposal is submitted, the selected Director(s)/Chair(s) and Dean(s) will be contacted automatically via email for approval of the submission. Please provide sufficient time for electronic approvals prior to the proposal deadline. It is advisable to check on the availability of those who are required to approve your application if you are intending to submit close to the deadline. Directors, Chairs, and Deans have 24 hours after the proposal deadline to electronically approve applications. Submissions that lack the necessary approvals within the provided time will be disqualified and will not be reviewed.
• If you need assistance with completing any of these forms and want a staff member from your department to assist you, you can grant access to them by adding a “proposal contact” to your application.  Any staff who will be assisting with the administration of this award, if granted, should also be added as a proposal contact.

I. Proposal Review Process

• The EIEG Review Committee consists of selected faculty members, including current CRC members, representative of the broad range of research interests across campus. The committee reviews and scores the EIEG proposals and makes recommendations for funding to the CRC.
• Reviewers will use the EIEG Reviewer Guidelines for scoring the proposal. 
• As part of this evaluation, reviewers will take note of the external proposals submitted by the PI and any Co-PI(s) as a result of previously awarded CRC funds.
• Each reviewer will provide written feedback, not just a numeric score, which will be shared with the PI. Reviewer identification will not be released to the applicants.
• The CRC makes final funding decisions based on the funding allocated to the program, the number of proposals received, and merit scores of each proposal.

J. Award Terms & Conditions

Faculty and their departments must adhere to the Terms and Conditions outlined and accepted in the award application. The Standard CRC Terms + Conditions of Award document can also be found in the program documents.

K. Grant Close-Out and Reporting

• Sponsored Research will begin financial closeout of the award will automatically within 60 days following the award period end date.
• Time extensions are permitted but require the prior approval of the CRC. Additional information can be found in the Standard CRC Terms + Conditions of Award document.
• The PI of the project will be required to respond to short project outcomes surveys via email at 6-, 12-, and 18-month intervals after the award end date. Surveys will allow faculty to identify the proposals, publications, exhibits, presentations, and/or other external funding outcomes resulting directly from CRC-funded awards.

L. Return of Funds

• Recipients of an EIEG award, or their department, must notify the Internal Funding Program Manager as soon as possible if they also have been awarded similar funding from another source.
• In the event that the project PI leaves the University, involuntarily or voluntarily, prior to the end of the award period, the awardee’s Dean or Department Chair has the responsibility of notifying the CRC Program Manager and either returning the award amount to the CRC or requesting that the project be transferred to a Co-PI currently on the project.  
• The balance of any remaining award funds will be returned to the CRC general fund at the conclusion of the award period.