ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE 2003-04 COMPETITION
FOR ONE-YEAR FACULTY RESEARCH EXPENSE GRANTS
The goal of the
Faculty Research Expense Grant Program is to support scholarship by directly
offsetting expenses associated with research or creative work. The Faculty
Research Committee will accept proposals to fund non-capital expenditures
associated with research or creative projects.
DEADLINE: By 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday,
February 3, 2004, nine (9) copies of the proposal must be received by
Janet Marotto, Administrative Assistant to the Associate Deans, Williams 232. Late
proposals will not be considered. Notification concerning the disposition of
proposals will be made by Friday, March 12, 2004.
By Tuesday,
February 3, 2004, one copy of the application must be submitted to the
applicant’s Department Chairperson.
By Wednesday, February 11,
2004, the Department Chairperson must submit to the Dean of the Faculty a
statement indicating whether there are departmental funding sources available
to support (either in whole or in part) the applicant’s project.
ELIGIBILITY: All Trinity College faculty
members on continuing full-time appointments are eligible for these grants.
Junior faculty who have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. (or other
degree appropriate to their field) are encouraged to apply.
DURATION OF
GRANTS:
June 1, 2004 - May 31, 2005.
SIZE OF GRANTS: Faculty may apply for up to $3500 to cover the costs of travel,
library fees or other expenses as justified by appropriate budgetary
documentation (see Appendix 3). These expenses may be incurred at any time
during the grant period.
SUMMARY REPORT: Grant recipients must
submit a summary of the work undertaken during the grant period to the Dean of
the Faculty by August 31, 2005.
The Committee’s
objective in allocating these funds is to support both exploratory and
continuing scholarly efforts that are likely to have fruitful results and to further
applicants’ scholarly programs. Of particular interest to the Committee are
those proposals that serve to enhance faculty members’ ability to compete for
external support for the development of their scholarly work.
Proposals for
Faculty Research Expense Grants will be judged on
·
the
clarity of the proposal
·
the
coherence of the objectives
·
the
clarity of the methods of research or creative work
·
the
persuasiveness of the case made concerning the significance of the research or
creative work
·
the
likelihood that the objectives can be achieved during the funding period
· the likelihood that the support will have fruitful results
· the likelihood that the proposed work will further the applicant’s scholarly program
· the justification for the budget in relation to the project
Decisions will be based solely on the written applications submitted to the Committee. Because the Committee expects to receive more applications than it can fund, preference may be given to applicants who have not received internal funding in the recent past, or who do not have access to alternative internal funding sources.
The Faculty Research Committee has members representing each of the four
curricular groupings (Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences &
Mathematics, and the Arts). Each proposal is read and judged by all members of
the Committee (six faculty members and the Associate Dean or Dean of the
Faculty). It is, therefore, imperative that proposals be written in
language that can be readily understood by a college-wide faculty committee,
most—or all—of the members of which are not specialists in the applicant’s
field. Particular care should be given
to avoid jargon and technical language; if the use of such language is
unavoidable, it should be accompanied by a clear explanation.
The following guidelines should be strictly adhered to in preparing your proposal:
COVER SHEET: Title of project, name, department, and an abstract of no more than 100 words.
BODY OF THE PROPOSAL: In no more than five (5) double-spaced pages—excluding references, but including figures, tables, and graphs—explain your project. If significant illustration is required, it may be attached as an appendix. Include a statement of the goals of your proposed research or creative work, the significance of the work, how the proposed project fits into your long-term program, and the form in which the results will be communicated to your professional peers. Also explain the procedures or methods to be used in carrying out your research and a brief review of relevant literature. Because this is an expense program, give special attention in the body of the proposal to the rationales for budget items and their relation to the methods you will employ. Requests for expenses that may fall into a gray area between capital and non-capital expenditures must be fully justified in the body of the proposal.
APPENDIX 1: Attach a copy of your curriculum vitae.
APPENDIX 2: a) List all current and anticipated sources of funding, including funds from departmental sources, the Dean of Faculty’s office, external grants, internal grants, and funds associated with endowed chairs. b) List all attempts to obtain funding from Trinity (including from departmental sources, the Dean of Faculty’s office, etc.) and from external sources during the past five years or since coming to Trinity (whichever is shorter). Include the title of the proposals, amounts requested, sources, periods of proposed funding, and the disposition of the proposals. Provide a brief indication of the publications or similar results for each grant awarded. The applicant's accomplishments resulting from previous funding will be considered as one piece of evidence regarding the likelihood that present support will have fruitful results.
APPENDIX 3: Budget Summary Form [Word document]. Anticipated project-related expenses should be detailed on this form, and their relation to the project should be discussed in the body of the proposal. A budget narrative should be included as part of the budget summary.
For your guidance, successful proposals from previous years are available on the committee’s website at http://www.trincoll.edu/comm/facresearch. The director of faculty grants, Cynthia Merritt, can provide assistance in the preparation of proposals. You should also consider having your proposal read by other faculty members, from both inside and outside your area of expertise, before submitting it to the committee.
If you need additional information, please contact
John Platoff
Professor of Music
Committee Chair
Cynthia Merritt
Director of Faculty Grants