Faculty Conference Grants and Guidelines

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Research Conference Grant Proposal is to support faculty professional development in the areas of research, scholarly, or creative inquiry.  Proposal requests are meant to support and supplement the cost of attending a broad range of scholarly conferences including, but not limited to (among others) arts/performing arts, business, communication, culture, design, education, engineering, entrepreneurship, environment, health, humanities, innovation, leadership, life sciences, multi-disciplinary endeavors, natural resources, physical sciences, security, safety, society, mathematics and computer sciences, and behavioral and social sciences.

Eligibility

Faculty researchers, scholars, and artists including tenure and tenure track are eligible to apply. Anyone who is currently receiving external funding via a research grant which covers conferences travel is not eligible to apply.

Internal funding for Conference Grants

  • Up to $500 has been allocated for up-to four (4) faculty per college.
  • Program funds are provided through the Center for Undergraduate Research grant nbr. P031B150060.
  • Applications for Internal funding through the Center for Undergraduate research deadline for applying is May 1, 2018 and travel must occur prior to September 15, 2018.
  • A list of information required for submission can be found below:
  • Contact information, including name, address, College, email, phone number;
  • A statement on what you wish to gain from your attendance at the conference;
  • A statement of estimated expenses;
  • A statement demonstrating financial need for attending the conference;
  • Other travel awards you have received for the conference;
  • Discipline
  • Individual grant request may not exceed $500. 
  • Proposals for smaller amounts are encouraged and considered equally competitive.

Program Objective

This program supports and supplement the cost associated with conference travel specifically aimed at that enhancing the capacity of undergraduate research activities occurring at Lincoln University.  

Review Process 

The Center for Undergraduate Research Steering Committee will be responsible for the review and approval process. *A member of the steering committee shall not be allowed to review his or her conference grant application. Applications will undergo preliminary review by the program Director/ Staff. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicants without further consideration. Completed applications will be assigned to the appropriate review committee for evaluation. Applications then undergo a three-step review process which includes the Steering Committee making preliminary funding recommendations to the Director, who then reviews and gives her funding recommendations to the Title III Office and the Office of the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs for final approval. Reviewers are comprised of a diverse group of faculty and administrators. Using clear non-discipline specific language is encouraged for the application.    

Review Criteria

All applications must include a narrative statement of no more than 300 words explaining how attending the conference will enhance undergraduate research in the applicant’s field. Some acceptable examples might include, integrating undergraduate research into the curriculum, identifying funding opportunities aimed at engaging students in the research process, etc.,

Notification

Reviewers’ comments for both awarded and denied proposals will be sent to applicants along with the notifications.  

Award Terms and Conditions

•    If an award is less than the requested amount, a revised budget and scope of work is required before funds are released.

Post Conference Report

By accepting this award, the faculty agrees to submit a post conference report to the Director of the Center for Undergraduate Research.  This report will allow the university to evaluate the effectiveness of the conference grant initiative.  The final report deadline is due no later than 14 business days after the last day of the conference. Failure to submit a post-conference report would deem the awardee ineligible to apply for other conference grant opportunities funded through the Center for Undergraduate Research or the Office of Student Engagement. 

Questions

If you have any questions concerning the guidelines, application or review process, please contact the program’s Director: Vanessa McRae, vmcrae@lincoln.edu. 

2018 Conference Grant Application Instructions
The instructions and attached forms for the Faculty Conference Grant applications are intended to assist in preparing your applications.  In general, be succinct and explicit.  Applications that are not complete or have not followed the provided instructions will be returned without further consideration.

APPLICATION PACKET

  1. Proposal Narrative (no more 300 words)
    1.    Background
    2.    Objectives and Significance
    3.     Conference name, date and location 
    4.    Program Agenda         
  2. Current, Pending and Past Support (List anticipated support from other sources)  
  3. Short Biographical Sketch (If awarded, the bio sketch will be included with the award announcement)
  4. Budget and Justification (must be detailed)
  5. Checklist and Agreement

FORMAT AND PREPARATION

12-point font size and 1” margins only unless otherwise indicated. Use plain language understandable to a scientist/scholar/artist outside of your field.  

PART I:    Non-Technical Narrative.  Use the page provided.  The summary should be succinct, using plain language understandable to a scientist/scholar/artist outside of your field.)  describing what you want to do, why it is important, and how you will achieve your objectives.    

  1. Background.  What is the relation of this proposed conference to the larger research, creative, and/or scholarly activities you are working toward?  
  2. Objectives and Significance. Define the significance of the proposed objective of the conference to a lay audience.  Why is this conference significant to your students and the university at large?
  3. Anticipated Action Plan.  Explain your anticipated action plan for determining if your objective for attending the conference can be met.
  4. Timeline.  Conference date(s).                  
  5. Future Funding Strategy. Describe the strategy you will use to solicit future external funding (federal and/or non-federal) for research related projects, or ongoing portfolio development.  Indicate what sources of funding you will seek, and in what areas.  

PART II:    Current, Pending and Past Support.  

PART III:    Short Biographical Sketch.  Use the page provided plus one additional page if needed.  

PART IV:     Budget.  

This program will support expenditures that directly contribute to research/ undergraduate research/ creative inquiry. All budget items must be reasonable, allowable and deemed necessary and within the institution and Title III set-guidelines. 
See below non-allowable expenses.

  • Alcoholic beverages: Costs of alcoholic beverages are unallowable;
  • Pre-agreement costs: cost incurred prior to the effective date of the sponsored agreement, whether or not they would have been allowable if incurred after such date, are unallowable unless approved by sponsoring agency;
  • Attendance as a presenter “only” there must be a professional development component. 

Justification.  Appropriateness of the budget is a significant factor in the selection process. All requested budget items must be accompanied with a strong justification of how they will contribute to your current research abilities.  Please be aware that the review committee will consider your budget justification very carefully in an effort to maximize the number of beneficiaries to this program.  

Attachments:  any appendixes, documents or other materials helping support the request.