UNCG Sponsored Programs

Facilitating Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity

UNCG Funding News and Updates, for May 31, 2016

Posted on , updated on by OSP_Admin
1. FAQ: Person-months calculations (and calculator)
 
2. News: Implementing Rigor and Transparency in NIH & AHRQ Research Grant Applications
 
3. Boilerplate text: Financial aid landscape at UNCG 
 
4. NEH Summer Stipends 2016 – limited submission opportunity
 
5. Sampling of external funding opportunities

Humanities

a. 2016-2017 Fulbright Scholar Program Competition
b. Fulbright Scholar Global Flex Award
c. NSF: Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Program
d. NEH Summer Stipends – limited submission opportunity
Entrepreneurship
e. NCBC: Biotechnology Innovation Grant (BIG)
f. Venturewell grants for faculty and students
Sciences
g. NICHD Biomedical and Behavioral Research Innovations to Ensure Equity (BRITE) in Maternal and Child Health (R15)
h. NIH Population Health Interventions: Integrating Individual and Group Level Evidence
i. NIH Research Supplements to Promote Re-Entry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research Careers (Admin Supp)
j. Arts-Based Approaches in Palliative Care for Symptom Management (R01)
k. Exploratory Clinical Trials of Mind and Body Interventions for NCCAM High Priority Research Topics (R34)
l. Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation
m. NIH – Health Promotion Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Males
n. NIH – Reducing Health Disparities Among Minority and Underserved Children
o. NIH: Education and Health: New Frontiers
Education.
p. RGK Foundation grants in Education, Community, and Health/Medicine.
q. Spencer Foundation Small Research Grants
r. Toyota USA Foundation: Grants in K-12 Education [especially in STEM]
s. American Honda Foundation Institutional Grants for Youth and Science Ed.
t. Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
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1. FAQ: Person-months calculations (and calculator)
 
So you are working on a budget, and you have the percent effort of each person involved in the project, when you realize the sponsor guidelines/forms ask for “person months”.  What does this mean, and how can you calculate it?
Person months is a metric for the amount of effort an individual devotes to a specific project, adjusted to their appointment term.
Step 1: Check the appointment of each person listed on the proposal.  9 month academic appointment?  10 month?  12 month?  3 month summer?
Step 2: Calculate the person months based on the % effort and the appointment by multiplying the percent effort by the appointment.
For example, 10% effort for faculty on a 9 month academic year appointment equals 0.9 person-months during the academic year.  If that same faculty member requests 37% effort during the 3 month summer term, this equals 1.11 person-months. The total is therefore 2.01 person-months in this example.  Note that it is possible to request different levels of support during the summer and academic year, if the budget justification adequately explains the rationale.
If you are calculating person months for several different team members on a grant proposal, and wish to check your work, you may want to use the attached person-months calculator(excel spreadsheet).

Do you have a question that you’d like to see answered in the FAQ’s section of this OSP listserv?  Just email it to: aubrey.turner@uncg.edu

See more FAQ’s at: http://sponsoredprograms.uncg.edu/faqs/

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2. News: Implementing Rigor and Transparency in NIH & AHRQ Research Grant Applications
Purpose
This notice informs the biomedical research community of updates to application instructions and review language intended to enhance the reproducible of research findings through increased scientific rigor and transparency. These updates will take effect for most* research grant applications (including small business and complex research grant applications) submitted for due dates on or after January 25, 2016. For research contracts, this policy will be effective for proposals received on/after January 25, 2016 and expected to result in contract awards in Fiscal Year 2017 and beyond.
Updates include:
  • Revisions to application guide instructions for preparing your research strategy attachment
  • Use of a new “Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources” attachment
  • Additional rigor and transparency questions reviewers will be asked to consider when reviewing applications
These updates focus on four areas deemed important for enhancing rigor and transparency:
  1. the scientific premise forming the basis of the proposed research,
  2. rigorous experimental design for robust and unbiased results,
  3. consideration of relevant biological variables, and
  4. authentication of key biological and/or chemical resources.
The basic principles of rigor and transparency and the four areas of focus apply to the full spectrum of research, from basic to clinical. Investigators will need to consider how all four areas apply to their proposed research. Likewise, reviewers will assess whether these areas have been appropriately addressed by the applicant through revised language defining the peer review criteria.
Note: In FY 2017, requirements for training in rigor and transparency will be implemented for Institutional Training Grants, Institutional Career Development Awards, and Individual Fellowships: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-16-034.html
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3. Boilerplate text: Financial aid landscape at UNCG 
 
Writing a grant and want to make a case for excellence at UNCG?  One piece of that argument may hinge on UNCG’s excellence in providing a low-cost and high-quality education, particularly to students with financial need.  Feel free to use the following, tailoring to fit your grant application:
The impact of recent economic headwinds on young people in pursuit of college degrees is illustrated by the financial aid landscape at UNCG. During the 2015-2016 academic year, 88% of UNCG students needed financial aid.  Approximately 64% of UNCG students are Pell-eligible; almost 7,780 students receive Pell Grants.    UNCG has more than 100 different funds that are specifically targeted for low-income students (e.g., Pell eligible). In 2015-2016 nearly 10,517 undergraduate students were awarded a total of approximately $109 million in need-based awards at UNCG.  However, these financial aid funds fall far short of covering the financial needs of UNCG students.  Among students awarded need-based aid in 2015-2016, 40% of their need was met, leaving 60% unmet need, on average. To fill this gap, 80% of the students who graduated in May of 2016 secured loans to finance their educations.  In addition, 70% of UNCG students are employed while taking classes, with about half of these (34% of the total) students working more than 20 hours per week (UNCG Institutional Research, 2014).   Excess work during college can impact academic performance, while excess student debt can impact prospects for post-college financial stability.
In a March 2016 US Dept. of Education report, UNCG was noted as among those that “outperform their peer institutions in enrolling and graduating Pell Grant recipients” (U.S. Department of Education. Fulfilling the promise, serving the neeed: Advancing college opportunity for low-income students. 2016; pg.7;  http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/focus/advancing-college-opportunity.pdf).  Beyond graduation rates, the report also names UNCG among a small subset of universities that provide strong earning potential to Pell recipient students, for a net price that is among the lowest in the nation.
Special thanks to the folks in financial aid and in institutional research for helping to compile the stats used above.
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4. NEH Summer Stipends 2016 – limited submission opportunity

The National Endowment for the Humanities has established a deadline of September 29, 2016 at 5:00PM for Summer Stipend applications for funding in Summer of 2017.  Additional details are available from the NEH at: http://www.neh.gov/grants/research/summer-stipendsThe internal deadline for UNCG applications will be Friday, August 5th, at 5:00PM.  By this internal deadline, interested PI’s must email the following materials to Aubrey Turner at aubrey.turner@uncg.edu

  • Narrative not to exceed three single-spaced pages
  • Bibliography in one single spaced page
  • Vita not to exceed two single spaced pages.
  • You may also submit a one page appendix for Editions, Translations, or Database Projects, or for Proposals that Include Visual Materials.
This internal deadline provides time for a panel of five UNCG faculty to review the proposals and select up to two proposals that will represent UNCG in this prestigious competition.  Additional details are contained in the attached PDF flyer.
 
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5. Sampling of external funding opportunities
 

Humanities
 

a. 2016-2017 Fulbright Scholar Program Competition
 

The core competition for 2016-2017 academic year grants is currently open. With the exception of the seminar offerings, the deadline for all awards is 11:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday, August 1, 2015.

Full details: http://catalog.cies.org/

b. Fulbright Scholar Global Flex Award

 The new Global Flex Award provides U.S. academics and professionals with the flexibility to engage in advanced regional or trans-regional research and/or teaching. As a truly worldwide award, U.S. scholars will be able to collaborate and engage in scholarly activities in two or three countries, in one or more regions.Projects are welcome in all disciplines, as well as those with an interdisciplinary focus. Proposals should reflect topics which would benefit from a global perspective and clearly demonstrate a need to spend time in each of the proposed countries.

Minimum length of the total grant is three months and the maximum is six months. Grants can begin as early as February 1, 2016 and segments may be conducted within one academic year or spread over two or three consecutive years.

Deadline to apply: Monday, August 1, 2015

For more information visit: http://www.cies.org/program/fulbright-global-flex-award

c. NSF: Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Program

The STS program supports research that uses historical, philosophical, and social scientific methods to investigate the intellectual, material, and social facets of the scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical (STEM) disciplines. It encompasses a broad spectrum of STS topics including interdisciplinary studies of ethics, equity, governance, and policy issues that are closely related to STEM disciplines, including medical science.
Types of funding:

  • Standard Research Grants and Grants for Collaborative Research
    Scholars Awards
    Postdoctoral Fellowships
    Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants.
    Conference and Workshop Support

The STS program supports proposals across the broad spectrum of STS research areas, topics, and approaches. Examples include, but are by no means limited to:

  • Societal aspects of emerging high-tech technologies (e.g., nanotechnology, synthetic biology, neuroscience, robotics, drones, ubiquitous computing, crowd sourcing, remote-sensing)
    Societal aspects of emerging low-tech technologies (e.g., paper microscopes; whirlwind wheel chairs)
    Issues relating to equity, ethics, governance, sustainability, public engagement, user-centeredness, and inclusiveness.
    Integration of traditional STS approaches with innovative perspectives from the arts or humanities.
    Ethical, policy, and cultural issues regarding big data, surveillance and privacy in an increasingly networked world, and
    The science of broadening participation in STEM disciplines.

Sponsor Website http://www.grants.gov/view-opportunity.html?oppId=268919
Program URL http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15506/nsf15506.htm
PROGRAM SOLICITATION: NSF 15-506
Deadline Dates: Annually Feb 2 and Aug 3.

d. NEH Summer Stipends – limited submission opportunity

The National Endowment for the Humanities has established a deadline of Thursday, October 1, 2015 at 5:00PM for Summer Stipend applications for funding in Summer of 2016.  Additional details are available from the NEHat: http://www.neh.gov/grants/research/summer-stipends

The internal deadline for UNCG applications will be Friday, August 5th, at 5:00PM.  This internal deadline provides time for a panel of five UNCG faculty to review the proposals and select up to two proposals that will represent UNCG in this prestigious competition.  Additional details on the internal review requirements are contained in the attached PDF.
Entrepreneurship
 
e. NCBC: Biotechnology Innovation Grant (BIG)

The purpose of the Biotechnology Innovation Grant (BIG) program is to support studies at North Carolina research institutions that enable commercialization of early-stage university life science inventions that have significant commercial potential.  Typically, funding will support studies that yield a “go/no-go decision” regarding the pursuit of intellectual property protection and/or commercialization of the invention.The project team must include an academic scientist and a commercialization partner.

Proposals with the following features will be more competitive:

  • Innovative technology that solves a problem
    Proposed work builds on a solid foundation of basic research
    Well defined, achievable milestones for the project period
    Clear market problem that this technology could address
    Understanding of the current state of the art and probable freedom to operate with regard to IP
    Clear and realistic understanding of market potential and potential future partners

Details are provided in the program guidelines:
http://www.ncbiotech.org/research-grants/research-funding/biotech-innovation-grant

Maximum Award: $100,000

Due date: 12PM (NOON), July 13, 2016 and February 15, 2017
 

f. Venturewell grants for faculty and students
Venturewell faculty grants support the creation of new courses and programs in which students develop ideas and gain the skills to bring them to market
Next due date: November 9, 2016
The Venturewell E-Team Program gives university students the chance to move new tech ideas out of the lab and classroom and into the marketplace.
Next due date: October 5, 2016

Sciences

g. NICHD Biomedical and Behavioral Research Innovations to Ensure Equity (BRITE) in Maternal and Child Health (R15)

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) seeks to increase the diversity of the pool of researchers involved in health equity research related to NICHD mission areas including: preterm birth; infant mortality; sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS); maternal mortality; reproductive health; uterine fibroid tumors; childhood, adolescent, and/or adult obesity; violence prevention; perinatal HBV and HIV/AIDS prevention; HIV/AIDS prevention; asthma; intellectual and developmental disabilities; pediatric injury prevention; and medical rehabilitation. The goal of the Biomedical and Behavioral Research Innovations To Ensure Equity (BRITE) in maternal and child health program is to stimulate maternal and child health equity research within institutions eligible for the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) R15 program.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-15-319.html
Due dates: July 7, 2016; July 7, 2017
h. NIH Population Health Interventions: Integrating Individual and Group Level Evidence

To improve health and reduce the burden of disease, scientific research needs to be implemented at the population level in addition to the biological and clinical levels. The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to support multilevel, transdisciplinary population health interventions that target underlying social, economic, and environmental conditions in an effort to improve health outcomes.
Participating NIH IC’s: OBSSR, NCI, NIAAA, NIDCR, NIDA, NIDCD

R21 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-16-147.html
R01 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-16-146.html

i. NIH Research Supplements to Promote Re-Entry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research Careers (Admin Supp)
The Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) and participating Institutes and Centers (ICs) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announce the continuation of the program for administrative supplements to research grants to support individuals with high potential to re-enter an active research career after an interruption for family responsibilities or other qualifying circumstances. The purpose of these supplements is to encourage such individuals to re-enter research careers within the missions of all the program areas of NIH. This program will provide administrative supplements to existing NIH research grants for the purpose of supporting full-time or part-time research by these individuals to update their existing research skills and knowledge.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-15-321.html

j. Arts-Based Approaches in Palliative Care for Symptom Management (R01)
The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to support mechanistic clinical studies aimed at understanding the impact of arts-based approaches in palliative care for symptom management. This FOA is intended to support mechanistic clinical studies to provide an evidence base for the use of the arts in palliative care for symptom management. The objective is to understand the biological, physiological, neurological, psychological, and/or sociological mechanisms by which the arts exert their effects on symptom management during and throughout the palliative care continuum. The goal is for the research supported under this FOA to develop an evidence-base that could be used as a basis for the uptake of arts-based therapies in palliative care settings, among individuals across the lifespan, with a wide variety of serious chronic conditions and their accompanying symptoms. This FOA is not intended to determine efficacy or the comparative effectiveness of interventions, or to assess interventions designed to treat the underlying cause of a particular disease state.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH formerly NCCAM)
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)
Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH)
Application Due Date(s): standard NIH R15 due dates (February 25/June 25/October 25)
k. Exploratory Clinical Trials of Mind and Body Interventions for NCCAM High Priority Research Topics (R34)
The goal of this funding opportunity is to support early phase clinical trials of mind and body approaches for conditions that have been identified by NCCAM as high priority research topics. This funding opportunity is intended to support exploratory clinical trials, which will provide data that are critical for the planning and design of a subsequent controlled cohort study, clinical efficacy or effectiveness study, or a pragmatic trial. The data collected should be used to fill gaps in scientific knowledge necessary to develop a competitive full-scale clinical trial. This FOA is not appropriate for support of randomized clinical trials to test or determine efficacy or effectiveness. Applications that propose solely to write a protocol or manual of operations or to develop infrastructure for a clinical trial are not appropriate for this announcement. The subsequent larger trial should have the potential to make a significant impact on public health.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH formerly NCCAM)
Application Due Date(s): June 10, 2016, October 11, 2016, February 10, 2017, June 10, 2017, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.
Additional due dates for resubmissions: July 11, 2016, November 14, 2016, March 10, 2017; July 10, 2017
l. Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation
“For the well being of children, adults, couples, families, or communities, or about interventions designed to prevent or alleviate such problems.”
Doctoral Dissertation Grant Program (Fahs-Beck Scholars)
Grants of up to $5,000 are available to help support dissertation expenses of doctoral students in the United States and Canada whose studies have the potential for adding significantly to knowledge about problems in the functioning or well being of children, adults, couples, families, or communities, or about interventions designed to prevent or alleviate such problems. The research for which funding is requested must focus on the United States or Canada or on a comparison between the United States or Canada and one or more other countries.
Faculty/Post-Doctoral Grant Program (Fahs-Beck Fellows)
Grants of up to $20,000 are available to help support the research of faculty members or post-doctoral researchers affiliated with non-profit human service organizations in the United States and Canada. Areas of interest to the Fund are: studies to develop, refine, evaluate, or disseminate innovative interventions designed to prevent or ameliorate major social, psychological, behavioral or public health problems affecting children, adults, couples, families, or communities, or studies that have the potential for adding significantly to knowledge about such problems. The research for which funding is requested must focus on the United States or Canada or on a comparison between the United States or Canada and one or more other countries.
Application Deadlines: April 1 and November 1, annually.
More at: http://www.fahsbeckfund.org/grant_programs.html
 
m. NIH – Health Promotion Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Males

NINR, NIDDK
R01: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-13-328.html
R21: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-13-331.html

This initiative seeks applications from applicants that propose to stimulate and expand research in the health of minority men. Specifically, this initiative is intended to: 1) enhance our understanding of the numerous factors (e.g., sociodemographic, community, societal, personal) influencing the health promoting behaviors of racial and ethnic minority males and their subpopulations across the life cycle, and 2) encourage applications focusing on the development and testing of culturally and linguistically appropriate health-promoting interventions designed to reduce health disparities among racially and ethnically diverse males and their subpopulations age 21 and older.  Standard NIH deadlines.
n. NIH – Reducing Health Disparities Among Minority and Underserved Children

NINR, NICHD, NIAAA
R01: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-14-033.html
R21: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-14-034.html

This initiative encourages research that targets the reduction of health disparities among children. Specific targeted areas of research include biobehavioral studies that incorporate multiple factors that influence child health disparities such as biological (e.g., genetics, cellular, organ systems), lifestyle factors, environmental (e.g., physical and family environments) social (e.g., peers), economic, institutional, and cultural and family influences; studies that target the specific health promotion needs of children with a known health condition and/or disability; and studies that test and evaluate the comparative effectiveness of health promotion interventions conducted in traditional and nontraditional settings. Standard NIH deadlines.
o. NIH: Education and Health: New Frontiers

NCI, NIA, NICHD, NIDA, OBSSR

R01: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-16-080.html
R21: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-16-078.html
R03: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-16-079.html
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its participating Institutes and Centers invite applications for research that will further elucidate the pathways involved in the relationship between education and health outcomes and in doing so to carefully identify the specific aspects and qualities of education that are responsible for this relationship and what the mediating factors are that affect the nature of the causal relationship. This FOA will use the NIH Research Project (R01) award mechanism.

Due dates: 05-Jun-2016, 05-Oct-2016, 05-Feb-2017, 05-Jun-2017, 05-Oct-2017, 05-Feb-2018, 05-Jun-2018, 05-Oct-2018

 
Education.

p. RGK Foundation grants in Education, Community, and Health/Medicine.

The Foundation’s primary interests within Education include programs that focus on formal K-12 education (particularly mathematics, science and reading), teacher development, literacy, and higher education.
Within Community, the Foundation supports a broad range of human services, community improvement, abuse prevention, and youth development programs. Human service programs of particular interest to the Foundation include children and family services, early childhood development, and parenting education. The Foundation supports a variety of Community Improvement programs including those that enhance non-profit management and promote philanthropy and voluntarism. Youth development programs supported by the Foundation typically include after-school educational enrichment programs that supplement and enhance formal education systems to increase the chances for successful outcomes in school and life. The Foundation is also interested in programs that attract female and minority students into the fields of mathematics, science, and technology.
The Foundation’s current interests in the area of Health/Medicine include programs that promote the health and well-being of children, programs that promote access to health services, and Foundation-initiated programs focusing on ALS.
While the Foundation occasionally awards grants for operating expenses, capital campaigns, endowments, and international projects, such grants are infrequent and usually initiated by the Foundation. Multiyear grants are rare; most grants are awarded for a one-year period. Click here to view listing of recent grants awarded by the Foundation.
There is no deadline for submitting an electronic Letter of Inquiry.
 
q. Spencer Foundation Small Research Grants 
Historically, the Foundation has funded grants that span a range of disciplines, including education, psychology, sociology, economics, history, and anthropology. The following examples of recently funded small grants illustrate the diversity supported: (a) an experimental study of how college students use visual representations in solving math problems; (b) an examination of changes in attitudes about the role and purpose of education among youth in the Swat Valley of Pakistan from before the Taliban to the present; (c) a qualitative study in elementary and middle schools successful with populations of low-income minority students that aims specifically to reveal within-school “human capital” practices that might lead to success in recruiting, retaining, and supporting successful teachers; (d) a mixed-methods study focusing on the different types of knowledge novice and experienced teachers draw on in teaching for reading comprehension. FUNDING: Grants in this category are limited to $50,000.
Due: AUG 1, NOV 1, FEB 1, MAY 1
r. Toyota USA Foundation: Grants in K-12 Education [especially in STEM]
The Foundation is committed to enhancing the quality of education by supporting innovative programs and building partnerships with organizations dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Application Due Date: Two application windows (March-August and September-February) each year

More at: http://www.toyota.com/usa/community/articles/community_grants_foundation.html

s. American Honda Foundation Institutional Grants for Youth and Science Ed.
The Foundation’s mission is to help meet the needs of American society in the areas of youth and scientific education by awarding grants to nonprofits, while strategically assisting communities in deriving long-term benefits. The American Honda Foundation engages in grant making that reflects the basic tenets, beliefs and philosophies of Honda companies, which are characterized by the following qualities: imaginative, creative, youthful, forward-thinking, scientific, humanistic and innovative. The Foundation supports youth education with a specific focus on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects in addition to the environment.
FUNDING: The grant range is from $20,000 to $75,000 over a one-year period.
Due: AUG 1, FEB 1
t. Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
Due dates vary by specific program, but generally fall in August.

FY 2017 Research Programs: In FY 2017, the Institute will support the following research programs (announced in the Federal Register on March 8, 2016).

Education Research

Special Education Research

FY 2017 Research Training Programs: In FY 2017, the Institute will support the following research training programs (announced in the Federal Register on March 8, 2016).

Other IES Funding Opportunities

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