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Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship

102 Roudebush Hall • Phone: 513-529-3600• Fax: 513-529-3762

CFR SRA/GPR & RGA Support

Miami University Senate Committee on Faculty Research (CFR) Program Guidelines

Table of Contents

Contact the 2009-10 Committee Chair Robert Weinberg Kinesiology and Health: 529-2728 for questions.

INTRODUCTION

The Committee on Faculty Research (CFR) is an appointed Committee of University Senate charged with supporting and encouraging the development of externally funded research at Miami University. The Committee interprets research as creative endeavors that seek to add to the sum of human knowledge; as well, the Committee supports a wide range of professional activities and recognizes that research varies from discipline to discipline.

One of the major sources of funds for support of the CFR program is the indirect costs recovered by the University on grants from external sources. The Committee encourages investigators to aid the Committee, and the University generally, in securing funds from such sources.

In considering proposals the Committee takes into account whether the investigator has previously sought outside funding. Help in seeking external funding for research is available from the Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship.

The Committee on Faculty Research currently administers three programs that are funded by the University. They are the Faculty Research Grants Program, Distinguished Scholar Award Program, and the Publication, Reprint, Exhibition, and Performance Costs (PREP) Account. Specific information regarding these programs is provided in the following sections.

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FACULTY RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM

I. Eligibility Criteria

With the exception of the individuals who review the applications, all continuing tenure-eligible or tenured faculty members, including librarians holding the M.S.L.S. Degree or equivalent, are eligible. Degree and rank at the date of application shall determine eligibility.the committee encourages proposals from all disciplines and campuses at Miami University. Funds from the Committee on Faculty Research are not to be used toward completion of any advanced degree on the part of the principal investigator.

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II. Restrictions

  1. A faculty member may request support for only one research project in a given year.
  2. Individuals who have received Faculty Research Grants are ineligible for another grant for a four-year period following receipt of the grant.

    Award Year

    Eligible Year

    2005-06 or earlier

    2009-10

    2006-07

    2010-11

    2007-08

    2011-12

    2008-09

    2012-13
  3. A faculty member who has previously received Faculty Research grant(s) from CFR is eligible for future awards, provided that he/she has submitted external proposal(s) for funding equal to or greater than the amount of the last CFR funds awarded.
  4. CFR funds are considered seed money for obtaining preliminary data or information that will lead to submission of proposals to external funding sources. Proposals addressing new avenues of research and scholarship either for the investigator or for the institution, initiating new projects and pilot studies, or testing novel or controversial research/creative ideas are favored. CFR expects investigators to seek other support for continuing research and scholarship in established areas.
  5. Applications with more than one author are allowed. In the event that a proposal has more than one author, the maximum award will include one summer research appointments, one research graduate assistantship, and one grant to promote research. Each author must satisfy the eligibility requirements and restrictions in II.A.-D. still apply.

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III. General Conditions for Awards

  1. Awards will be made only for projects that are initiated and supervised by faculty.
  2. Awards cannot be used to employ other members of the Miami University Faculty.
  3. The limited funds available do not allow the Committee to consider funding projects for (1) the improvement of the applicant's teaching; (2) the writing of textbooks; (3) the editing of anthologies, except those in which the editing involved original research on the part of the investigator; (4) the subvention of publication costs for book; (5) professional memberships; (6) travel to professional meetings, except in extraordinary cases; (7) research which is primarily beneficial to the administrative structure of Miami University; or (8) research which identical to that currently supported by other internal and external sources.
  4. In signing the standard application form, each proposer agrees to acknowledge any Committee on Faculty Research support in publications, exhibition catalogs, and the like, which may result, and to send the Committee a copy of this acknowledgment. In addition each awardee commits to serve on CFR if they are asked.

    Awards are contingent upon approval of the proposal by the appropriate oversight committee: Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research (IRB), the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), Radiation Safety Committee or the Committee on Institutional Biosafety. Approval must be obtained by December 31, 2009 in order to activate approved proposals. Awards given to applicants who do not meet the approval deadline of December 31 will be reassigned to the next alternate.

    For proposals involving the use of select agents or human pathogens, a proposal must be submitted to the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) for review. The proposer must also:
    • Complete training on how to store and maintain select agents or human pathogens; or
    • Submit a waiver to the IBC verifying previous training and/or skill in storage and maintenance practices at the time of proposal submission.
  5. For proposals involving human subjects, researchers must:
    • complete a human subjects ethics training components (practicum and on-line training) in the fall semester, and
    • complete Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training, and,
    • submit an Application for the Approval of Research Involving Human Subjects at the time of proposal submission.

      The ethics training program components must be completed before the human subjects application can be approved. Inforrmation on practicum training dates, the on-line ethics training program component, the RCR training component, and Guidelines for the Use of Human Subjects in Research can be obtained here or from the Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship.

      For proposals involving the use of live vertebrate animals, the proposer must submit the original and thirteen copies of a completed, current version of the Application to Use Live Vertebrate Animals in Research and/or Teaching to the Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship at the time of application.

      Please contact the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (529-2829) for information on the approval requirements for proposals involving the use of radioactive isotopes or biosafety hazardous materials.

  6. Individuals receiving support from the Faculty Research Grants program will submit a report to the CFR summarizing the project outcomes upon completion. In addition it is expected that award winners will participate in the CFR Scholarship Forum during the project and/or after the project is complete.
  7. All awards are subject to University policies on leaves, copyrights, patents, royalties, and conflicts of interest. (See Miami University Policy and Information Manual.)

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IV. Categories of Support

The Faculty Research Grants Program awards funding within three categories:

Applications may include requests for funding from any combination of these three categories. (Any one component or combination of all three components.) The individual description of each component is presented below. Awards are made in competition on the basis of a proposal submitted to the Committee on Faculty Research. Applicants should be aware that if an award is received from any of these components, the awardee will have to wait four years before applying for another award from the Faculty Research Grants Program.

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A. Summer Research Appointments

The Board of Trustees has authorized a number of Summer Research Appointments (SRA) for faculty members each year. Each carries a salary of $6,200. Recipients are expected to conduct full-time research during at least ten weeks of the summer following the date of an award. The recipient must remain on the Miami University faculty in the academic year following the summer of the award. Recipients must agree not to accept supplementary employment during the term of the award. Recipients are allowed to suppplement their salaries from external sources if they are working full time on the CFR project during the 10-week appointment. The recipient must not accept a classroom teaching assignment, conduct a workshop, or obtain Committee for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT) support during the period of the award.

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B. Research Graduate Assistantships

A number of Research Graduate Assistantships are available. The Committee will endeavor to fund Research Graduate Assistantships at the support level of the department involved. The assistantships also provide a remission of the Instructional Fee and Out-of-State Surcharge. The tenure of the assistantships is restricted to the regular academic year (2010-2011).

The CFR recognizes that different disciplines use graduate assistantships in diverse ways and encourages individuals to devise creative uses of graduate assistants.

To become a research assistant, a student must be appointed through regular academic channels, and be subject to the same regulations as are other graduate assistants.
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C. Grants to Promote Research

Budgetary items for Grants to Promote Research may include wages for student labor, equipment, supplies, and travel expenses directly related to the performance of research/creative endeavors, and duplicating and graphics production. Awardees will have a 12 month time period in which to expend funds.

  1. Awards may be made to a maximum of $3,000.
  2. In the event that CFR determines that it can make an award, but at a level less than 75% of the request, the Chair of the appropriate subcommittee will contact the applicant to determine if the applicant wishes to receive the reduced award.
  3. Additional points of information:
    1. The Committee will not award funds for use in covering expenses incurred prior to the time a grant is made.
    2. Equipment must be demonstrably necessary to the proposed research and not otherwise available. Software purchases will be supported only if the required software is not available from another on-campus source. All equipment purchased with CFR funds is the property of Miami University. All equipment and supply prices should be firm quotations and should include reference to the source of the quotation. The Committee will not assume responsibility for providing any supplement for later price increases.
    3. Travel funds will be limited to the least expensive mode of travel practical to and from the proposed site(s).

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V. Application Procedures

  1. Application Forms

    Applications for the Faculty Research Grants Program follow the guidelines listed in Section IV. An application form (available from the Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship) is required.

    Proposals are reviewed by one of three subcommittees: 1) Applied and Natural Sciences (ANS); 2) Business, Education, and Social Sciences (BESS); and 3) Fine Arts and Humanities (FAH). Any faculty member may apply for funding from any of these subcommittees. It is the responsibility of the faculty member to designate the most appropriate subcommittee for his or her proposal and in cases where the designation is not obvious to justify the choice. For co-authored proposals, the applicants must select a single subcommittee for the review.

    Applications for these programs are considered once each year in the fall. Faculty members are notified of the application deadline in the summer.
  2. Guidelines for the Faculty Research Grants Program
    1. Complete and sign the cover page. Unsigned proposals will not be read.
    2. Provide the following information on the Summary of Grant Support Sheet [pdf format][Word format]:
      1. your most recent project funded from the Faculty Research Grants Program.
      2. a listing of all internal and external support (grants, contracts, endowments, or other sources) for this and related projects, including effective award dates. If you have support for this or a closely related project, provide ample explanation for the need for CFR support in the body of the proposal.
      3. a listing of all proposals submitted for external funding since your last funded CFR award. Include the proposal titles, dates of submission, sources (agencies, foundations, etc.), the amounts requested, and outcome of proposal: awarded, rejected, or pending.

        Inclusion of this information is necessary for evaluation of your proposal. If you have questions regarding the dates and amounts of past, current, or submitted proposals, contact the Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship.
    3. Present your project under the following headings. The maximum length of the proposal text shall not exceed five single-spaced pages with one inch margins, excluding the one-page budget justification, the two-page list of scholarly or creative achievements, a brief bibliography and an optional technical appendix. Any proposal that exceeds the five-page limit on text will not be considered.

      Proposal reviewers are not necessarily experts in all fields. Therefore, the proposal should be written clearly for the educated lay person.
      1. Description. Briefly describe the nature and goal of the proposed project in terms clear to those outside your immediate discipline.
      2. Context. Explain the background and context of the project. Compare your proposal to existing work. If your proposal breaks new ground, explain how.
      3. Project Aptness.
        1. Why is this particular project appropriate for you to undertake at this time? Describe any preparations or progress you have made or any special qualifications you have which are significant to the proposal.
      4. Method or Plan. Describe the specific methods, techniques, or procedures you will use to accomplish the project's objectives. Give approximate times for completing each phase of the project. For applications within the Summer Research Appointment category, indicate what you plan to accomplish during the ten-week summer period. For Research Graduate Assistantships, indicate activities to be assigned to the assistant.
      5. Communication of completed activity. Explain how the results of your work will be made accessible to a wider audience.
      6. Literature cited in proposal or selected bibliography. Please cite here materials relevant to your proposed project.
      7. If, in your judgment, the methodology employed in your proposal requires additional elaboration, a technical appendix of up to three pages may be appended.
      8. If you are applying within the Grant to Promote Research category, a detailed budget will also be required, using the categories below. Include a justification for any items or amounts for which the need may not be obvious to CFR members. (Please round to the nearest dollar.) Maximum length: one page.
        1. Personnel;
        2. Indicated total hours times hourly wages
        3. include benefits (faculty 35%; student 1.7%)
        4. Equipment (defined as items greater than $5,000 and having a lifetime use longer than five years);
        5. Supplies (itemize);
        6. Travel;
        7. Other.
    4. List your scholarly or creative achievements (publications, presentations, exhibitions, performances, etc., in form of a 2-page curriculum vitae). You may wish to highlight those that are most recent and/or most relevant to this.

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VI. Evaluation of Proposals

Subcommittees from Applied and Natural Sciences; Business, Education and Social Sciences; and Fine Arts and Humanities discuss and rank proposals. This ranking is a process whereby each proposal is judged on the criteria outlined below.

The most important component of the evaluation procedure is the project itself. Factors that the project will be judged upon are: significance of the research or scholarship, soundness of methodology, feasibility, and likelihood of the work being communicated to the profession in an appropriate time period. Proposals which allow new faculty to initiate their research, or which allow experienced faculty to enter a new area of research, will receive more favorable review than proposals to support continuing scholarship.

Of secondary importance, but certainly weighing on the overall ranking of a proposal, are factors such as clarity and conciseness. The bibliography will be reviewed to assess the investigator's familiarity with the area of work. The subcommittees will review proposal budgets and recommend funding levels according to feasibility, and the total CFR budget.

Subcommittees may consider the applicant’s record of scholarly achievement relevant to the feasibility of completing the work. Subcommittees may also take into account regional campus faculty teaching loads and scholarship expectations when evaluating proposals.


Authors of proposals are encouraged to consult and receive feedback from previous awardees when writing their proposal. A list of recent faculty participants is available from the Office for Advancement of Research and Scholarship
The full Committee makes awards based on the subcommittees’ evaluations/recommendations.

Unsuccessful applicants may request a written summary of the subcommittee report. Such a request should be made directly to the chair of the subcommittee.

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VII. Organization of the Committee

The Committee on Faculty Research consists of a chairperson elected by the members, nine regular members and three alternates, appointed by the Senate. For 2009-10 the CFR chair is Robert Weinberg, Kinesiology and Health 529-2728.
Committee members and alternates will be appointed for three-year terms, or to fill the remainder of a non-expired term. Participants will serve no more than three years as a member and/or an alternate in any five-year period, unless this rule is waived by the Committee.

Members who have an official release from academic duties may request a temporary leave from the Committee. The alternate to the member will assume duties as a full member for the leave period. A temporary alternate will be appointed for that same period. Members or alternates who resign from the Committee will be replaced by appointments approved by Senate. Regular members of the Committee are the voting members. Alternates serve on the subcommittees and as discussants at full Committee meetings. The alternate serves as a voting member when the full member is absent.

Besides the members and alternates, additional reviewers will be appointed by CFR for the purpose of evaluating grant applications. The number of reviewers will vary depending on the needs of each subcommittee. These reviewers are chosen in order to provide appropriate expertise within each subcommittee. CFR will seek reviewers whose areas of expertise supplement those on the Committee. Individuals who have had successful CFR applications in the recent past will be strongly considered for participation in the review panel. CFR members, alternates, and reviewers are not eligible to receive a Faculty Research Grant. However, all persons who meet the criteria in (Section I. Eligibility), are eligible for PREP account funds.

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VIII. Application and Awards in Previous Year (2008-09)

Faculty Research Grants Program

Requested

Awarded

Summer Research Appointments

.

.

-- Applied and Natural Sciences (ANS)

16

6

-- Business, Education, and Social Sciences (BESS)

14

5

-- Fine Arts and Humanities (FAH)

23

9

Research Graduate Assistantships

.

.

-- Applied and Natural Sciences (ANS)

13

7

-- Business, Education, and Social Sciences (BESS)

7

3

-- Fine Arts and Humanities (FAH)

1

0

Grants to Promote Research

.

.

-- Applied and Natural Sciences (ANS)

16

7

-- Business, Education, and Social Sciences (BESS)

7

2

-- Fine Arts and Humanities (FAH)

3

1

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DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR AWARD 

I. Program Description

The Miami University Distinguished Scholar Award honors faculty whose sustained excellence in research or other creative activity has brought them prominence in their fields.

The following Distinguished Scholar Awards may be made:

  • one in the humanities and fine arts,
  • one in the applied and natural sciences,
  • one in business, education, and social sciences.

All three of these awards will be conferred on faculty members with a substantial and continuing record of outstanding scholarly or creative work.

  • one award will be for a faculty member, selected from the university at large, who has demonstrated great potential in research or artistry and achieved some standing in the field.

Candidates for this latter award must have received their highest degree no more than eight years before the time of nomination.

Except in the case of junior faculty, the award will not ordinarily be given to the same person more frequently than every ten years.

Any faculty member may nominate or renominate any other regular tenured or tenure track faculty member for a Distinguished Scholar Award.

Nominations should be inclusive with respect to the faculty member's accomplishments, but special consideration will be given to the nominee's record in research or creative activities while at Miami.

The nomination letters are important in the evaluation process and should include:

  1. a perspective on the contribution of the candidate to his/her field that is understandable to the non-specialist; and
  2. information on the importance/ impact of the candidate's contribution on the national/ international level (also understandable to a non-specialist).

The deadline for submitting nominations November 2, 2009. Nominations will be reviewed, and awards decided, by the Committee on Faculty Research (CFR).

Each recipient of a Distinguished Scholar Award will receive a grant of $2,000 for the pursuit of further research or creative endeavor. All persons selected for this award will be honored publicly.

Nominations will be solicited annually by the CFR. Each nomination should include:

  • the original completed nomination form (signed by both nominators),
  • a letter of nomination from each nominating Miami faculty member,
  • current curriculum vitae of the nominee.

Nomination letters should speak to and document the nominee’s standing in the field, highlighting particularly acclaimed works and any professional recognitions, honors, and leadership roles.

Contact the Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship or CFR Chair, with any questions you may have concerning the nomination process.

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