Applying for Grants from the
Faculty Development and Research Grants Committee:
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Faculty Development and Research Grants Committee do?
Several times a year, the Committee reviews applications from faculty members seeking support for research or faculty development. We draw on two main funds, appropriately named the “Research Grants Fund” and the “Faculty Development Fund.” The funds are administered jointly by the Committee and the Dean’s Office. The Faculty Development Fund may only be used by faculty in the college, so for School of Theology faculty, we use funds from the Research Grants budget. When applying for grants, however, you need not request money from a particular fund; the Committee will keep track of which fund is the most appropriate for your grant.
When can I apply for funding?
The Committee sends out calls for applications two or three times during a given academic year:
*First Round: Call sent by email in September/early October; deadline in late October.
This round is for projects that will be completed by graduation.
*Second Round: Call sent by email in December/January; deadline in mid-February.
This round is for projects that will be completed in the upcoming summer or in
the next academic year.
*Optional Third Round: If we have leftover money in the previous year’s budget, we
may send out an additional call for applications in March/April, but ONLY for projects where receipts can be turned in by June 30th of that year.
What kind of expenses does the Committee fund?
In general, the Committee funds expenses related to research trips. These expenses most often include transportation (airfare, train tickets, car expenses, metros, etc.), lodging, and food. The Committee can rarely support more than thirty days of living expenses in any particular location.
The Committee has also helped support lab expenses, copying expenses, and access fees to archives, etc, as well as other expenses.
The Committee recognizes that each discipline will have unique research needs, and we are always willing to consider unusual requests that fall outside of these catagories.
What kinds of expenses does the Committee NOT fund?
In general, the Committee does not fund . . .
*living expenses related to research done in Sewanee.
*salaries for student workers.
*living expenses beyond 30 days (unless costs of those expenses are unusually
low)
*tuition costs that support work done for a graduate degree.
. . . though this is not an exhaustive list.
The Committee certainly sees the value in supporting all of these expenses, but it simply does not have the means to do so.
What is the average grant?
The amount of a grant varies, but most grants fall in the $1500-4000 range. It is rare the Committee has enough funds to grant any one faculty member more than $5000 in a given fiscal year.
How do I put together a budget when I’m not sure of the final costs?
Put together the best budget you can based on the information you have. It’s easy to price plane and lodging costs on the Internet, and you should research other costs as carefully as you can. Always try to keep the costs as reasonable as possible.
What kind of information does the Committee need in the application?
The Committee needs four items:
*The cover sheet that is attached to the Call for Applications, sent over email by the
Chair of the Committee.
*A 1-3 page description of your proposal, detailing how the particular trip (or expense) will support your research and/or your development as a faculty member. It’s helpful if you can specify particular outcomes (an article, a book chapter, etc.). Aim for a straight-forward and articulate description suitable for an intelligent reader who is likely outside your field. Complex literary analysis, math equations, and chemical formulas are far less helpful than a precise and jargon-free description that is no longer than three pages.
*A detailed budget.
*A short CV (no more than four pages please).
These items should be stapled together (in the above order), and eight copies should be sent by SPO to Cindy Church or to the Chair of the Committee. Faculty from the School of Theology should send their copies to the Chair of the Committee.
Can I apply to the Committee for conference money?
You may. You should, however, first use the money that all faculty members receive for conferences. If you have used this money, or if the money does not cover the full expenses of the conference, you can apply to the Committee for additional funding; please let us know, though, that you have already used the limit of your regular conference funds.
What if my proposal relates to teaching?
If your proposal is strictly related to your teaching, you should apply for funds from the Center for Teaching, which has its own guidelines and deadlines. As is often the case, however, a proposal may relate both to teaching and to research; if so, it often makes sense to apply for money from both places. It is helpful if you can detail in both proposals how much funding you’re requesting from each fund. While the Center and the Committee do not make decisions together, we try to coordinate as much as possible to ensure the most efficient use of funds.
How soon after I submit my proposal will I hear about the award?
Once the deadline for proposals has passed, the Committee tries to meet as quickly as possible. Please know that distributing, reading, and preparing the letters for all the proposals take time. You can expect to hear (through a letter in the SPO) about our decision 2-3 weeks after the deadline has passed. If you have a particular time pressure, please let the Committee know.
I’ve heard there are strict deadlines for when receipts are due—is that true?
Yes. The Committee always faces one critical challenge: the fiscal year ends on June 30th, right in the middle of many summer plans for research. For funds granted from say, the 2006-2007 budget, receipts must be received by June 30, 2007 or earlier; for funds granted from the 2007-2008 budget, receipts must be received by June 30, 2008. The date on the receipt is not what matters—it is the date the receipts are turned into the office that matters.
We want to use as much money from the budget for the previous year before dipping into the budget for the next year, as unused funds do not carry over into the next year. For this reason, we at times grant people partial funding from the budget for one year and partial funding from the budget for the following year. For example, expenses that can be billed and turned in by, say, June 30, 2007, such as plane tickets, can be taken from the 2006-2007 budget, even if the travel itself will take place later. Thus it is imperative that you pay close attention to what portions of your grant are taken from which budget year. We have far more flexibility in granting funds for the previous year, as these funds will disappear, than we have for the coming year, as we have to be sure we save enough to fund proposals for next year as well. It is thus critical that you give the Committee a clear sense of when your research project will take place.
Please be aware that should you miss your deadline, your project will cost twice as much, as the funds reserved for your project from the previous year will simply disappear, and you will then draw on funds that have not been reserved for your project, decreasing the total amount of funds available for you or for other faculty.
How do I get reimbursed for expenses once I have a grant?
You need to turn in your receipts to Cindy Church, along with a completed Faculty Travel Reimbursement form. *Please clarify on the form the title of the project the receipts are covering (the title you used on your original application), whether the funds are to be drawn from the Faculty Development or Research Fund (this information should be in your award letter), and from what fiscal year your funds should be drawn. Please remember to attach your receipts to the form.
If you have any questions, or if you’d like to run your idea by a member of the Committee, please feel free to contact the chair of the Committee. The Chair for 2007-2008 academic year is John Willis.
