A. Grant Program Overview

The Seed Grant program provides funding for a new direction or continuing early support of existing research or creative activity, with the expectation that this assistance will lead to the application for external funding or support within one year of the completion of this award.

‘Continuing early support’ in this context is defined as having received no or only minor awards (less than/equal to $1,000) for early components of the work defined in the award application.

Additionally, the Seed Grant program strongly encourages multidisciplinary projects which foster connections across campus, deal with transformative ideas and concepts, and will lead to new programs of research or creative activity.

B. Award Information

Award Amount: Up to $100,000 per award.

Award Distribution:  Funds will be disbursed on a cost-reimbursable basis throughout the award period in accordance with university policies.

Requirements:

• Proposal Submission: Applicants are to submit a well-written, competitive proposal that clearly indicates a planned effort to complete a defined project during the award period. The proposal should also indicate how the funding would be leveraged to apply for external support in continuation of the work. A committee of CRC members will review the proposals and provide feedback. Proposals will either be (a) approved for funding or (b) denied for funding.
• Progress Reports: Awardees must respond to post-award progress reports, emailed at 6-, 12-, and 18-month intervals.

Restrictions:

• Seed grants do not support faculty salary.
• Proposals for support to write textbooks or to develop instructional materials will not be accepted; book subventions are not an allowable expense.
• 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 & Infrastructure Enhancement Grant (EIEG) program. Exception: Faculty who are eligible to apply for the First Year Assistant Professor program this year (Academic Year 2024-2025) may also apply for a Seed Grant in this same academic year.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE:

• Faculty may choose the award period for their project, up to 24 months from the stated Award Period start date (see Important Dates below).
• The Seed program allows faculty to choose their review section based on the focus area of their work: STEM, Social Sciences, Arts & Humanities, and Health/Clinical Sciences.

C. Eligibility

• Participation is open to all full-time, active-status FSU faculty who are eligible to apply for CRC funding. Please refer to the Job Code Eligibility list for specific information.
• 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 to receive funding.
• Two-year hiatus: Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs who received Seed funding in academic year 2023-2024 are not eligible for consideration in this year's Seed award competition.
• Students and post-docs are not eligible to be a PI or Co-PI on CRC grants.
• No more than five Co-PIs may be included on each proposal (LIMIT: 1 PI + 5 Co-PIs = 6 "named" personnel per proposal).
• FAMU-appointed Engineering faculty members are eligible to apply for funding from the CRC.

D. Important Dates for 2024-2025

• Fall 2024 Round

  • • Proposal Deadline: Friday, October 4, 2024 @ 4:59 pm
    • Award Notification: Early December 2024
    • Award Period Begins: February 1, 2025

   

• Spring 2025 Round

  • • Proposal Deadline: Thursday, March 6, 2025 @ 4:59 pm
    • Award Notification: Mid-May 2025
    • Award Period Begins: June 15, 2025

E. Proposal Preparation Instructions

• Only one proposal per applicant may be submitted per round; a Co-PI may not submit a separate application as a PI within the same competition round.
• 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. TIP: Have a colleague or friend that is unfamiliar with your work read your proposal for clarity. The Research Development Coordinator for your area may also be able to assist with this.
• Proposals with incomplete information in required fields will not be able to submit until all required fields are completed; any required fields left incomplete will result in the proposal being disqualified from competition.

-- PROPOSAL APPLICATION --

Applicants must complete the application for the Seed program using the InfoReady Submission Portal. All sections must be completed to submit your application. If you would like to make changes to your application after you have submitted it, contact the Internal Funding Program Coordinator for CRC submissions. Changes cannot be made to an application once the submission deadline has passed.

-- CURRICULUM VITAE --

The Curriculum Vitae Template provided by the CRC is the preferred format for internal funding competitions. If you choose to not use this specific form, your CV must contain the following 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, in Arial or Times New Roman font.

To view CV examples, please click on the subject area that is closest to your field of research: Arts, Engineering, Humanities, and STEM.

IMPORTANT:  A CV must be included for the PI and all Co-PIs indicated in the Proposal Text and application portal. 

Note:  Beginning in January 2025, a downloadable CRC CV will be available through FEAS.

-- BUDGET --

This section must be completed by utilizing the portal application. The maximum award amount is $100,000. Use the tips below as a guide for your specific budget items:

• Faculty salary is not allowed in this program.
• Seed Grant funds can be used for student stipends, production of project-related materials, photocopying, and/or a variety of other project-related expenses.
• Project-related travel is allowed; however, travel is restricted to necessary and direct support of the research conducted as part of the proposed project. 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.
• 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 Seed grant; however, CRC grants do not support tuition or matriculation fees. Seed funds are not intended to be used for book subventions.
• Please fill out the Seed Grant Budget Form and attach it as a .pdf in the Budget section of the grant application.

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 a representative of the CRC.

-- PROPOSAL TEXT --

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. Review and complete the required sections within the Proposal Text Template; explanations for each section are provided within the template and may be deleted prior to document submission.

-- PAST, CURRENT, AND PENDING CRC GRANTS –

Applicants must list all internal and external (past, current and pending) grants awarded to the PI and any Co-PIs within the last 5 years. The Prior Award History must be included in your proposal submission as an appendix, and does not count toward the proposal page count. CRC grants must be included: AHPEG, COFRS/SRS, EIEG, FYAP, Seed, PG [sunsetted], MDS [sunsetted], SGP, or Honorary awards. Please list the outcomes of the funding, including any pending research and creative results, and any external awards, fellowships, publications, etc. obtained 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.

Grants to include:

• All current external grants (federal/state or other) and all current CRC grants
• All pending external grants (federal/state or other) and all pending CRC grants
• All grants and awards - both external and CRC - you have received in the past 5 years, and
• Any grants you plan to submit in the near future.

Information to include about each grant:

• Grant Title
• Source of Support
• Grant Start Date
• Grant End Date
• Time Commitment %
• Award Amount
• Outcomes (proposals submitted, publications, awards, etc.)

To search the last 5 years of CRC award history, reference this table: Prior CRC Award History Search Tool . The table is searchable by FSU employee ID, and has all the grants listed for both PIs and Co-PIs. 

F. Proposal Examples

Examples of successful proposals are available on Research Development's Successful Proposal Database. Your FSU username and password will be required.

​G. Research Compliance

• Research activities requiring compliance review and approvals (such as Human or Animal Subjects, DNA, RNA, 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.
• For more information about the requirements of each Research Compliance area, see our FAQs.

H. Proposal Submission Process

• Applicants must complete the application for the Seed program using the online submission portal. All sections must be completed to submit your application. If you would like to make changes to your application after you have submitted it, contact the Internal Funding Program Manager.
• Once the proposal is submitted, the selected Director(s)/Chair(s) and Dean(s) 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.

I. Proposal Review Process

• The Seed review subcommittee consists of selected FSU faculty currently serving on the CRC. The subcommittee will evaluate proposals within each of the four review sections (STEM, Social Sciences, Arts + Humanities, Health/Clinical Sciences), as indicated by the submitting PI.
• Reviewers will use the Seed Reviewer Guidelines for scoring the proposal. 
• As part of this evaluation, reviewers will take note of the external proposals submitted by the PI and any Co-PI(s) as a result of previously awarded CRC funds.
• Each reviewer will provide written feedback, not just a numeric score, which will be shared with the PI. Reviewer identification will not be released to the 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.

J. Required Post-Award Activities

• If awarded, any research compliance items must also be approved prior to award activation.
• All necessary forms must be received by Internal Funding Program Staff no later than 60 days following notice of award; failure to submit these documents in a timely manner may result in the withdrawal of the award.

K. Award Terms & Conditions

Faculty and their departments must adhere to the Terms and Conditions outlined and accepted in the award application. The Standard CRC Terms + Conditions of Award document can also be found in the program documents.

L. Grant Close-Out and Reporting

• Sponsored Research will begin financial closeout of the award will automatically within 60 days following the award period end date.
• Time extensions are permitted but require the prior approval of the CRC. Additional information can be found in the Standard CRC Terms + Conditions of Award document.
• 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.

M. Return of Funds

• Recipients of a Seed award, or their department, must notify the Internal Funding Program Manager as soon as possible if they also have been awarded similar funding from another source.
• In the event that a Seed recipient leaves the University, involuntarily or voluntarily, prior to the end of the award period, the awardee’s Dean or Department Chair must notify the Internal Funding Program Manager and return the award funds to the CRC. 
• 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.
• The balance of any remaining award funds will be returned to the CRC general fund at the conclusion of the award period.