2006-2007 FSB Grant Guidelines
I. Eligibility
As explained in more detail below, the FSB will provide two types of summer research support: a supplement for those receiving University Summer Research Appointments and an RTFSB Summer Research Grant. Eligibility criteria for the University grants are explained in the August 1st memo from Gilbert Pacey, Associate Dean for Research in the Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship (OARS). With the exception of the individuals who review the applications and those with other contractual arrangements with the Richard T. Farmer School of Business (FSB) for funding of summer research efforts 1 (including those with University Summer Research Appointments), all tenured and tenure-track faculty in the FSB with the rank of assistant professor or higher are eligible for an FSB Summer Research Grant. Degree and rank at the date of application shall determine eligibility. FSB grants are not to be used toward completion of any advanced degree on the part of the principal investigator. In the event that a member of the Faculty Research Committee (FRC) submits a proposal, the chair of the relevant department will choose a substitute-reviewer.
II. The Awards
The School will fund two types of awards.
A. Supplement for Faculty receiving a University Summer Research Appointment
For those faculty who apply for and receive a University Summer Research Appointment of $6,200, the School will provide an additional $6,200 to support research for a ten week period in the summer. Conditions for eligibility and expectations for recipients are included in the August 1st memo from Gilbert Pacey of OARS. In addition to those conditions, grant recipients from the School of Business must file a copy of the paper or a progress report with the FSB Associate Dean for Academic Affairs by the end of the Fall Semester in the year that funding is received. The Associate Dean will then post the report on the School’s Blackboard site for other faculty to view. Failure to adhere this condition will make the recipient ineligible for future FSB funding until the condition has been met.
B. FSB Summer Research Grant
Faculty who are ineligible to apply for a University grant, have been turned down for a University grant, or who otherwise choose not to apply for a University grant, may apply for an FSB Summer Research Grant. These grants are for $6,000. Applications may also request up to $2,000 for mailing, services, supplies, travel or equipment that are directly related to the proposal. A detailed budget with justification should be submitted with such a request. The Director of FSB Technology will review requests for computer hardware or software.
In the case of a co-authored proposal, each author is eligible for the $6,000 grant. However, expectations for the project will rise commensurately. The chair of the FSB Faculty Research Committee (Jill Kickul, Management) must receive an electronic copy (Word or pdf file) in an attachment to an email message by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 17, 2007. Awards will be announced approximately one month later.
III. Proposal Guidelines
Each proposal should include the following components.
A. Cover Sheet.
This will indicate the person’s rank, department, and the titles of grants received from the FSB (or supplements from the FSB for university grants) in the past 5 years. For those who have received FSB funding in the past 5 years, a statement regarding the outcome of each grant should be attached.
B. The Proposal.
Present your project under the following headings. The maximum length of the proposal text shall not exceed five single-spaced pages with one-inch margins, excluding a brief bibliography, an optional technical appendix, and the curriculum vitae. Any proposal that exceeds the five-page limit on text will not be considered.
Proposal reviewers are not necessarily experts in all fields. Therefore, the proposal should be written clearly for a business school professor.
a. Description. Briefly describe the nature and goal of the proposed project in terms clear to those outside your immediate discipline.
b. Context. Explain the background and context of the project. Compare your proposal to existing work. If your proposal breaks new ground, explain how.
c. Project Aptness.
d. Method or Plan. Describe the specific methods, techniques, or procedures you will use to accomplish the project’s objectives. Give approximate times for completing each phase of the project. Indicate what you plan to accomplish during the six-week summer period.
e. Communication of completed activity. Explain how the results of your work will be made accessible to a wider audience.
f. Literature cited in proposal or selected bibliography. Please cite here materials relevant to your proposed project.
g. If, in your judgment, the methodology employed in your proposal requires additional elaboration, a technical appendix of up to three pages may be appended.
C. A current curriculum vitae.
IV. Criteria for Evaluation of the Proposals
The FSB Faculty Research Committee will evaluate the proposals and, in consultation with the Dean, determine which proposals are to be funded. The work to be done during the summer may be part of a larger project that will take longer than one summer to complete. However, a time-line should indicate which parts are to be completed during the summer to be funded. The following criteria will be used by the FRC in their review of the proposals. The ordering of criteria does not reflect their relative importance.
A. The understandability of the proposal by non-specialists in the proposed area of research.
B. The potential impact of the project on teaching, the practice of business, or the academic literature.
C. The soundness of the methods proposed.
D. The feasibility of the project and likelihood that the project will be completed and communicated in a timely fashion.
E. Evidence of adequate familiarity with prior work in the area.
F. For those who received a RTFSB faculty research grant (or funds from the SBA supplementing a university grant) in the past 5 years, evidence of completion and a description of the outcome.
G. Evidence that supports the likelihood of the project being successfully completed, such as the applicant’s recent track record with respect to scholarly activity or steps taken by the applicant to prepare to undertake the project.
V. Conditions for Receipt of Funding
Anyone who receives a FSB grant must agree to the following conditions:
A. The recipient must remain on the Miami University faculty in the academic year following the summer of the award. Recipients must agree not to accept supplementary employment during the 6 week term of the award. Recipients are allowed to supplement their salaries from external sources if they are working full time on the project during the 6-week appointment. The recipient must not accept a classroom teaching assignment, conduct a workshop, or obtain Committee for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT) support during the term of the award.2
B. Grant recipients will file a copy of the paper or a progress report with the FSB Associate Dean for Academic Affairs by the end of the Fall Semester in the year that funding is received. The Associate Dean will then post the report on the School’s Blackboard site for other faculty to view.
C. Grant recipients must acknowledge financial support from the FSB for any publications resulting from the grant.
D. The proposals of successful applicants will be made available for review by potential applicants in subsequent years through the office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
E. Failure to adhere to the above conditions will make the recipient ineligible for future FSB funding until all conditions have been met.
1 Faculty who have guaranteed summer support as part of their initial compensation arrangement with the RTFSB may apply for a University Summer Research Appointment, and if successful with their application, may postpone their guaranteed summer support from the RTFSB for 1 year.
2 Recipients of these awards may teach during a summer session outside of the six-week term of the research grant.
