BABSON COLLEGE INTERNAL FUNDING APPLICATION PACKET

Transcription

1 BABSON COLLEGE INTERNAL FUNDING APPLICATION PACKET REVISED: NOVEMBER 2016 CONTENTS: PREFACE 2 ELIGIBILITY 2 POLICIES 2 FUNDING CRITERIA 3 DEADLINES 3 ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARDS 3 RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE APPLICANT 4 BEFORE AND AFTER THE APPROVAL 4 APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS 5-6

2 PREFACE The goal of the internal research funding offices is to encourage and support a variety of thought leadership and research activities. The College, through the funding entities, provides financial support and release time for meritorious projects, but cannot guarantee that all worthy projects are funded. Rather, through a competitive process, the offices allocate available funds on the basis of their judgment as to which faculty proposals have the most promise of advancing the following objectives: to sustain, enhance, and renew the intellectual vitality of faculty by supporting the building of intellectual capital through meritorious research; and to increase the public visibility and academic reputation of the College and its faculty, regionally, nationally, and internationally. The funding offices do not want the application process to be a bureaucratic burden. Certain guidelines are necessary, however, to ensure that projects are brought to completion a research investment return for the College. The purpose of this document is to provide the information you need to apply for research support by outlining the application policies, procedures, and guidelines. ELIGIBILITY 1. The BFRF shall consider only proposals from full-time faculty members who are either tenured or tenure-track and on a current contract. 2. Faculty on reduced course loads for research cannot apply for a course release. Faculty who receive summer support per their employment contract are not eligible for summer stipends. 3. Division Chairs and Endowed chair holders are ineligible to apply for BFRF support. 4. Babson Faculty Research scholars are only allowed to apply for summer stipends. 5. The BFRF supports research that is designed to result in scholarly publication. This could include discipline or pedagogical research but does not include proposals for curriculum development, case writing or textbooks. GENERAL POLICIES 1. Royalties/patents/copyrights are governed by the guidelines of the College. 2. The funding offices will not retroactively fund research projects. 3. The College will not provide funds to support research that is part of degree requirements (e.g., dissertation). Work that represents an extension of completed doctoral research will be considered. 4. The funding boards may choose to support certain aspects or phases of a proposal and not others, and to make grants conditional. These conditions may be on the applicant s obtaining supplementary funds or obtaining statistical/methodological guidance. 5. In general, funds not used by award recipients do not roll over into the next fiscal year. Exceptions may be made, on an individual basis, for awards that are approved for a longer duration, beyond a single fiscal year. 6. All research projects involving human subjects must have IRB approval before distribution of award funds. 2

3 GENERAL FUNDING CRITERIA Internal funding is a competitive process and we frequently receive more high quality proposals that we are able to fund. In evaluating proposals, the committees take the following factors into account. The order given does not necessarily reflect relative weighting. Funding offices may have additional criteria; review the individual guidelines for details. 1. Quality and feasibility of the research: Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of their clarity, readability, technical quality, and feasibility. Technical quality and feasibility will be assessed based on the literature review, research design/methodology, work plan, expected product, type and degree of collaboration, and dissemination plans. 2. Appropriateness of funds requested for the project s scope and requirements. 3. Significance of the research to the professional development and reputation of the faculty member: A particular project may have different significance for faculty at different stages of their careers or at different stages of development of a research stream. 4. Significance of the research in relation to the College's reputation in the academic and business world: Research plays an important role in increasing the public visibility and the reputation of the College, which in return not only attracts students to come here, but also influences employers to hire Babson students. The College's research efforts also increase the involvement of other academic and government institutions and corporations with Babson in collaborative projects. 5. Ability to have followed guidelines with previous internally-sponsored research, for example, completing final products in a timely manner, provided IRB approvals on time, etc. DEADLINES The BFRF will publicize deadlines in advance. In general, the funding offices have a once-per-year review process for applications for awards for the following academic year. Submission deadlines are determined by the College. Applications are due by 5:00 PM on the due date. ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARDS Decisions about awards of course releases, summer stipends, major awards, and other research expenses in excess of $2,500 will be made by the funding offices with the consent of the Dean of Faculty. Candidates will be notified as soon as possible after the submission deadline. 3

4 RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE APPLICANT BEFORE APPROVAL 1. Review applications from portal on the BFRF website. Review the guidelines of the individual funding offices. For additional advice on the preparation of proposals, contact the BFRF office. 2. Seek feedback on the proposal from your colleagues prior to submission. This is encouraged (but not required) to help ensure that the project is thoroughly developed. 3. Electronically submit the proposal, including the current vita, to the BFRF via the portal on the BFRF website. Applicants who have received research support during the last five years must list all sources and clearly indicate the status of the projects, particularly with regard to external publication, in the application. 4. Be informed of College policies regarding financial and administrative accountability. Faculty members are to understand that a signature on the letter of agreement to accept funding constitutes a contract between the signatory and the College. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AWARDEE AFTER APPROVAL 1. Note that the funding offices must approve important changes in proposals or budgets before they are put into effect. Contact the BFRF office at the earliest known time (but not later than the end of the contracted time period) in the event that the approved project cannot be completed on time or within the designated fiscal year. In any case, extensions cannot be guaranteed. 2. Understand that faculty whose projects remain incomplete beyond the completion date in their contract, or award notification, will be ineligible for further internal support until their final products have been received and approved by the funding office. 3. Submit an electronic copy of your final product, including a Final Product Cover Sheet and work accomplished during the grant period within the time period stated in the notification of approval. The funding office may request further information concerning the project from the applicant. The funding offices maintain archives of the reports. 4. We invite faculty to participate in a "Research Chat" upon acceptance of final products. 5. We ask that faculty acknowledge the support of the College funding office, in the case of publication or other means of circulation. (e.g. The author acknowledges the support of the Babson Faculty Research Fund for this research. ) 4

5 APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAJOR AWARDS, COURSE RELEASES, SUMMER STIPENDS, AND OTHER FULL PROPOSALS All information requested must be supplied in the format specified; The words "NOT APPLICABLE" may be inserted in sections which do not apply to the applicant's proposal. Be sure to check with the funding sources for details on eligibility, funding options, and other requirements or limitations. In submitting a proposal, please realize that the funding groups may be interdisciplinary and may not have extensive expertise in the applicant's field of endeavor. Therefore, explain all technical terms, jargon and procedures in lay terms. Eschew obfuscation. The proposal must include information on each of the following points, in the manner and format specified. The proposal, excluding vita and any supporting documents, should not exceed five double-spaced typed pages. Major Award applications should not exceed 10 pages in length. A. Purpose Problem or activity to be addressed. B. Literature Review not just a list of references The literature review should demonstrate your familiarity with related research (historical and/or current thoughts/issues) and add credence to the significance of your research. C. Research Design/Methodology 1. Methodology used to collect and analyze data Address various aspects related to research design and methodology as appropriate for your proposed research project. D. Work Plan (appropriateness and manageability) 1. Proposed work schedule of major tasks. Please be specific in outlining the work plan, including work already completed, work during this grant period, and/or work remaining after the grant period to bring this to publication. The BFRF recognizes research projects often extend beyond the timeline of the award. Appropriateness and manageability are the main criteria in evaluating a work plan. 2. If this is a collaborative project with co-authors, include a detailed description of how the work will be allocated. E. Expected Results or Product 1. Be clear on what you will deliver as your Final Product for this research award. F. Dissemination Plan Discuss the projected outcome or objectives beyond your immediate Final Product. 1. Methods of dissemination (specify targeted publication outlets and conference submissions). 2. Target audience. G. Significance 5

6 1. Discuss the value of the research or creative activity and the relationship of this work to other work in this field. 2. Describe the status of the proposed work new work, part of a larger, on-going undertaking, and/or the final stage of project. Indicate/how this work fits in your overall research agenda. 3. For a major award, it is expected that the project will offer more originality, depth, and scale than would be feasible under a typical award of a single course release or summer stipend. 4. Explain how this research proposal will enable you to maintain your current faculty qualifications as defined by Babson (i.e. scholarly academic, practice academic, scholarly practitioner, instructional practitioner). For more information please reference the Statement on Intellectual Contributions and Faculty Qualifications. Supporting Documents in addition to the 5 -page proposal. H. Application embedded in the portal including division chair s comments and signature. I. Budget 1. Research budgets cannot exceed $ Explanation of budget 3. Make every effort to include requests for research expenses in this proposal rather than coming back with an additional Mini-Grant application. J. Personal Qualifications 1. Complete vita. 2. Additional relevant information may be added here. PROPOSAL APPLICATIONS, PROJECT PROPOSALS, and SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS SHOULD BE UPLOADED AS PDF ATTACHMENTS TO the BFRF PORTAL VIA THE WEBSITE 6