A. Purpose of the Grant Program

The Committee on Faculty Research Support (COFRS) program provides faculty with summer salary (or allowable research related expenses - see budget section below) to assist with research and creative endeavors that encourage external funding. The COFRS program is different than the special program for First Year Assistant Professors (FYAPs), though they have many similarities. 

B. Award Information

• The maximum award amount for the COFRS program is $20,000. (Requests for smaller amounts suitable to smaller projects are appropriate.)
• COFRS grant funds can only be used to support research and creative activity. 
• Project-related travel is allowed; however, travel is restricted to necessary and direct support of the research conducted as part of the proposed work. Conference or workshop attendance for the purpose of presenting research or creative activities is not permitted. Any travel included in the proposal must be accompanied by a detailed description stating the dates and locations of the travel, transportation and lodging estimates, and justification for the necessity of the trip.
• Funding for student travel is not permitted on CRC grants.
• Equipment purchases, including computers and computing equipment, are not allowed on this grant.
• The CRC will support a stipend for a student hired on a COFRS grant; CRC grants do not support tuition or matriculation fees.
• The COFRS program does not permit Co-PIs.
• Recipients of a COFRS award will be expected to serve as a COFRS reviewer during all three years of their hiatus period.

C. Eligibility

• Participation is open to all full-time, active-status FSU faculty who are eligible to apply for CRC funding.  
• Visiting professors, whose only reason for being labeled “visiting” is the expectation that they shortly will attain permanent residency status, are eligible to apply for this award. Full-time, active status must be achieved by the award date in order to receive funding.
• Three-year hiatus: For example, Principal Investigators (PIs) who received COFRS funding in the academic years 2019-2020, 2020-2021, or 2021-2022 are not eligible for consideration in this year's COFRS award competition.
• Generally, PIs will not be awarded more than one CRC grant during an academic year. Eligible applicants who have received an award from a CRC program during this academic year remain eligible to request funding from the Equipment and Infrastructure Enhancement Grant (EIEG) program.
• Only one proposal per PI may be submitted to the COFRS program per competition round.
• Students and post-docs are not eligible to be a PI on CRC grants.
• FAMU-appointed Engineering faculty members are eligible to apply for funding from the CRC.
• Twelve-month faculty members cannot apply for PI salary support; instead, those faculty members can use the funding for student salary and other allowable research expenses.

D. Important Dates for the 2022 - 2023 Round

• Pre-review Deadline:  Monday, November 7, 2022 @ 4:59 pm*
• Proposal Deadline: Thursday, November 17, 2022 @4:59 pm
• Award Notification: Mid February 2023
• Award Period: May 8, 2023 - August 4, 2023

*NOTE: If you would like your proposal to be reviewed for technical errors, you must submit it through the CRC portal by the Pre-review Deadline date shown above. Pre-reviews are completed on a first-come, first-served basis. The CRC Program Staff will review your proposal for document inclusion, budget allowability and accuracy, and adherence to program guidelines. Please note the following:

1. In order for your proposal to count as having been submitted in time for this pre-review, your application must have the "Pending Technical Review" status, which means you have obtained all required Chair and Dean approvals prior to the Pre-Review Deadline. Until your proposal has all these approvals, it will not be considered ready for a technical review.
2. If your proposal is submitted after the Pre-Review Deadline, there is no guarantee that it will be reviewed for errors prior to the Proposal Deadline. Thus, choosing to submit after the Pre-Review Deadline leaves you at risk, as any technical errors, no matter how minor they may seem, will render your proposal disqualified. However, if you meet the Pre-Review Deadline and make the required corrections, as per instructions, by the Proposal Deadline, your proposal will not be rejected on technical grounds.
3. Your proposal's accuracy is ultimately your responsibility, and not that of the CRC. The CRC will not make corrections, and revisions cannot be accepted after the deadline.

E. Proposal Preparation Instructions

• The proposal must be written in clear, concise language so that reviewers from any discipline will be able to understand; field-specific jargon and acronyms are discouraged unless they are plainly defined within the proposal text.
• Proposals with incomplete required fields will not be able to submit until all required fields are completed; any fields left incomplete will result in the proposal being disqualified from competition.
• Proposals that do not adhere to the RFP instructions will be ineligible for funding.
• Go to Section H. Proposal Submission Process for instructions on how to apply.
• The following sections must be completed in your proposal application:

-- PROPOSAL TRANSMITTAL --

• For CRC submissions, this document is a part of the electronic submissions application. All applicants will complete these sections directly within the CRC program application. 
• Once the proposal is submitted, the Director/Chair and Dean of the PI will be contacted automatically via email for approval of the submission. Please provide sufficient time for electronic approvals prior to the proposal deadline. It is advisable to check on the availability of those who are required to approve your application if you are intending to submit close to the deadline. Directors, Chairs, and Deans have 24 hours after the proposal deadline to electronically approve applications.  Submissions that lack the necessary approvals within the provided time will be disqualified and will not be reviewed.
• If you need assistance with completing any of these forms and want a staff member from your department to assist you, you can grant access to them by adding a “proposal contact” to your application.  Any staff who will be assisting with the administration of this award, if granted, should also be added as a proposal contact.

-- ABSTRACT --

This section is completed within the electronic CRC program application. Your abstract cannot exceed 250 words.

-- CURRICULUM VITAE  (Word Doc) --

• The CV form in the link above is the preferred form for this requirement. If you choose to not use this specific form, your CV must contain the same information: Education from baccalaureate-level forward including Institution, Degree, Field of Study, and Completion Date; Previous Positions; Publications related to the proposal; and Research Support including completed and ongoing grants related to the proposal. You may also include other data pertinent to the research or activity proposed. Regardless of which form you use, the CV must be no longer than 2 pages at no less than 11 point font, with 1" margins.
• To view CV examples, please click on the subject area that is closest to your field of research: Arts, Engineering, Humanities, and STEM.

-- PAST, CURRENT, & PENDING GRANTS --

This section is completed within the electronic CRC program application. List all internal grants awarded to the PI in the past 5 years (AHPEG, COFRS, EIEG, FYAP, PG, MDS, SGP, Honorary, or FAT awards), as well as any pending grant proposals. If the PI received previous CRC funding, they must explain in the comments section of the award the outcomes of that funding, including research and creative results, and any external awards won as a result. Use of previous CRC funding is one factor in the evaluation of this proposal. Failure to include applicable CRC awards will result in proposal disqualification.

-- BUDGET --

This section is completed within the electronic CRC program application. The maximum award amount is $20,000. Use the tips below as a guide for your specific budget items:

• Typically, COFRS funding is applied as support toward the PI’s salary during the upcoming summer semester (Summer 2023). The funds will be disbursed over the award period through the bi-weekly pay cycle. Deductions and fringe benefits will be taken from this amount as they would in a typical paycheck. 
• Fringe benefits rates
• PIs may waive salary support and apply the award to other expense items such as salary support for a student, materials and supplies, and/or travel; twelve-month faculty cannot use COFRS funds toward salary.
• Project-related travel is allowed; however, travel is restricted to necessary and direct support of the research conducted as part of the proposed work. Conference or workshop attendance for the purpose of presenting research or creative activities is not permitted. Any travel included in the proposal must be accompanied by a detailed description stating the dates and locations of the travel, transportation and lodging estimates, and justification for the necessity of the trip. If awarded, any travel plan alterations must receive prior approval by the CRC before the travel occurs.
• Funding for student travel is not permitted on CRC grants.
• Award funds may be used to support a stipend for a student hired on the proposed project, but may not be used to pay for student tuition or matriculation fees. If awarded funds are used for a student stipend, the required fringe benefits and tax considerations must be included in the total requested amount, which cannot exceed $20,000.
• Equipment purchases, including computers and computing equipment, are not allowed on this grant.
• COFRS funds are not intended to be used for book subventions.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  CRC grants are awarded in part based on the appropriateness and feasibility of the proposed budgets. Approved budgets must be followed as proposed/awarded, unless a budget amendment request is approved in advance by the chair of the CRC. A variance of up to 10% in any category will be tolerated in the absence of a budget amendment, but any unapproved expenditures beyond this limit will result in the grant being frozen until the overage is refunded to the grant. The same applies to any unapproved expenditures that fall outside a grant's budgetary categories. In addition, no further CRC grant proposals will be accepted from applicants (as PI or Co-PI) on any grant that is out of budgetary compliance until the situation is rectified.

-- PROPOSAL TEXT (Word Doc) --

The Proposal Text cannot exceed 8 pages (not including References and Appendices). Pages must be formatted with 1" margins, utilizing 11pt Times New Roman or Arial font. Only a PDF version of your proposal will be accepted. Below are the required sub-sections for the Proposal Text.

1. Project/Issue and Goals:  Provide a summary of the research or creative activity proposed. Briefly describe the goals/objective of the project.
   
   
2. Research Methods/Creative Activities:  Describe the research methods/creative activities that will be undertaken, including scientific or creative objectives, data or materials to be used, and methods of analysis or performance of the project. The proposal should be clearly understandable by those not in your field, and jargon should be avoided.  Please note that your proposal WILL be reviewed by some who are not at all familiar with your field of work.
   
   
3. Significance of Intended Outcomes:  Describe the basis for the evaluation of results and/or conclusions and the importance or significance of the contribution of your project to the field.  
   
   
4. Anticipated External Funding:  Describe how the proposed research or creative activity will enhance the prospects for external funding. List anticipated outside funding sources to support follow-up activity, including specific grant programs, the goals of those programs, and the amount of funding available. List the approximate date(s) by which you intend to request external funding from one or more of the funding sources you identified.
   
   
5. Schedule of Project Activities:  Provide a statement indicating the amount of progress anticipated during the grant period and the intended schedule for completion of the plan (including start and completion dates), publication, performance, etc. If appropriate, briefly describe the related research and/or creative activities that will take place before and after the grant period.
   
   
6. Budget:  Provide a detailed and clear budget explanation. The information should mirror the items in the budget section of the submission portal, but should be significantly more detailed. The description should be narrative in nature and should include quantifiable financial information. If travel is included in the budget, specific projected travel dates and locations must be given; travel is restricted to necessary and direct support of the research proposal, rather than presentation of that research at conferences and workshops. Refer to the information listed above regarding unallowable budget items.
   
   
7. Departmental/College Support:  Describe any additional support the PI will receive from the department and/or college. This special or non-routine support may include, but is not limited to, release time from teaching load, graduate student costs, rehearsal or performance space, lab space, and/or technical assistance.
   
   
8. Professional Obligations:  List any professional obligations the PI has for the award period. If any of these obligations include active grants, please explain the relationship of the proposed funding to any other funding you will have for this period.
   
   
9. References:  Include a references list, if applicable. References do not count as Proposal Text pages.
   
   
10. Appendices:  Include appendices as needed, including approval forms and other supplementary materials pertinent to your proposed project. Please be considerate of reviewers' time and file space; avoid excessive appendices. Research compliance approval letters (Human Subjects, Animal Subjects) may be included in this section if they have already been obtained for this project.

F. Proposal Examples

• Examples of successful proposals are available on Research Development's Successful Proposal Database. Your FSU username and password will be required.
• Please note that some examples shown may include items that are no longer allowable under CRC Policies. Please contact the CRC Program Manager for clarification or questions related to these proposals.

G. Research Compliance

• Research activities requiring compliance review and approvals (such as Human or Animal Subjects use, DNA/RNA use, Hazardous Materials, or Marine Lab facilities) require the completion and submission of forms to the appropriate FSU department or group. You must seek and receive approval before such research is attempted and before any funds can be released, if awarded. See Human Subjects, Animal Care and Use Committee, Environmental Health & Safety, or Research Compliance for other compliance requirements that may apply to your research or performance plan.
• You may pre-apply for Human Subjects or Animal use approval prior to funding notifications. While not required in advance, having prior approval will prevent delays in receiving grant funds, if awarded.
• If you have already received approval for proposal-related certifications, you may include the approval paperwork in the appendices of your proposal text.

H. Proposal Submission Process

• Go to CRC Submissions Portal.
• Login using your FSU username and password.
• Start a new proposal by selecting one of the CRC programs listed under the apply tab. Complete all the sections and upload each of the required elements. 
• You will have the ability to submit/save your proposal elements and update/edit them until the posted deadline for the program.
• Proposals with incomplete required fields will not be able to submit for Chair/Dean approval until all required fields are completed. Minor changes can still be made to the proposal after it has been submitted for Chair/Dean approval.
• Once the application is submitted, the Director/Chair, and Dean of the PI will be contacted automatically via email for approval of the submission. Please provide sufficient time for electronic approvals prior to the program deadline. It is advisable to check on the availability of those who are required to approve your application if you are intending to submit close to the deadline. Directors, Chairs, and Deans have 24 hours after the proposal deadline to electronically approve applications. Submissions that lack the necessary approvals within the provided time will be disqualified and will not be reviewed.

I. Proposal Review Process

• The COFRS review subcommittee consists of previous COFRS awardees who are currently in their hiatus period. The scores given by these reviewers are compiled, and funding recommendations are formulated by the CRC COFRS Subcommittee.
• Reviewers will use these review guidelines for scoring the proposal. As part of this evaluation, reviewers will take note of the external proposals submitted by the PI as a result of previously-awarded CRC funds.
• Each reviewer will provide “blind” electronic feedback, not just a numeric score, which will be shared with the PI. Reviewer identification will not be released to applicants.
• The CRC makes final funding decisions based on the funding allocated to the program, the number of proposals received, and merit scores of each proposal.
• If awarded, the PI and Department Chair/Director must sign the CRC Conditions of Award form and return it to the CRC Program Staff prior to award budget activation. Any research compliance items must also be approved prior to award activation.
• All necessary forms must be received by the Program Staff no later than 30 days following notice of award; failure to submit these documents in a timely manner may result in the withdrawal of the award.

J. Award Terms & Conditions

• CRC grant funds can only be used to support research and creative activity.
• Equipment purchases, including computers and computing equipment, are not allowed on this grant.
• This CRC grant may support a stipend for a student hired on a grant; matriculation and tuition fees cannot be allocated to a COFRS budget.
• Project-related travel is allowed; however, travel is restricted to necessary and direct support of the research conducted as part of the proposed work. Conference or workshop attendance for the purpose of presenting research or creative activities is not permitted. Any travel included in the proposal must be accompanied by a detailed description stating the dates and locations of the travel, transportation and lodging estimates, and justification for the necessity of the trip. If awarded, any travel plan alterations must receive prior approval by the CRC before the travel occurs.
• Funding for student travel is not permitted on CRC grants.
• The CRC approved the project budget as submitted with the proposal. Budget deviations greater than 10% per budget line item (cumulatively) require the prior written approval of the CRC. Budget revisions should be requested via a Budget Amendment Form. The Budget Amendment form, which can be downloaded from the Forms page, must be electronically signed by the PI and submitted via the Time Extension and Budget Amendment Request page. An example of a completed Budget Amendment form can be found here. If the budget revision is approved by the CRC (limit 2 per award), the OMNI Project Budget will be modified to reflect the newly-approved categorical amounts. Budget amendment requests must be approved before any changes can occur. You may not submit an amendment request after the fact, and all budget amendment requests must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the award end date; requests submitted within 30 days of the award end date will not be considered.
• The CRC approved the scope of work as submitted with the proposal. The written approval of the CRC is required prior to implementing any change to the scope of work. Actions likely to be considered a change of scope include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Change in the goals or specific aims approved at the time of the award;
  • Any change from the approved use of animals or human subjects;
  • Shifting the emphasis of the research from one area or another; or
  • Transferring the performance of substantive programmatic work to a third party by contract or any other means.
• Budget or scope of work violations may result in loss of CRC funding eligibility for multiple years.
• The CRC reserves the right to withdraw remaining funds from a project if unauthorized spending occurs and may also require misspent funds to be repaid by the PI/Department.
• Time extensions (limit 1 per award) require the prior approval of the CRC. Any request and justification for a time extension should be submitted to the Time Extension and Budget Amendment Request page at least 30 days prior to the award expiration date; requests submitted within 30 days of the award end date will not be considered. Funding allocated for PI salary is not eligible for a time extension; other budget categories - such as student stipends, supplies, etc. - are eligible for time extensions.
• Only one time extension is permitted per project; if the project budget is in good standing, a 90-day extension for non-salary funds (PI) will be automatically granted upon request. Time extension requests for greater than 90 days will be considered on a case-by-case basis but will not exceed 6 months.
• Faculty members who receive CRC funds during a sabbatical will be asked to repay those funds if they leave the university during the year following the award. In addition, summer funding will not be awarded, or will be terminated if awarded, for faculty planning to leave the university immediately following the award period.
• By accepting this award, you are agreeing to be a reviewer for the COFRS program during your three-year hiatus period.

K. Grant Close-Out and Reporting

• Financial closeout of the award will automatically occur within 60 days following the award period end date.
• Time extensions require the prior approval of the CRC (limit 1 extension per award). Any request and justification for a time extension must be submitted through the Time Extension and Budget Amendment Request page at least 30 days prior to the award expiration date; requests submitted within 30 days of the award end date will not be considered. Funding allocated for PI salary is not eligible for a time extension; other budget categories - such as student stipends, supplies, etc. - are eligible for time extensions.
• Only one time extension is permitted per project; if the project budget is in good standing, a 90-day extension will be automatically granted upon request. Time extension requests for greater than 90 days will be considered on a case-by-case basis but will not exceed 6 months. 
• The PI of the project will be required to respond to short project outcomes surveys via email at 6-, 12-, and 18-month intervals after the award end date. Surveys will allow faculty to identify the proposals, publications, exhibits, presentations, and/or other external funding outcomes resulting directly from CRC-funded awards.

L. Payback

• PIs who later find that they have funding from another source for similar or the same support are requested to decline acceptance of this COFRS award so that funds can be redirected to provide support for other applicants who would otherwise go unfunded.
• In the event that a PI leaves the university, involuntarily or voluntarily, prior to the end of the award period, the awardee’s Dean or Department Chair has the responsibility of notifying the CRC Program Manager and returning the award amount to the CRC. In addition, summer funding will not be awarded, or will be terminated if awarded, for faculty planning to leave the university immediately following the award period.
• Faculty members who receive CRC funds during a sabbatical will be asked to repay those funds if they leave the university during the year following the award.