Program to Enhance Scholarly and Creative Activities

Released February 9, 2009

Introduction/Purpose

The Program to Enhance Scholarly and Creative Activities was established by the Office of the Vice President for Research to provide funding to faculty that will support projects, activities or creative endeavors that will lead to scholarly publications, artistic presentation and/or enhance the exchange of ideas for professional growth in their respective fields.  These awards are typically made in the humanities, art and other disciplines in which external support for these activities is limited.  A variety of activities are eligible for funding including travel to collections and libraries to evaluate original documents.

Eligibility

All Texas A&M tenured or tenure-track faculty are eligible to receive this award.  A faculty member’s name may not appear on more than one application.  A faculty member may receive no more than two Scholarly and Creative Activities awards during a five-year period.

Award Limit

The maximum award amount is $10,000.  Awards given for travel only will typically not exceed $1,500.  There is $250,000 available for the S&C Program this year.

Schedule/Estimated Time Line

March 31, 2009 - Applications due by 5:00 p.m. (No late applications accepted)
Late April - Notification of awards                                                                                 

May 1, 2009 - Estimated start date pending approvals of any required compliance (e.g., Institutional Review Board)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Budget Information

All salaries, fringe benefits, insurance, services, supplies, equipment and travel costs should be listed in the proposed budget.  Funds may be used for summer salary.  As the funds for this program are not fringe-bearing accounts, fringe benefits must be included in the budget for all salaries and calculated at 10.1% for graduate students and 17.6% for faculty and staff.  Health insurance premiums must also be included and rates can be found at http://www.tamus.edu/offices/budgets-acct/acct/IDC/Fringe-benefit-FY2009.pdf. For additional information regarding these benefits, the applicant should contact his/her departmental bookkeeper.  Facility and administrative (indirect) costs are not allowed.  Applicants must justify all expenses in relation to the proposed work.

Project Period

Competitive awards are for a maximum of 12 months.  Any unused funds at the end of the project period will return to the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Criteria

Eligibility of topic: Priority will be given to scholarly and creative work in fields in which external funding is limited and where the investment of available funds would lead to new grant opportunities for the individual or as a member of an interdisciplinary team.

Scholarly and creative merit: Applications must show originality and the potential to advance the field or discipline.

Qualifications of the applicant: Applications must demonstrate the capability and credibility of the principal investigator(s) to perform the scholarly and creative work.  All Texas A&M University tenured or tenure-track faculty are eligible.

Other criteria: Applications may include other factors such as cost effectiveness, a plan for dissemination of the results (e.g., articles, books), and, for applications for travel support, the importance of travel to the project goals.

A peer-review panel from Texas A&M University will evaluate each application.

Upon Selection

Those who receive an award should contact their departmental bookkeepers before making any final commitment concerning expenditures.  Expenses beyond the amount of the Scholarly and Creative Award will not be reimbursed by this office.

Expectations

Dissemination of project results is expected to be in appropriate scholarly forums, such as articles in journals, presentations at professional meetings, scholarly books and peer-reviewed creative work.  Those who receive a Scholarly and Creative Award are required at the end of the 12-month funding period to send a Final Progress Report to the Office of the Vice President for Research detailing how the grant funds were used.  This report will be due on June 30, 2010.  The form can be found at http://researchpolicy.tamu.edu/forms/finalreportwtableques.doc   Those who do not submit this report will not be eligible to participate in future research enhancement programs supported through the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Travel Requests

Scholarly and Creative Awards may be used for approved University Travel.

Foreign Travel: Scholarly and Creative Awards can be used for foreign travel, provided it is within the guidelines of the University Rule on Foreign Travel (see http://rules.tamu.edu/urules/200/250201m1.htm).

Compliance

If the proposed creative or scholarly activity involves a compliance issue (for example, the Institutional Review Board), applicants must check the appropriate box in the General Information section of the online application. The appropriate compliance forms must be submitted and approved before funding can occur.

Format

All proposals submitted for the Program to Enhance Scholarly and Creative Activities must be submitted electronically using the on-line application system at http://igps.tamu.edu.  Applicants should have a neo account to complete the internal grants proposal submission (igps) application.  This registration can be completed at http://neo.tamu.edu.  A proposal will consist of the information listed below. The abstract, project description, investigator resumes, and current and pending support should be uploaded in a PDF format in the designated location of the application. The igps system automatically converts word files to PDF files.  However, to ensure that special characters and formatting are accurately reproduced, we strongly recommend that faculty use adobe/acrobat to convert word files to PDF files before using igps.  Incomplete proposals will be disqualified.

• General Information (on-line): contact information for each investigator, compliance reporting, key words for project, and report codes.  Select the department through which the proposal should be routed.  Assign a descriptive title.

• Abstract (upload): a summary briefly describing the project's objectives, proposed methodology, and anticipated results in layman's terms. The abstract should be up to one page in length using Times New Roman 12-point font with one-inch margins. List five key words associated with this proposal.

• Project Description (upload): A narrative of the project up to 3 pages in length using Times New Roman 12-point font with one-inch margins. The project description should include any illustrations, figures, data, or other information and:

• Applications must demonstrate the capability and credibility of the principal investigator to perform the research. This criterion is used by many external agencies in competitive funding decisions. If graduate students are to take part, describe their work's relevance to their graduate study and the supervision planned for their participation.

• Provide background information about the project.

• State the specific objectives of the project. Explain the significance of the work and its possible importance in economic, social, or other terms.

• Describe the work to be performed, the tasks of each person, and the timeline for the project.

• Denote the anticipated results of the project.

• Describe the potential for external support.

• Investigator Resumes (upload): Up to two-page resumes for all investigators should be attached to the application.

• Current and Pending (upload): List the source, title, date, and amount of relevant internal and external funding support received and pending, as well as for applications submitted but not funded during the previous three years (for all investigators).

• Reporting Data Section/Key Words (on-line):  All fields are required to be completed.

• Budget (on-line): Not to exceed US $10,000.   

• Budget Justification (on-line): Up to 3000 characters, including spaces, specifically itemizing each budgeted item.  Justify each item in the budget in terms of the goals of the project. 

All applications must be submitted online. Incomplete applications will be disqualified.  As a precaution it is advised to keep a printed copy of your application.

The on-line application should be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday March 31, 2009.

A no cost extension requested prior to the end of the award year may be granted, with adequate justification, for a maximum of three months (90 days).