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  Grant Guidelines

  FDRC Grant Application (PDF)

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Faculty Development and Research Committee

Grant Guidelines

1. Research Grants
   
   Research is defined as “diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise fact, theories, applications, etc.”  For purposes of the Faculty Research Grant program, research is broadly defined as scholarship that will result in a scholarly work such as a publication, presentation, invention, composition, performance, exhibition, or proposal to an external funding source.
   
   
2. Qualifications For a Faculty Research Grant
   
   
   1. The committee shall make grants (not normally to exceed $5,000) for the following purposes.  Note that all requested budget items must be carefully justified:
      
      
      1. Any research activity by a faculty member in which he/she acts as the primary investigator and not just as supervisor of studies, and which is expected to lead to a scholarly work (publication, presentation, invention, composition, performance, exhibition, or proposal to external funding source).
         
         
      2. Purchase of reference books, supplies, and equipment not now available on campus and necessary for carrying out the research project.  All such items shall, upon completion of the project, be assigned to the University in a manner to be determined by the committee at the time of the approval of the grant.  Only equipment necessary to carry out the work should be requested.
         
         
      3. Travel of the researcher relevant to obtaining data for the approved research project.  Fundable travel expenses include meals and lodging up to the daily maximum allowable by State regulations and transportation expenses.
         
         
      4. Full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty members are eligible to apply for FDRC research grants.  
         
         
      5. Faculty members will be eligible for up to three awards for the same general line of research or other scholarly work.  After being awarded three FDRC research grants for a project, a faculty member will be ineligible for support until he or she submits a proposal to an external funding source requesting support in at least the amount of the combined total FDRC award amount.  After submitting a proposal to an external source for his or her work, the faculty member will again become eligible for FDRC support regardless whether or not the proposal is funded.
         
         
      6. The FDRC will make Summer Research Fellowships, paid at the University’s current rate for one 3-credit summer course.
         
         
   2. The committee shall not make research grants for any of the following purposes:
      
      
      1. Any expenses related to the preparation or completion of a thesis or dissertation.
         
         
      2. Purchase of books authored or edited by the faculty member for distribution to colleagues or to other institutions.
         
         
      3. Student projects, particularly those involving academic credits and dissertation and/or thesis research.
         
         
      4. Any project primarily for monetary gain, as determined by the committee. If a funded project should result in monetary gain, the first royalties amounting to the total of the grant must be returned to the University.
         
         
      5. Activities that are strictly for professional development and are not part of a discrete project.
      
      
3. Procedures
   
   There will be three target dates for submission of applications for research grants each year:  March 1 for projects taking place during the summer; May 1 for projects beginning in the following fall semester; and October 15 for projects beginning in the following spring semester.  If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it will be extended to the next business day.  If an application is received after the target date, it will be held for consideration at the following meeting and the start date of the project, if funded, will be delayed one semester. 
   
   The Office of University Research Services will hold workshops on preparing complete and competitive FDRC Research Grant applications twice each year, in February and October.  Details will be distributed prior to each workshop.  Attendance at the workshop prior to application submission, while not required, is encouraged.
   
   
   1. Application forms will be available on the Web, in all chairpersons’ offices, and upon request from the Office of University Research Services prior to announced deadlines.
      
      
   2. Applications which do not follow the prescribed format and procedures and/or which exceed the requested length may be disqualified at the committee’s discretion.  Preliminary reviewers will make recommendations for meeting application requirements, as necessary, as part of their preliminary review.
      
      
   3. If the project involves any use of human participants (including by way of survey or questionnaire), Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human participants (IRB) is required prior to initiation of project activities.  IRB approval is not required at the time of submission.  For information concerning IRB procedures, see “Towson University Policy on Protection of Human Participants in Research Conducted by or with Faculty, Staff, and Students.”  Information on completing and submitting IRB applications is also available through the Office of University Research Services.
      
      
   4. If the project involves any use of vertebrate animal subjects, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval is requited prior to initiation of project activities.  IACUC approval is not required at the time of submission.
      
      
   5. Where services are to be funded as part of the grant, the applicant should itemize the services and specify for each type of service the cost per hour or other cost basis.
      
      
4. Responsibilities of Faculty Members Receiving Faculty Research Grants.
   
   
   1. All persons receiving grants must signify their intent to accept, spend, and account for funds granted within two semesters; they do so by signing and returning the letter of acknowledgement to the committee within ten days after being notified of their award.  If the committee receives no acknowledgement, the funds may be reallocated to other applicants.
      
      
   2. The researcher is responsible for implementing the research project as approved by the Committee.  Any changes in design, methodology, or project period must be approved by the Committee.  Prior approval must be obtained through the chairperson of the Committee.
      
      
   3. Funds awarded will be held in the Committee’s account to be expended on the awardees behalf by the Office of University Research Services.
      
      
   4. Recipients of research grants or Summer Research Fellowships must, in any publication resulting from the project, acknowledge the support of the Faculty Development and Research Committee of Towson University.
      
      
   5. Recipients of Summer Research Fellowships may teach one summer course of no more than four credit hours at Towson University or elsewhere during the summer for which the Fellowship was granted.
      
      
   6. A written report of the results of the research and one copy of the scholarly product (to be) published must be submitted to the Committee.  If the product has not yet been published, a copy of the typescript should be submitted with the written report, and a copy of the published work should be submitted as soon as it is available.  After the Committee has completed its review of the written report, the copy of the published work will be sent to the University archives.  (Note:  Where the scholarly product is a performance or exhibit, the researcher should submit the printed program, slides, a DVD, or other such documentation as the “published work”). If the researcher fails to submit an acceptable written report, no further grants will be made by the Committee to that person until all reports are current.