Faculty Research Award

Overview   

 The  Faculty Research Award , administered by the Faculty Research Awards Committee (FRAC), provides seed funding to support faculty research, scholarship, and creative activities at Arkansas State University. The program is intended to help faculty  initiate pilot or feasibility studies, develop creative works, and generate preliminary results that strengthen future proposals for external funding.   

 For  answers to  questions, contact Research and Technology Transfer (RTT) at  research@astate.edu  or  870-972-2694 .   

 Program Purpose   

 The Faculty Research Award supports faculty efforts to:   

 

 

 

 

 Conduct pilot or feasibility studies 

 

 

 Advance scholarly or creative activities  including books for publication, art exhibitions, and music compositions 

 

 

 Generate preliminary data or proof of concept 

 

 

 Develop competitive proposals for external funding from state, federal, foundation, or other sponsors   

 

 

 

 

 Projects from all disciplines are encouraged.   

 Award Administration   

 Applications are  submitted through the  InfoReady  portal and reviewed by the  Faculty Research Awards Committee (FRAC) .   

 Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with their college's FRAC representative prior to  submitting a proposal to ensure the project is clearly understood during the review process.   

 The current FRAC membership is available on the RTT website  (https://kb.astate.edu/books/faculty-research-awards-committee-642) .   

 Allowable Expenses   

 Funds may be used for research, scholarship, or creative activities  directly related to the proposed project.   

 General guidelines include:   

 

 

 

 

 Project-related research expenses 

 

 

 Student support is encouraged 

 

 

 Faculty summer salary is allowable 

 

 

 Professional travel to present project results may be supported 

 

 

 Computer equipment is generally  not   funded 

 

 

 Funds should not   support activities that are normally funded by academic departments   

 

 

 

 

 These guidelines are intended to  assist applicants. FRAC reserves the right to consider all requests based on project merit.   

 Application Timeline   

 

 

 

 

 Applications Open :  September 1 annually 

 

 

 Application Deadline :  Third Friday of October (5:00 p.m. C D T) 

 

 

 Award Notification :   Mid-December 

 

 

 Project Period :  July 1 – June 30 of the following fiscal year   

 

 

 

 

 Submission Requirements   

 Applications must be  submitted through  InfoReady  by the published deadline.   

 Application Requirements   

 Applications must include the following components.   

 1.  Cover Sheet   

 Complete the required FRAC Cover Sheet template  (Template can be found on the InfoReady application page)   

 Include: 

 

 Complete the FRAC Cover Sheet using the required template. 

 Select the  Faculty Research  Award as the funding program. 

 Include an abstract of  300 words or fewer  suitable for publication on the RTT website.   

 

 2. Project Narrative (Maximum 4 Pages)   

 The project narrative is limited to  four pages , including tables and figures. References do  not  count toward the page limit.   

 The narrative should be written for a broad academic audience and should minimize highly technical language.   

 Address the following:   

 

 

 

 

 Project scope, significance, and objectives 

 

 

 Background and related work 

 

 

 Research methodology or creative approach 

 

 

 Project timeline 

 

 

 Dissemination plan 

 

 

 Future external funding strategy, including anticipated sponsor(s) and funding opportunity(ies)   

 

 

 

 

 3. References   

  Include all references cited in the proposal as a separate attachment.  Note there is no page limit on references.   

 4. Budget and Budget Justification   

  Submit:   

 

 

 

 

 A completed A-State Budget Template (found on the Knowledge Base: https://kb.astate.edu/books/research-development/page/investigators-toolbox-542   

 

 

 A detailed budget justification (maximum 2 pages )   

 

 

 

 

 The budget should clearly explain and justify all requested expenses.   

 5. Curriculum Vitae   

 Provide an abbreviated curriculum vitae for the Principal Investigator using the  required template.   (Template can be found on the InfoReady application page)   

 Maximum length :  4 pages.   

 6. Research Compliance   

   I f applicable, projects involving human participants, animals, or transgenic organisms or biohazards must receive approval from the:   

 

 

 

 

 Institutional Review Board (IRB) 

 

 

 Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) 

 

 

 Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) 

 

 

 

 

 Proposal Evaluation   

 Eligible proposals are evaluated by FRAC based on   FRAC Rubrics .   

 Final Report Requirements   

 Award recipients must  submit a  Final Report  to RTT  at  frac@astate.edu   by  July 31   immediately following the close of the award period.   

 The report must include:   

 

 

 

 

 An abstract suitable for publication on the RTT website 

 

 

 A brief summary  (approximately  2 pages ) describing: 

 

 

 The research, scholarly, or creative activities completed 

 

 

 Project outcomes and accomplishments 

 

 

 Plans for future research, scholarship, creative activities, or external funding   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Failure to  submit the Final Report by the deadline may result in the Principal Investigator being ineligible for future FRAC funding opportunities.