Internal Grants

Competitive Grants
Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Award

Application Deadline: Friday, March 5, 2010 (to your Dean's office)
School/Unit Submission to Graduate School: April 2, 2010
Announcement Date: April 30, 2010
Project Begin Date: July 1, 2010

Download Cover Sheet and Checklist
Download Sample Budget Template
Download Final Report Form

Past Winners: 2009 Vaughnie Lindsay New Investigator Awards

Purpose

The New Investigator Awards are made to tenure-track SIUE faculty members in order to recognize and support individual programs of research or creative activities. These Awards recognize faculty members whose research or creative activities have the promise of making significant contributions to their fields of study, their respective school/unit, and to SIUE in general. Recipients are expected to produce published scholarly works/products and externally sponsored grants/contracts.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants must have earned appropriate terminal degrees in their disciplines and have regular full-time tenure track faculty positions at the Assistant Professor level. Eligible junior faculty may apply any time after successful completion of their first year at SIUE and before promotion to Associate Professor (recipients must be at the Assistant Professor level throughout the duration of their New Investigator award). Previous recipients of the New Investigator Award, or recipients of external awards over $30,000 while at SIUE, are not eligible to apply.

Nature of Award

Up to two Lindsay New Investigator Awards will be made per year. These awards are designed to support a significant and discrete portion of a faculty member's larger research agenda. A cost-share equaling 20% of the total award is required from the applicant’s college/school. Each recipient of the New Investigator award will receive $10,000 from the Graduate School and $2,500 from their unit for a total of $12,500 for a one-year period. Summer funding is not included in this award. Funds may be expended for:

• Academic Year Course Release (at the call-staff rate and approved by Department Chair and Dean);
• GA or RA support;
• Travel;
• Commodities;
• Equipment;
• Contractual services

New Investigator Award recipients must submit a grant proposal for external funding within one year of receiving the award.

Application/Nomination Procedures

Applicants must have the endorsement of their Department chair and dean.  Applications for a New Investigator Award must be to the school/college dean’s office.  Department Chairs and the dean will provide an assessment of the applicant’s scholarly potential and ongoing contribution to the school/unit. Those evaluations along with the proposals will be submitted by the school/college Dean's office to the Graduate School.  The proposals, along with the Evaluations from the Department Chair and School/College Dean will be reviewed by the Graduate School's R&D Committee.

There are no formal guidelines for formatting the evaluation documents from the Dean or Department Chair. The evaluations should address the criteria enumerated below under "Selection Criteria," and provide an overall assessment of the applicant’s scholarly potential and ongoing contribution to the school/unit. The evaluation should also include a clear statement from the applicant's college/school outlining its 20% cost-share commitment.

Complete applications are due in the school/college deans' office by 4 p.m. on Friday, March 5, 2010 to allow sufficient time to prepare a thorough evaluation.

The final proposal materials (including the Dean's and Chair's evaluations) are due by 4 p.m. on April 2, 2010 in the Graduate School, Campus Box 1046, or Room 2202 in Rendleman Hall.

Proposal Format and Instructions

1. Cover Page and Checklist (Required) Download Form

• Problem Statement: Define the overall goal and significance of the long-term research/creative activity
• Scope of Work: State the specific scope of work and objectives of the one-year project within the broader research agenda.

2. Letter of Recommendation from Department Chair (to be included in proposal submitted to the dean on application deadline date)

3. Abstract

Please include a brief description of your project in a paragraph of no more than 100 words. Content should include the following points:

• Problem Statement: Define the overall goal and significance of the long-term research/creative activity
• Scope of Work: State the specific scope of work and objectives of the one-year project within the broader research agenda.

4. Narrative (10 Pages)

Applications must address the individual's overall agenda for research or creative activity and the proposed work and objectives for the one-year award period. Each application must be supported by a narrative of no more than ten (10) pages (excluding Bibliography, Vitae, and Appendices) that addresses

• the significance of the research or creative activities,
• the potential for external funding, and
• the specific role that a one-year appointment as New Investigator could play in advancing the applicant's work on that agenda as well as contributing to the discipline and the unit; and
• procedures: describe the design and methodology of the specific study; describe special needs of the methodology, e.g. sources of data, equipment, facilities, travel, etc.; state the timetable for completion of the study in the next year and how this work will continue the overall research agenda.

The narrative should be written in a manner that is understandable to a non-specialist. The document must be formatted using at least 1.5 line spacing and at least 11 point font with 1 inch margins.

5. Budget and Budget Justification (2 pages)

You may download a brief budget template to facilitate your budget outline. Please note that the budget justification should be as detailed as possible, explaining the estimated costs for each portion of the project and its necessity for completion of the project. The Budget and Budget Justification are not included in the narrative page limit.

6. Bibliography

7. COS Expertise Profile

Please submit a copy of your Community of Science (COS) Expertise Profile. Please ensure that your Profile is up-to-date. Reviewers will use your completed COS Expertise Profile instead of a traditional curriculum vitae.  If you need assistance completing or updating your Profile, please contact Patience Graybill Condellone or Christa Johnson.

Selection Criteria

The Graduate School's R&D Committee will make its recommendation for the New Investigator Award recipient to the Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Dean. The focus of the selection process will be on identifying the applicant for whom a New Investigator Award could make the most significant contribution in furthering research or creative activities in the applicant's discipline. The R&D Committee's evaluation will include, but is not limited to, consideration of the following factors:

1. Evidence that the award of a New Investigator Award will enable specific advances in the applicant's discipline.
2. Evidence of careful planning for an integrated, feasible, one-year program of research or creative activities that will make effective use of the support offered by a New Investigator Award.
3. Evidence of professional qualifications to undertake, carry out, and complete the planned program of research or creative activities.
4. Evidence of the significance and the potential for external funding of the planned program of research or creative activities.
5. Evaluation of the application from the College/School Dean and Department Chair.

Definition of Research

Research is broadly defined as all creative, critical, scholarly, and/or empirical activity that expands, clarifies, reorganizes, or develops knowledge or artistic perception. This definition of research includes the demonstration, implementation, application, and dissemination of research results and those grants designated as research by the granting agency. This definition of research does not include departmental curriculum development, faculty development (learning an established technique, a language, or a methodology; dissertation research), institutional research (studies related directly to the operation of the University), and public service and consulting activities.

Terms and Conditions

A Final Report is required within ninety (90) days after the completion of the appointment. Recipients of the award are expected to produce published scholarly works and externally sponsored grants. At least one external grant proposal must be submitted within one year after completing the New Investigator Award. Recipients will not be eligible for additional support from the Graduate School until these conditions are satisfied.

Timetable for Academic Year 2009-2010

Friday, March 5, 2010: Applications are due by 4 p.m. to the applicant's School/College Research Committee.

Friday, April 2, 2010: The Committees turn in the applications, the Committee evaluations, and the Committee rankings to the Graduate School, Rendleman 2202, Box 1046, by 4 p.m.

Thursday, April 30, 2010: Awards announced.

Project Period: July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2011

October 1, 2011: Final Reports Due -- Download Form