Strategic Research Advancement

PURPOSE

• To provide seed money for the initiation of projects that subsequently may attract funding from other sources
• To encourage the pursuit of new areas of research, scholarship, or artistic endeavors
• To fund travel in support of research, scholarship, or artistic endeavors
• To develop specific professional skills within one’s discipline

ELIGIBILITY

• All full-time faculty (as defined in the UNCW Faculty Handbook) across academic disciplines may apply.
• Faculty members who received an award (either as PI or co-PI) in the preceding year or two awards in the last five years are ineligible.
• Applicants who have not fulfilled responsibilities for previous awards will not be considered for future awards.
• All PIs and project staff must have completed their annual Conflict of Interest Disclosure.
• Faculty can request R&I funding across mechanisms for only one project per cycle.
• The department chair/school director must support and approve the project through the InfoReady routing system.

AWARD INFORMATION

Individual proposals are permitted, and interdisciplinary/interprofessional collaborative proposals are also encouraged. Individual proposals may be awarded up to $6,000. Teams of two or more faculty (limit 3) can apply for a joint project. Each PI is eligible for $6,000; joint projects would be eligible for funding of $12,000 to $18,000 depending on the number of PIs. All joint project collaborators must be from different departments. The number of projects awarded will be dependent on annual funding received each fiscal year.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

• Proposal Abstract
• Project Description
• Evidence of Scholarly Activity
• Project Relationship to Professional Experiences and Goals
• Impact to Home Department/College/University/Region/Discipline
• Budget
  • Allowable Costs – student compensation; materials and supplies; travel and equipment inextricably bound to project; activity costs (e.g., data collection, survey costs, literature review), participant incentives
  • Unallowable Costs – faculty salary; secretarial support; degree/certification expenses; academic conference/meeting attendance
• Budget Justification
• Curriculum Vitae (for each PI)
• Literature Cited

*Detailed instructions are available within the InfoReady competition. Please read each section thoroughly to ensure all requirements are met.

EVALUATION PROCESS

The Associate Provost for Research will convene the Faculty Senate Research Committee to evaluate the applications and make funding recommendations.

Proposals will be evaluated on intellectual merit with attention to the proposal requirements –abstract, description, scholarly activity, relationship to professional experience/goals, impact, and budget. Each of these criteria will be scored points based on the following designations: 1 – poor, 2 – moderate, 3 – good, 4 – exceptional. There will also be an overall score.

The scores for individual committee members will be averaged to generate a single score. These will then be summed to determine the total score. Applications not following the guidelines may be returned without review.

The committee seeks to engender a diverse applicant pool drawing from as many departments as possible. During the review process, when applications receive an equal rank, the committee will consider academic rank (favoring early career faculty) and previous Cahill grant recipients (favoring new awardees) to balance awards among academic disciplines.

TERMS OF AWARD

• Submit a final report via InfoReady at the end of the grant period.
• Share a poster at the Annual Research Celebration.
• Acknowledge funding support from Research and Innovation in future research publications and presentations. PIs are encouraged to use the Research and Innovation logo.
• Serve as a reviewer for future seed funding programs.  

CONTACT

Susanna Ek, Research Development Specialist
Email: eks@uncw.edu

AY24 AWARDEES

Faculty submitting proposals are strongly encouraged to seek the advice of colleagues who have previously received Cahill grants and other experienced faculty within their departments.

PURPOSE

To provide faculty time to develop a grant proposal for submission to an external funding sponsor

ELIGIBILITY

• Applicant(s) must identify a targeted external funding sponsor.
• Only full-time, tenure-track research and library faculty may apply.
• Faculty members (either as PI or co-PI) may only receive one Research Momentum Fund award every two years.
• Applicants who have not fulfilled responsibilities for previous awards will not be considered for future awards.
• All PIs must have completed their annual Conflict of Interest Disclosure.
• Faculty can request R&I funding across mechanisms for only one project per cycle.
• The department chair/school director must support and approve the course release/summer salary through the InfoReady routing system.

AWARD INFORMATION

These funds are only available to buy time to work on a proposal. This can be either a full 1-course buyout (following the sponsored program course buyout policy) or one month of summer salary.

Individual proposals are permitted, and interdisciplinary/interprofessional collaborative proposals are also encouraged. Teams of two or more faculty (limit 3) can apply for a joint project. All joint project collaborators must be from different departments. The number of proposals awarded will be dependent on annual funding received each fiscal year.

This is an outcome-based award. Submission of a grant proposal to an external funding sponsor within 12-18 months of receipt of a RMF award is required.

OPTIONAL MENTOR SUPPLEMENT

$750 is available for a single, identified faculty mentor. Faculty mentors must have grant experience and agree to support proposal development activities for this proposal. Mentoring activities may vary. Research and Innovation will determine mentor eligibility, and mentors cannot support more than two projects.

• All proposals are eligible for the faculty mentoring supplement.
• Mentor must confirm support through the InfoReady routing system.
• Identified mentors must have demonstrated experience with external sponsored funding, preferably with the mentee’s targeted sponsor.
• Mentors are expected to assist with budget development.
• Mentors are expected to provide at least one full review of the draft proposal prior to final submission to external sponsor.
• Mentors may be listed as co-PI on the final proposal being submitted to an external funding agency - but this is not required.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

• Project Idea – Potential, Significance, and Personnel
• Proposal Development – Funding Source, Goals/Activities, Timeline
• References
• Mentoring Plan (if applicable)
• Budget – Work with your departmental business officer to determine the full salary/benefit cost of the course buyout or month summer salary.

*Detailed instructions are available within the InfoReady competition. Please read each section thoroughly to ensure all requirements are met.

EVALUATION PROCESS

Proposals will be evaluated by the RMF Proposal Review Committee, led by the Associate Provost for Research and Innovation. Proposals will be evaluated on the identification of a targeted external funding sponsor and the expected success of grant submission. The project idea should be well-developed i.e., at a stage such that the proposal development activities will clearly strengthen a competitive proposal for external funding.

Proposals will be evaluated with attention to fit with scope, budget, feasibility, goal specificity, clarity, and significance. Each of these criteria will be scored points based on the following designations: 1 – poor, 2 – moderate, 3 – good, 4 – exceptional.

Applications not following the guidelines may be returned without review.

TERMS OF AWARD

• Submit a grant proposal to an external funding sponsor within 12-18 months of receipt of this RMF award.
• Submit a final report via InfoReady at the end of the grant period.
• Acknowledge funding support from Research and Innovation in future research publications and presentations. PIs are encouraged to use the Research and Innovation logo.
• Serve as a reviewer for future seed funding programs. 

CONTACT

Susanna Ek, Research Development Specialist
Email: eks@uncw.edu

PAST AWARDEES

Faculty submitting proposals are strongly encouraged to seek the advice of colleagues who have previously received RMF grants and other experienced faculty within their departments.

PURPOSE

To transform early-stage research or innovation into commercially viable products and services with societal impact and practical application

ELIGIBILITY

• All full-time faculty (as defined in the UNCW Faculty Handbook) across academic disciplines may apply.
• Applicants who have not fulfilled responsibilities for previous awards will not be considered for future awards.
• All PIs must have completed their annual Conflict of Interest Disclosure.
• Applicants must have an Innovation Disclosure - tied to the proposal and not already licensed - on file with the Office of Innovation & Commercialization.
• Faculty can request R&I funding across mechanisms for only one project per cycle.
• The department chair/school director must support and approve the project through the InfoReady routing system.

AWARD INFORMATION

Up to $15,000 total available across 1-3 awards annually

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

• Description of Innovation
• Problem Statement
• Timeline & Milestones
• Budget
  • Allowable Costs – student compensation, materials and supplies, travel and equipment inextricably bound to project, tradeshow/commercial conference, third party contracting, faculty summer salary considered
  • Unallowable Costs – course buyouts, secretarial support, degree/certification expenses, academic conference/meeting attendance
• Budget Justification

*Detailed instructions are available within the InfoReady competition. Please read each section thoroughly to ensure all requirements are met.

EVALUATION PROCESS

Proposals will be evaluated with attention to feasibility, IP strength, market opportunity, and grant impact by the OIC Selection Committee.

TERMS OF AWARD

• Acknowledge funding support from Research and Innovation in future research publications and presentations. PIs are encouraged to use the Research and Innovation logo.
• Recipients must attend training sessions including OIC Customer Discovery.
• Recipients must attend monthly one-on-one meetings with OIC.
• Recipients must complete at least 20 Customer Discovery Interviews during the grant period.
• One Progress Report must be submitted during the grant period through InfoReady.
• One Final Report must be submitted upon completion of the grant through InfoReady.

CONTACT

Justin Streuli, OIC Director
Email: streulij@uncw.edu

PAST AWARDEES

Faculty submitting proposals are strongly encouraged to seek the advice of colleagues who have previously received translational grants and other experienced faculty within their departments.

PURPOSE

• To build interdisciplinary capacity in areas of growing research strength
• To foster an intellectual community of peers
• To connect the local community with national knowledge networks
• To promote collaboration among UNCW researchers

ELIGIBILITY

• All full-time faculty (as defined in the UNCW Faculty Handbook) across academic disciplines may apply.
• The topic must cross two or more disciplines (operationalized as departments/schools at UNCW).
• Applicants who have not fulfilled responsibilities for previous awards will not be considered for future awards.
• All PIs must have completed their annual Conflict of Interest Disclosure.
• Faculty can request R&I funding across mechanisms for only one project per cycle.
• The department chair/school director must support and approve the project through the InfoReady routing system.

AWARD INFORMATION

Up to $20,000 total available across 2 awards annually

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

• Abstract
• Project Description
• Budget & Budget Justification
• Curriculum Vitae (for each PI)

*Detailed instructions are available within the InfoReady competition. Please read each section thoroughly to ensure all requirements are met.

EVALUATION PROCESS

Proposals will be reviewed by an ad hoc committee assembled by the Associate Provost for Research and Innovation. Proposals will be evaluated with attention intellectual merit, collaborative potential, and feasibility to grow research success. Each of these criteria will be scored points based on the following designations: 1 – poor, 2 – fair, 3 – good, 4 – very good, 5 - excellent.

TERMS OF AWARD

• Submit a final report via InfoReady at the end of the grant period.
• Acknowledge funding support from Research and Innovation in future research publications and presentations. PIs are encouraged to use the Research and Innovation logo.
• Serve as a reviewer for future seed funding programs. 

CONTACT

Kirsten Wisneski, Research Development Specialist
Email: wisneskik@uncw.edu

PAST AWARDEES

Faculty submitting proposals are strongly encouraged to seek the advice of colleagues who have previously received IRSS grants and other experienced faculty within their departments.