Guidelines and Applicatin Instructins University Research Challenge Fund 2013-2014 Deadline: December 12, 2013 I. Backgrund The University Research Challenge Fund (URCF) supprts faculty-initiated research n a cmpetitive basis and is administered by the URCF Advisry Cmmittee, cmpsed f senir faculty reflecting a crss-sectin f disciplines at the University. Since the Fund's inceptin, the Cmmittee has made 667 awards. The purpse f the Fund is: t serve as an incentive fr investigatrs t explre new areas f research that are likely t attract utside supprt; t supprt thse engaging in prductive schlarship in areas where there are few surces f supprt. II. Highlights Mst awards will nt exceed $15,000. A few larger awards may be cnsidered if there is cmpelling justificatin. Requests fr funding shuld in n case exceed $20,000. Applicatin instructins fllw. Please read the instructins carefully. Prpsals fr the 2013-2014 cmpetitin will be submitted using NYU s prpsal tracking system, Cayuse SP. III. Eligibility Prpsals are encuraged frm individuals r grups f regular faculty members (r thers with Principal Investigatr [PI] status) in any academic discipline represented at the University, exclusive f the Medical Schl. Only ne prpsal per PI will be accepted. The URCF Advisry Cmmittee is particularly interested in receiving prpsals frm new investigatrs; hwever, prpsals frm established investigatrs explring new directins are als welcme. Prpsals fr cllabrative, interdepartmental, and/r inter-schl research are particularly welcme. Please nte that awards fr prjects invlving cllabratin with institutins utside f NYU are t be used t supprt the NYU cmpnent f the prject nly. Thse seeking URCF supprt fr prjects already funded by external spnsrs will nly be cnsidered in exceptinal circumstances, which must be fully explained in the prpsal. The URCF is nt meant t prvide nging supprt. Repeat applicants will have a lwer pririty fr funding and award recipients fr the 2012-2013 rund shuld refrain frm applying. Applicants wh received URCF award(s) in the last five years must include, where indicated, a brief statement as t its utcme, indicating whether r nt it led t external funding. Unrevised resubmitted applicatins frm previus URCF cmpetitins will nt be accepted nr will thse frm PIs wh have failed t fulfill the reprting requirements f a previus URCF award.
IV. Categries f Prpsals The URCF Advisry Cmmittee has established the fllwing categries f supprt: Categry 1. Prpsals which require start-up funds and have a high prbability f eventual funding frm external agencies. These prpsals will usually be new prjects, be in fields new t the investigatr(s), r supprt new investigatrs. If related t existing prjects, prpsals may be fr the explratin f new ideas r new directins. Matching funds may be requested t demnstrate the University s cmmitment t a prpsal planned fr submissin t an external spnsr s lng as the schl and department als expect t cntribute t the match. Categry 2. Prpsals frm disciplines where the expectatin f additinal external supprt may be limited (such as the humanities, scial sciences, r critical/ theretical/ histrical studies in the arts). Because URCF supprt is granted fr nly ne year, prpsals shuld fcus n: a. Research t permit cmpletin f a mngraph, full-length wrk, r ther schlarly prductin (e.g., film, script); r b. The initial phase f a new research area. The freging categries are nt prescriptive. These guidelines are intentinally brad and investigatrs shuld nt feel limited by the kinds f cnstraints frequently set by external funding agencies. V. Review Criteria The criteria include: 1. Impact n the field(s) f research 2. Impact n the career f the investigatr(s); 3. Impact n clleagues in the department, schl, University; 4. Methdlgy; 5. Budget 6. Fr Categry 1 prpsals: Prspects fr funding. VI. Prpsal Prcess Prpsal Assistance Questins abut submitting a prpsal r revising a previusly submitted ne shuld be addressed t Prjects Officers in the Office f Spnsred Prgrams (x82121) well befre the deadline. Prjects Officers can help determine whether a prject is better directed t the URCF r t an utside spnsr, in which case they can assist in lcating such a surce. Drafts shuld be submitted t OSP Prjects Officers fr review and cmment BEFORE the final prduct is submitted. VII. APPLICATION COMPONENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE READ ALL DIRECTIONS BEFORE COMPLETING AN APPLICATION. Applicatins shuld be submitted via Cayuse SP. See instructins t cmplete and submit the applicatin via Cayuse SP. IMPORTANT: Yu must be registered t use Cayuse SP. Once yu are registered,
access t Cayuse is via NYUHme s Research tab. If yu have nt previusly used the Cayuse system r are nt yet registered in the system, please click here t start yur registratin. Upn cmpleting registratin, yu will be instructed t cmplete a Prfessinal Prfile in Cayuse 424. The instructins t cmplete the prfile are emailed upn registratin. Use Mzilla Firefx as yur brwser. Fr all applicatins: Dcuments shuld be prepared using Arial 11 pint type with 1 inch margins Text may be single spaced. Applicatins must adhere t the page limitatins utlined in these instructins. D nt include any supplemental infrmatin, such as articles r a mre detailed prject descriptin. This infrmatin will nt be reviewed. N appendix material is allwed. Write clearly and cncisely fr an educated lay audience. Avid jargn, and spell ut acrnyms when used fr the first time. The fllwing 6 applicatin cmpnents must be prvided. The cmplete prpsal shuld be assembled as ne cntinuus.pdf dcument and upladed under the sectin prvided fr attachments in Cayuse SP. Cmpnent 1. Prject Narrative - The Prject Narrative cnsists f the fllwing: a. Abstract and Prject Statement (1 page) b. Prject Descriptin (3 pages) c. Literature Cited (1 page) a) Abstract and Prject Statement (ne page) Abstract: Answer sme r all f the fllwing questins and indicate n tp whether yu are requesting supprt fr Categry 1 r Categry 2: What is the gal f the prject (what are intended accmplishments?)? What are the prject bjectives (what is the desired utcme(s))? What is the anticipated impact n the field? What is the anticipated impact n the PI/C-PI s research r that f thers? Prject Statement: Under which URCF Categry f Supprt des this prpsal fall (1 r 2)? Hw des this prpsal relate t the interests f the URCF? Once the research is cmpleted, hw will the results be used? What are the plans, if any, fr seeking external supprt? If the prject has been funded by an external spnsr, please be very clear why URCF supprt is needed t advance the research. b) Prject Descriptin (three pages including any pictures, figures r tables) The three page descriptin f the planned research. Prvide answers t sme r all f the fllwing questins:
Prgram Overview and Design: What are the prject s scpe, size and cmpnents? What methdlgy will yu emply? What is the prject s duratin and timeline? Present State f Knwledge: What impact might the prject have n the prgress r state f knwledge in this field? Cllabratins: Hw might the prject benefit frm and affect the research f clleagues at NYU r utside NYU? c. Literature Cited (ne page) Include citatin in the style/frmat f the prpsal discipline Cmpnent 2. Supprting Letter Each submissin t the URCF must be accmpanied by a brief supprting statement frm the department chair, dean, r directr (r his r her designee). The letter shuld be explanatry in nature, nt simply a standard endrsement, describing, fr example, the prpsal s relevance t departmental r schl plans fr advancing research and educatin, and assessing the prject s prspects, if any, fr future external supprt. Cmpnent 3. Curriculum Vitae (2 pages per persn PI and C-PI s nly) A bisketch prepared in NSF r NIH frmat may be used. If the PI and C-PI s d nt have bisketches prepared fr either f these agencies, please create CV s including the fllwing elements: Educatin/Training (Degree/Year/Field f Study/Institutin/Lcatin) Research & Prfessinal experience (Dates/Institutin r Emplyer Name/Psitin) Funding Histry (List Prpsals submitted/awards received during the past 3 years) Publicatins (up t ten) Cmpnent 4. Current & Pending Supprt Identify spnsr, prject title, rle n the prject, prject perid, and ttal amunt. (Apprximatins are adequate.) Mark type and items as apprpriate; prvide additinal infrmatin, if applicable. Reprt all institutinal surces f supprt, including start-up funding and summer salary prvided by the schl r department. Shuld this r a similar prpsal be submitted t, r awarded by, an external spnsr r anther NYU cmpetitin after the URCF deadline, yu must send a mem t the URCF Advisry Cmmittee s stating and describing the technical/financial verlap. Yu will be cntacted prir t the cmmittee meeting t prvide updated current and ther supprt.
Prvide ther supprt infrmatin in the frmat requested belw fr all current and pending supprt fr PI and any C-PI. PI C-PI (identify): Spnsr: Prject Title: Prject Perid: Ttal Award: $ Rle n Prject: Type: External Startup Schl/Dept Funding Other (identify) Status: Active Pending Planned Des this prject verlap with the prpsed URCF?: Yes N If yes, hw?: Cmpnent 5. URCF Supprt (1 page per persn) Indicate whether r nt PI r C-PIs have received a URCF grant in the last five years. Fill in remaining infrmatin, if applicable. Prvide this infrmatin nly if the PI r any C-PI has received research supprt frm their URCF and/r the ERCF within the last 5 years. Use the frmat belw fr each award. PI C-PI (identify): What type f grant did yu receive? URCF ERCF Award was received by: PI ther key persn (identify): Year awarded: What were the research prducts? bk publicatin prductin ther Describe: Did this award lead t external funding? Yes N Was a prgress reprt submitted fr the previusly awarded URCF supprt? Yes N Cmpnent 6. Budget & Justificatin (see Budget Frms fr NYU Washingtn Square and NYU Plytechnic) Specific cnstraints: Summer salary is allwable fr beginning faculty nly, and is granted n a limited basis, in mst cases fr a maximum f ne mnth. (Tenured assciate and full prfessrs and all cde 103 emplyees are ineligible fr summer salary.) Academic year salary is nt permitted. It is assumed that assistant prfessrs in units prviding summer mney will g t thse surces fr their supprt. Equipment The purchase f laptp cmputers must be strngly justified and will be allwable n an exceptinal basis nly.
The Cmmittee will cnsider requests fr cst sharing tward purchase f special purpse equipment where the balance may be secured frm external spnsrs r cmmitted by internal surces nly in thse cases where the department and/r schl als cmmits funds. Travel The Fund des nt nrmally supprt meals while traveling. Funds requested fr travel must be in accrdance with NYU s travel plicy. D nt include indirect csts. Justificatin: Explain the respnsibilities f the persn(s) fr whm salary is requested. Prvide detail n travel, including destinatin(s) and relatin t prpsed prject. Explain briefly ALL ther-than-persnnel-services (OTPS) expenses. Any cst items nt bviusly necessary t the success f the prject are at risk f being deleted by the Cmmittee if nt carefully justified. REVIEW PROCEDURES Prpsals will be reviewed by the URCF Advisry Cmmittee members, wh may als seek cmments frm ther clleagues frm within r utside the University. The prpsals and reviews frm the cntent fr the Cmmittee's decisin-making. The Advisry Cmmittee makes a cmprehensive evaluatin f each prpsal, identifying thse they believe t be mst meritrius. Decisins (fund/nt fund) are expected t be made in mid-may and will be cnveyed t applicants and schl/departmental fficials. AWARDS Awards fr a ne-year perid start n earlier than June 1, 2014. Once the award is acknwledged, and cnditins set frth by the URCF Advisry Cmmittee are accepted, an accunt is established by the Cntrller s Divisin. REPORTING All award recipients are asked t reprt n the utcmes f their research. These reprts supprt the cntinuatin f this funding mechanism, which facilitates research and helps t generate larger research initiatives n the part f the faculty. If yu have any questins abut the prcedures r frms, please email urcf.inf@nyu.edu.