Applications for FRF Release-Time and
Spring-Summer Awards
Fall 2007 Competition: October 1
Winter 2008 Competition: February 1
Download 2007-2008 "Faculty Research Fellowship (FRF) Submission and Review of Applications Timelines" from the right column under "Download", for more information.
Purpose and Nature of the Award
The FRF is intended to encourage and support the research, creative, artistic, and scholarly endeavors of full-time tenured or tenure-track EMU faculty by providing cash, spring-summer salary, and/or released-time awards for outstanding proposals. Cash (SSM) awards range from $300 to $3,000. Spring-Summer Research Awards are funded at a maximum of 20% of base salary (no spring/summer teaching allowed) or 10% (awardee may teach one course)(1). Released-time awards may be in increments of 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% per semester.
Timeline
Proposals may be submitted at any time to the Associate Provost (106 Welch Hall) and will be date-stamped on receipt. Applicants for released-time and spring-summer support must adhere to internal deadlines and screening/rating/ranking procedures established by departments, schools, and colleges, as faculty replacement requires advance planning. All proposals require signature approval by the department head or school director; released-time and spring-summer proposals require signature approval by both the department head and college dean. Proposals must be submitted both in one hard copy with approval signatures (these will be date-stamped) and electronically as an email attachment in Word or PDF format to: wmartin1@emich.edu. After submission to a reviewing body, proposals may not be altered in any way. Cash-only proposals received in any month will constitute a competitive pool; awards are normally announced within two weeks of the end of the month. Deadlines for submission to the Provost's Office of released-time only, released-time-plus-cash, and Spring-Summer Awards are February 1 and October 1.
Faculty Research Fellowships (FRF) Submission and Review of Applications Timelines (62K)
Proposal Elements Proposals must be double-spaced on numbered pages (one side only) in 12-pt. font with one-inch margins. They must contain the following elements:
Application form (clipped to proposal – not stapled)
Title page (include project title; name, rank, and home department of applicant(s); brief one-paragraph abstract; the precise award requested; and approval signatures (department head, multiple applicants, and dean, if appropriate)
Project narrative (5-10 pages)(2): goals and objectives; need/significance; outcomes assessment; work plan and timeline showing major milestones; justified line-item budget (if appropriate)
Short (2-5 pp.) CV emphasizing the applicant’s most recent five years of scholarly activity
Appendices as appropriate (may include contracts, letters of permission/ access, tables of contents, survey instruments, etc.). Items not in electronic form should be scanned for electronic submission. Note that reviewers are not obliged to read appended material.
Evaluation Criteria
a) Need/significance within the discipline
b) Clearly stated and feasible goals/objectives
c) Well-conceived work plan, methodology and timeline
d) Applicant capability: adequate preparation and resources; evidence of a coherent, ongoing scholarly/creative agenda
e) Overall benefit to the applicant, to students, to the discipline, to EMU, and to the community
Allowable Items
Although a wide range of proposals is sought, the following items and activities (in no particular order) are allowable and consistent with the goals of the award program.
Cash (SSM) Awards ($300-$3,000).
a) Travel to archives and research sites(3) when the data collection is likely to result in scholarly publications or grant proposals
b) Costs associated with survey research (e.g., copying, postage, data transcription, conversion, analysis)
c) Specialized software not conveniently available elsewhere
e) Purchase of scientific equipment or instrumentation (requires 50% match)
Released-Time/Spring-Summer Research Awards
a) Preliminary data collection or initial, experimental stages of research that is likely to result in proposals for external funding
b) Time to initiate or complete a major scholarly or creative work
c) Interdisciplinary faculty teams to write major (>$1 million) institutional or interdisciplinary proposals
d) Faculty with external grants that require effort not supported by their grant budget
Non-Allowable Items
a) Travel to professional meetings or conferences
b) Purchase of computers
c) Predominantly commercial ventures
d) Institutionally directed research (“work for hire”)
e) Faculty development
f) Service projects
g) Curriculum/course development
h) Reimbursement for expenses already incurred
Additional Restrictions
a) Applicants for released time in winter and/or fall should adhere to the Nov. 15 deadline. Applicants for released time in fall and/or winter should adhere to the Mar. 15 deadline. Applicants for spring-summer salary awards should adhere to the Nov. 15 deadline.
b) Released time may be requested for no more than two consecutive semesters.
c) Unfunded proposals may be revised and resubmitted for consideration in a future funding cycle.
d) Recipients remain eligible for other awards in the same year. However, duplicate funding from any source for the same scope of work or for supplies, services, or materials is not permitted.
e) A person may not be awarded FRF released time and a Sabbatical Leave Award during the same academic year (September through April). Faculty who apply for both and are successful must choose to receive only one award.
f) Only one FRF is normally allowed during two consecutive fiscal years.
Requirements of Award Recipients
a) Any revision or alteration of an awarded proposal (including the budget) requires prior written approval by the Associate Provost.
b) Any nonexpendable materials acquired with funds provided under this program become the property of Eastern Michigan University, and are subject to property-control procedures.
c) In accepting funding for a proposal, the recipient agrees to submit (within 30 days following conclusion of the award period) a final report (maximum two pages) to the Associate Provost, with copies to the awardee’s department head and dean. Faculty with overdue reports are ineligible for internal funding.
Notes: (1) - Funding for spring-summer proposals is extremely limited. To be successful, such proposals must have an exceptionally compelling rationale. (2) - Page length should be in proportion to the complexity of the proposal. (3) - Travel support is limited to $500.
