III. University Support of Research
1) FACULTY RESEARCH GRANT GUIDELINES
a) Objectives
The primary objective of the Faculty Research Grant Program is to enable full-time faculty to pursue research projects, especially new lines of research, which will lead to successful external funding applications. A secondary objective is to support lines of research that will lead to new scholarly publications. Except as described in g) below, all regular full-time Fordham faculty (tenured and tenure-track) are eligible to apply.
The program is intended to reimburse the costs of the project and not to provide salary replacement. Investigators should recognize the "seed money" aspect of these funds and should not view them as a regular source of funding, or as a substitute for external sources of funds. The program does not support instructional projects.
b) Priorities
Priority will be given to faculty in the initial stages of a research project that will lead to the submission of a grant proposal to an external funding agency (in which case the proposal should describe the targeted program and agency) and to junior faculty working on their first research projects at Fordham. Proposals from faculty who have had two awards in the 5 preceding competitions will be considered only after all other meritorious proposals have been funded.
c) Budget
All budget items should be justified. Bear in mind that expenditures will be reimbursed and are not funded in advance, with the exception that travel arranged through the University travel service can be billed directly. General guidance on budget preparation follows:
- Maximum award is normally $6,000. (The total amount on the proposal budget page must not add up to more than $6,000.)
- Necessary travel (e.g., library, archives) is an allowable expense, if properly justified. Travel will be supported only when the Applicant demonstrates that it will advance the research or enhance its prospects of attracting external support and, in the case of travel to scholarly meetings, that support via line items in school or department budgets is not available
- Applicants may budget the federal per diem rate for research undertaken outside the New York area.
- Salary for research assistance or secretarial help is fundable, if it is essential to the implementation of the research proposal, but salary for the Applicant or other faculty members is not.
- Payment for journal subscriptions is not allowable, and payment for book purchases is not normally allowable.
- When needed to initiate a line of research with unusual promise of attracting subsequent external funding, the purchase of specialized equipment, supplies, data or related services may be allowed. This request must be budgeted and justified separately from the main proposal narrative/budget and the equipment portion of the award will be limited to $10,000. All equipment or software purchased under a grant becomes the property of Fordham University.
- Expendables and services will not normally be considered for support if such could be line items in school or department budgets.
d) Reimbursement
Major expenses may be paid directly froma grant by arranging purchase through the Controller’s office which will normally require presentation of a detailed invoice. Reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses will be made only upon presentation of original receipts. COPIES ARE NOT ACCEPTED BY CONTROLLER'S OFFICE. No advances are permitted and changes in the approved budget are allowed only with proper justification.
e) Grant Period
Grants are awarded for a maximum of one year, April 1 through March 31. They may be extended through June 30, by written request to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
f) Grant Reports
A final report on grant activities must be submitted to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs within sixty days of the grant's expiration.
g) Ineligible Faculty
Faculty who have failed to submit an application for external funding described in a proposal awarded in any of the preceding three competitions will not be eligible. Faculty who fail to submit a final grant report on time will be ineligible in the subsequent two competitions.
h) Miscellaneous
Awardees will be expected to serve as reviewers in subsequent years.
(Guidelines revised September 2005)
2) Research Expense Grant Program Guidelines
The University Research Council has recently reviewed the guidelines for reimbursement under the University's Research Expense Grant Program.
The goal of this program is to support and foster research and publication. The two principal categories of support, therefore, will be RESEARCH PUBLICATION EXPENSES and RESEARCH PROPOSAL PREPARATION. We will interpret proposal preparation broadly, to include preliminary stages, such as preparation of data by research assistants and travel to collections. What is important is that you identify a specific research project, not general research expenses.
Among the items eligible for reimbursement are: Typing, xeroxing, library fees, local travel and parking, publication costs (page charges, reprints), and technical assistance (data input and analysis, editing, indexing). Items NOT covered under this program include equipment and supplies (hardware and software, books, office supplies, etc.), stipends to research participants, subscriptions, membership dues and conference fees.
Only full-time, tenured or tenure-track faculty members are eligible to apply, and the maximum amount that can be awarded to any individual faculty member for proposal preparation and publications combined is $400. We stress once again that this is not an entitlement program. Faculty will be reimbursed only for legitimate expenses and until funds are exhausted. This may mean that we cannot fully fund each request.
To apply for reimbursement for publication expenses, simply give the title of the work, publisher, items to be reimbursed and estimated charges. In the case of proposal preparation, give the name of the project, the target funding agency/ies, items to be reimbursed and estimated charges.
Existing department services and funds should be checked before applying to the Office of Research. The funds available under this program are limited and intended to ease costs to individual faculty members engaged in research projects.
12/11/95
