Faculty Research Grant Program

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Submission Guidelines

All applications must be submitted
via attachment to an e-mail message
NO PAPER APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED

Overall Program Objectives

The Faculty Research Grant (FRG) program is intended to provide seed funding for new research projects. Faculty are required to leverage the funding they receive from the FRG by submitting at least one full proposal to an external federal funding agency, national foundation, or industrial source before reapplying to this program. Preference will be given to faculty who are in the initial stages of building a research career, who are returning to the funding arena, or who are exploring a new research focus. There are two components to this program: small and large grants. Faculty may be a participant in only one grant proposal per funding year. Both small and large grants are intended to stimulate interactions across disciplines, departments, colleges, and programs. Faculty who desire assistance in locating potential collaborators are encouraged to contact Program Director, Todd Pourciau.

Eligibility

All members of the faculty (tenure track and research) of departments that participate in LSU's indirect cost (F&A) return program are eligible to apply for a Faculty Research Grant as follows. Faculty in the School of Veterinary Medicine are eligible to participate as an interdisciplinary research team member, but not as lead PI, under a special agreement between the Office of Research and Economic Development and the School of Veterinary Medicine. If you currently hold an unexpired FRG, you are ineligible for this year's program.

  1. Appointees in the rank of assistant, associate and full professor (tenure-track and research) with the exception of persons known to be in their last year of campus employment are eligible.
  2. Appointees with only adjunct titles are not eligible.
  3. Faculty on leave without pay are not eligible for a FRG unless approved as an exception by the vice chancellor for research and economic development. A letter of request for exception must be included in the application.
  4. Each faculty member may only submit one proposal. You must choose to participate in either the small or large grant program.

Small Grant Proposal Submission Guide

Small grants are limited to a maximum of $10,000. Generally, up to four faculty researchers are involved in projects that have a more limited scope than large grants.

This program is open to individual researchers but can include up to four faculty. They do not have to be from different departments. The scope of the work of these projects are generally more limited than the large grant program.

  1. Submission of the proposal must be via attachment to an e-mail message (please do not include the proposal in the body of the e-mail message). The e-mail message (not the attached file) should include your name, department, and college, division or school. The e-mail address for submissions is research@lsu.edu. The unit head must be copied on the e-mail submission.
  2. The attached file must be saved in electronic format (e.g., .rtf, .doc, or .pdf). Name the file with the first six letters of your department name followed by an underline, your last name followed by an underline, your first name. Be sure there are no spaces and use lower case letters only. Example: educat_pourciau_todd
  3. Please use a common system font (i.e. Times, Times New Roman, Arial) of 12-point size. The right and left margins must be no smaller than 0.75". Top and bottom margins must be no smaller than 1". Please number the pages consecutively beginning with the cover sheet.
  4. Submission deadline to the current call is April 4 , 2008. The file must arrive at the ORED server on the date given above. The e-mail address for submissions is research@lsu.edu. The unit head must be copied on the e-mail submission.
  5. A complete document must contain the items below and in the order given. The file can be continuous, i.e., a new page is not needed for each item. Be sure that each new section is clearly labeled.
    1. Cover Sheet with title and abstract (summary of research proposal - 350-word maximum)
    2. Research Description (three-page maximum, 12-point font)
    3. Literature Cited (one-page maximum)
    4. Human, vertebrate use, etc.
    5. Proposal Budget and Budget Justification
    6. Final Report from previous FRG (if applicable) and/or Funding Potential (350-word maximum)
    7. C.V. and publications during the last three years (two-page maximum)
    8. Current and Pending Funding (one-page maximum) if applicable. Current funding history should include anything from 2002-present, as well as submitted proposals that have been rejected. If none, please indicate “none”. Include a list of possible extramural sources.

Cover Sheet. The cover sheet must include a title and a short abstract. The percentage of the PIs research time that will be devoted to the project must also be included.

Research Description. The research description should not exceed three single-spaced pages (12-point font). Provide citations to the literature as appropriate. The list of references is not included in the three page count limit, but can be no longer than one page. The research description should contain at least the following in three separate sections:

Proposal Budget. The proposed budget sheet must be completed and a Budget Justification must be provided. The budget justification should briefly address all of the items listed on the budget and can not exceed $10,000 for small grant proposals or $40,000 for large grant proposals. No indirect cost charges will be applied to this program. Fringe benefits rates do apply (30% rate). Vague or missing justifications will lead to denial of a grant or to an award with a reduced budget. If funds for personnel are requested, for example, a graduate assistant, research associate, or postdoc, be specific as to what the person will be doing and what expertise he/she requires (e.g., computer knowledge, statistics). If the person to be hired is a graduate student, please be specific in the length or appointment and percentage of effort. Any fringe benefits must be included within the personnel budget. If the budget includes funds to hire a consultant, include the hourly rate and justify the need for a consultant. All items, including computer hardware and software, must be justified in terms of the proposed research. Please note that under supplies and expenses the items "copying and mailing" and "telephone and fax" are limited to $250 and $300 respectively. Exceptions must be clearly justified in terms of the proposed research. Please refer to the specifics regarding allowable expenses below. University guidelines apply.

Final Report and/or Funding Potential. If you have received a Faculty Research Grant in the past, include a copy of the final report describing the results. You must also indicate where you have submitted a proposal for external funding and include the results (funded amount/declined) or the expected date of notification. You should include a web link to the program. All applicants must include a brief description (350-word maximum) of prospective extramural funding. You should describe how this FRG will strengthen your application to external federal funding agencies, foundations or industrial sources. If none exist, so state.

C.V. Publications. Include degrees and dates awarded, a list of positions held, and a list of recent publications by year for the last three years (no more than two pages). A good example of the appropriate format can be viewed on this National Science Foundation site. Please reference the "Biographical Sketch" section of that link, which reads in part:

f. Biographical Sketch(es)

(i) Senior Personnel

A biographical sketch (limited to two pages) is required for each individual identified as senior project personnel. (See GPG Exhibit II-7 for the definitions of Senior Personnel.) The following information must be provided in the order and format specified below.

Do not submit personal information such as home address; home telephone, fax, or cell phone numbers; home e-mail address; date of birth; citizenship; drivers' license numbers; marital status; personal hobbies; and the like. Such personal information is irrelevant to the merits of the proposal. If such information is included, NSF will make every effort to prevent unauthorized access to such material, but the Foundation is not responsible or in any way liable for the release of such material. (See also GPG Chapter III.G).

Current and Pending Funds. Grants and contracts (intramural and extramural) and their dollar amounts and durations from 2002-present. All funds available to P.I. must be stated whether or not they can be used for the work described in the proposal; include start-up funds, departmental/college support, CoR Summer Stipend, Faculty Research Grant support etc.

Protocol Approval. The special authorizations listed below, if required, should be indicated by including the protocol number and/or authorization number on the cover sheet. If the protocol is pending, please so indicate. You should contact Bob Mathews in the IRB Office is you need assistance with this authorization.

Item Reference Manual

Large Grant Proposal Submission Guide

Large grants are limited to a maximum budget of $40,000. All of the guidelines provided in the small grant proposal section apply here. Large grant proposals must involve at least five faculty members with major appointments from at least two different departments/units. In addition, the following guidelines should be followed:

  1. Name and affiliations of all LSU faculty co-PIs must be included.
  2. The research description can be expanded to a maximum of five pages.
  3. Each member of the interdisciplinary team must submit a current C.V. and publication list for the last three years (two-page maximum each).
  4. Current and pending funding from 2002-present, including submitted proposals that have been rejected (one-page maximum per investigator), must be related to the interdisciplinary proposal topic.
  5. Proposal budget can not exceed $40,000.

Allowable/Non-allowable Items

(Applies to all FRG programs)

Examples of Allowable Expenses

Please Note: All books, films, equipment, etc., purchased with FRG funds are the property of LSU when they have served the grant holder's purpose.

Examples of Non-Allowance Expenses

Each proposal should address the categories on the Faculty Research Grant review sheet.

For further information, please contact Todd Pourciau.

 

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