University Research Council

COMPETITIVE RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM

Purpose
Competitive Research Grants provide up to $3,500 to defray expenses associated with research projects or creative endeavors likely to result in some form of scholarly publication or artistic presentation, lead to external funding, or directly foster further inquiry. The program exists to encourage faculty and staff members to engage in scholarly and creative activities that enhance their professional growth in their fields. Compensation for full-time faculty and staff or their replacements is an ineligible category. DePaul supports this program, and the others of the University Research Council (URC), in the belief that the vitality of the faculty is essential to its success in serving students and the community. Funding for travel to present a paper or only to attend a conference or meeting is not available from the URC.

Funding the preparation and formatting of a completed manuscript according to a publisher's requirements is an eligible project. The application should explain the scholarly value of the book and include some evidence of a publisher's intent to produce the book.  The applicant should describe the press and the publisher’s review process.  Only scholarly reviews by experts in the relevant field will be considered.  These reviews should be included whenever relevant.  Eligible costs include: color illustrations, photography, special typesetting for math, science and foreign languages, geographical maps, indexing, permissions, and manuscript pages that exceed the publishers set book length.  In all instances, the applicant should work with the publisher to specify and document the costs of the requested items.  The Council will not support work that is primarily commercial. Faculty may request support from the URC for copy editing costs involved in preparing a manuscript for publication after it has been accepted by a publisher. Ineligible costs include editorial assistance intended to prepare a manuscript for submission to a publisher or to substantially re-write (as opposed to copy edit) an accepted manuscript.

Deadlines
Program deadlines are October 15 and March 15. Applications must be received by 5 p.m. on the due date.  If a due date falls on a weekend, the due date will be the following Monday at 9 a.m.  Late applications cannot be accepted. Funding is for 18 months after the Council approves the grant. 

Eligibility
All full-time faculty and full-time administrative staff members of DePaul University are eligible to submit proposals. Recipients of previous Competitive Grants, Stipends, or Paid Leaves are required to have no final report overdue.  Grant recipients who have overspent their grants will not be eligible until the overage is resolved. In awarding grants, the Council takes into account three priorities: demands on faculty tenure and promotion, applicant’s record of completing projects, and how project sustains university strategic goals. Participatory action research and community action research should be submitted to the Public Service Council, not the URC. 

Faculty and staff cannot receive Research Grants for the same project after two consecutive years unless they submit evidence of consultation with the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research for external funds and take action if programs are found.  Projects that request continued funding of a project must have a clearly marked section after the initial statement of the project indicating the outcomes that have been achieved as a result of the previous funding.  The second proposal must incorporate those outcomes into the proposed project.  Resubmission of the original proposal for a second funding will not be accepted. The Council expects projects to be completed in a timely manner and will not fund projects beyond three years.   

Applicants should refer to General Guidelines - Expenses for a complete list of eligible and ineligible expenses. If the proposal is funded, applicants should also review "Award Conditions and Procedures" in the General Guidelines.

Review process
Applications are reviewed without reference to any applicant's identity. It is the applicant's responsibility to remove identifying information from any accompanying material. Applicants may contact any member of the University Research Council, the Chair, or the Director of Faculty Development for assistance prior to submitting a proposal, who will make it a matter of record that they have assisted in the preparation of a proposal before the Council, without prejudice to the application. Applications are made directly to the Council. It is not necessary to have the approval of chairs, deans, or directors. It is wise, however, to consult with them about one's overall plans for professional development.

Competitiveness
In reviewing applications, the Council has sought to be supportive of applicants' efforts to advance their scholarly or creative work. Although the success rate of applications for Competitive Research Grants is greater than that in most national programs, the University's program is nonetheless intentionally competitive, both to insure the best use of available funds and to encourage development of proposal-writing skills. As the number of applications increases, the competitiveness of the awards will increase as well. Applicants should take care in assembling a University proposal as they would an external funding application. Proposals may be revised and resubmitted for a later round of funding.

Funding Plan
Competitive Research Grants should be a part of long-term planning for professional development. This program is intended to supplement, not replace, other sources of support available through departmental budgets, college-controlled funds, and external grants. Faculty and staff are encouraged to explore all sources of assistance and to utilize the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research (OSPR) for advice concerning opportunities for external support (x2-7388).

Internal grants may not be used to supplement external grants except by permission of the Councils.  The project proposal must clearly explain why an internal grant is needed in addition to external funds.  Applicants should take particular care with providing a detailed budget and budget narrative.  External grant budgets must be included with the applicant’s proposal and the budget to the Council should specifically indicate how internal funds will be used in complement with the external grant. 

Institutional Compliance: Management Standards Training
Completion of the Financial Affairs internal grants training workshop is mandatory for internal grant recipients and satisfies the annual Management Standards Training requirement for budget managers at DePaul.  No grant funds will be released until the recipient has completed budget manager training. Workshop participants receive a resource guide that includes quick reference materials and a current Management Standards Handbook. Topics include understanding chartfields, use of web authorization, use of SAHR delegation, finding and reading Mobius reports, correcting transactions, requesting budget changes, review of key compliance standards, overview of travel guidelines and eProcurement procedures, and overview of payroll guidelines.

Final Report
A final report must be submitted within 30 days of the expiration of the grant. The report should describe the activities conducted during the grant and address the achievement of the project outcomes. Failure to do so will result in the faculty member being ineligible for future funding from the Councils.

University policies
Any published work resulting from a University Research Grant must include a credit to DePaul for support. Please consult the faculty handbook for University policies regarding a wide array of issues related to research, scholarly, and creative work.

Projects involving human or animal research subjects must receive institutional review and approval before URC funding can be awarded. A description of the proposed research and the consent forms must be submitted to the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and/or Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). The relevant committee(s) will review the research protocol and notify both the principal investigator and the University Research Council of their decision. For more information on either the IRB or the IACUC review process, please call the Director of the Office of Research Protections at x2-7593.

1. Budget page; (Click here to download the budget form.)
2. Recent scholarly activities and/or publications;
3. List of all previous support or funding directly or indirectly related to this project. Include all external grants applied for related to this project. Indicate source, time period, amount and title. Include a summary of the outcomes from previous QIC or URC support (publications, course revisions, papers, or other creative activities).
4. An abstract, not more than 10 lines long. This should be a summary of, rather than an introduction to, your project. Failure to include will delay consideration of the proposal.
5. A full proposal should be included even if a related proposal (such as a paid-leave) has already been approved. Do not include your name in any part of the statement of the proposal. It is your responsibility to remove all personal references. Projects that request continued funding of a project must have a clearly marked section after the initial statement of the project indicating the outcomes that have been achieved as a result of the previous funding.  The second proposal must incorporate those outcomes into the proposed project.  In 5 double-spaced pages (no less than 11 point font), include the following.

• State the Theoretical problem or guiding idea. Explain the significance of your project to researchers who are not experts in the field. Place your project in a disciplinary context, i.e., link theoretically to related research. Define key conceptual terms so that the basis of your project is clear.
• Explain your Method such as your choice of subjects, instruments, and procedures.  Indicate the information to be analyzed: observations, interviews or text.  The systematic nature of your study should be evident.
• Describe your Outcomes in terms of its contribution to your field of study.
• Indicate the relation of the work to your teaching or research objectives.
• Include a short bibliography or reference list. (1 page)
• Work plan

6. Budget Narrative. Cost of travel must be documented utilizing current prices and citing the sources of the pricing (e.g., Expedia, Travelocity, etc.). The Council has limited funds for food on travel budgets and currently does not fund this item. The Council’s contribution to funding of participant pay related to carrying out research projects will be limited to $8 per hour but may not exceed $20 in total.

Attach a complete curriculum vitae. This will not be circulated to the Council, but the Chair will retain it for reference.

Submit an online application to the Chair of the University Research Council by 5 pm, October 15 or March 15.