Workshop on Internal Grants Program February, 2007

Spring Competition – due date March 1, 2007 Book/CD Preparation Grant Editorial Journal Support Grant Research Fellowship I Short-Term Research Grants Travel Grants Undergraduate Research Assistantship

General Regulations Applicants must meet all eligibility rules (see especially Research Fellowship 1). Faculty on a limited-term appointment are not eligible in the last 6 months of their appointment. No individual can hold more than one grant of the same type at the same time except as co-applicant. Report from previous grant of same type must be submitted before a new request will be considered.

General Regulations (cont’d) Expenses incurred prior to the award date are ineligible. For example, you cannot ask for funding for a conference you attended last term, or for work done on a book index already. Applications for travel grants can be submitted prior to paper acceptance. If successful, funds will not be released until RO notified the paper has been accepted.

General Regulations (cont’d) Books, monographs, other library materials, or software purchased through a WLU grant remain the property of the University. Fax, photocopying, courier, postage, and telephone are not eligible expense items in any internal grant application unless fully justified in the research methodology as a necessary expense. For example, copying and mailing expenses of paper surveys are eligible.

General Regulations (cont’d) Travel expenses in research grants must be used for completing research. Travel to attend conferences or to consult are ineligible expenses. Travel Grants are designed to provide funding to present a paper at an international conference (must be held outside Canada and Continental USA).

General regulations (cont’d) Any deficit in a grant account must be reimbursed to the university. Faculty who have been notified by ORS that a grant account is in a deficit position will not be permitted to apply for an internal grant until the deficit has been removed.

Book/CD Preparation Grants (max. $2,000) Applicant must have a signed contract from an established publisher/producer. Eligible costs include expenses directly related to the preparation of the final manuscript. Subvention costs are not eligible.

Editorial Journal Support Grant (max. $6,000) Funded by the Academic Development Fund. Financial support to faculty who perform major editorial functions to scholarly journals. One-term undergraduate course remission may be requested in budget.

Research Fellowship I (max. $5,000) Applicants must have completed requirements for PhD, or equivalent, within the last five years. –L/T contract for following year –Year 1 of Provisional Appointment –Accepted Candidacy Appointment for following year if in Year 2 of Provisional

Research Fellowship I (cont’d) Purpose: –Assist recent graduates to prepare articles for publication from their dissertation or to initiate new research projects. –Assist recent graduates to apply for grants in upcoming external competitions. Award to be held during non-teaching term.

Short-term Research Grant (max. $3,000) Used to complete small projects or provide “seed” money. Results should lead to larger project, proposal to external agency, and/or paper for publication. Purchase of non-disposable equipment or conference travel not eligible expenses. (Supplies such as tapes for recording are eligible).

Travel Grant (max. $1,500) Assists with travel costs for faculty presenting papers or posters at scholarly international conferences or workshops. Paper must be submitted for publication in the Proceedings or in an appropriate scholarly journal, monograph or book.

Travel Grant (cont’d) Conference must be outside Canada and continental USA. Must be academic/professional conference attended by peers of academic institution. Conference must be sponsored by academic/professional institution or association with international reputation.

Travel Grant (cont’d) Program must include significant number of international participants. Applicant must be listed in conference program. (If paper has not yet been accepted, this should be noted in the application.)

Travel Grant (cont’d) A complete application includes –Call for Papers –Preliminary Brochure –Poster or Program* –Information regarding refereeing process –Estimate of the number of persons attending

Travel Grant (cont’d) –Copy of letter confirming paper has been accepted* –Copy of abstract *These items can be submitted to the AVP: Research when received if unavailable at time of application.

Undergraduate Research Assistantship (max. $1,500) Eligible to faculty in academic departments which do not have a full-time graduate program. Designed to provide student with research experience.

URA (cont’d) A complete application includes academic transcript and resume of proposed research assistant. Proposed RA must be a WLU student in Year 2-4 of Honour’s program in applicant’s home department. Exceptions can be considered but a strong case must be made.

A good application is... Complete Provides justifications and is convincing Explains relationship to other funding held Includes a good abstract Is free of grammer and spelling misteaks Submitted by due date

Completeness Complete all sections of the application form. Provide enough detail for the Committee to evaluate your application. Attach all requested documentation. –If document not available, explain why and when it will be available. Submit the correct number of copies.

Justification Make sure there is a clear connection between the funding you are requesting and your methodology. For example, if you are asking for funds for an RA, your application should state what the RA will do. Is the project do-able in the 2 years allotted to an internal grant? Many people over-estimate how much time they can spend on research. DON’T LEAVE THE COMMITTEE GUESSING – they don’t usually guess in your favour.

Explain Relationship to Other Funding If you currently have other sources of research funding, explain why additional funding is required for your research and how it will be used. What are you using existing funds for? Since most granting agencies allow flexibility in how funds are spent, you need to convince the Committee that you need more money. When listing current funding, give title of grant, amount and duration. Do you have time for this project in addition to the others?

Relationship to other research If this is a new area of research for you, explain how it relates to previous research. If no relation, it would be helpful to explain why you are changing fields. Be careful not to get involved in too many separate projects that appear unfocused.

Abstract/Layperson’s summary The Committee is representative of many different faculties and disciplines. Reviewers need this summary to put the rest of your proposal in context. Refrain from using too much technical or specialized language. Write this section as if you were explaining your project to your grandmother.

Accuracy Check your application for spelling and grammar mistakes. (Ask someone else to proofread your application.) Ensure your budget is mathematically correct. Use current rates for student help and travel.

What are my chances? Funding in all categories is limited, but the success rate for the Fall competition was over 50%. Success depends partly on the quality of your application and partly on the number and quality of other applications in the same competition.

Due Date: March 1, 2007 Notification Date: April 18, 2007 Forward any questions regarding the Internal Grants Program to or call Rosemary Springett at extension

Tips from the Internal Grants Committee are available on-line at: Note that these tips are also helpful when preparing external grant applications.