A. Grant Program Overview

The Summer Research Support (SRS) award program, formerly known as 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 SRS program is different than the special program for First Year Assistant Professors (FYAPs), though they have many similarities.

B. Award Information

Award Amount: Up to $20,000 per award

Award Distribution:  If allocated to salary, funds will be disbursed over the award period through the biweekly pay cycle; salary-related deductions and fringe, as applicable to the individual, will be subtracted from the total award amount. If allocated to other categories, payout of funds will be on a cost-reimbursable basis.

Requirements:

• Proposal Submission: Applicants are to submit a well-written, competitive proposal that clearly indicates a planned effort to complete a discrete project, or a defined segment of a larger project, during the award period. Prior COFRS awardees 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.
• Proposal Reviewer: Recipients of an SRS award will be expected to serve as an SRS reviewer during all three years of their hiatus period.

Restrictions:

• Co-PIs are not permitted.
• 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 and Infrastructure Enhancement Grant (EIEG) program.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: 

• • Due to the similarities of the programs, faculty who have been awarded a FYAP grant are considered to be in a hiatus period for the SRS program for the two years following their FYAP award. FYAP recipients from award year 2021-2022 or prior are eligible for this year's SRS competition.

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 in order to receive funding.
• FAMU-appointed Engineering faculty members are eligible to apply for funding from the CRC.
• Three-year hiatus: For example, Principal Investigators (PIs) who received COFRS/SRS funding in the academic years 2021-2022, 2022-2023 or 2023-2024 are not eligible for consideration in this year's SRS award competition. As noted above, current or former FYAP awardees are not eligible to receive an SRS award within two years of their FYAP award.
• Students and post-docs are not eligible to be a PI on CRC grants.

D. Important Dates for the 2024 - 2025 Round

• Proposal Deadline: Thursday, November 21, 2024 @4:59 pm
• Award Notification: Mid-February, 2025
• Award Period: May 7, 2025 - August 5, 2025

E. Proposal Preparation Instructions

• Only one proposal per applicant may be submitted per 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 SRS grant 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 CRC Program Coordinator. 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 closest to your research field: Arts, Engineering, Humanities, and STEM.

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 $20,000. Use the tips below as a guide for your specific budget items:

• Typically, SRS funding is applied as support toward the PI’s salary during the summer award period. The funds allocated to salary support will be disbursed over the award period through the bi-weekly pay cycle. Deductions and fringe benefits will be taken from the maximum award amount as they would in a typical paycheck. Twelve-month faculty members cannot apply for PI salary support. These faculty members can use the funding for student salary and/or other allowable research expenses.
• 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.
• 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.
• Equipment purchases, including computers and computing equipment, are not allowed on this grant.
• The CRC will support a stipend for a student hired on an SRS grant; however, CRC grants do not support tuition or matriculation fees.
• Please fill out the Summer Research Support 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.

-- 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. 

-- 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.

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 Coordinator 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.
• 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 SRS grant 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.
• 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 intend to submit it close to the deadline. Directors, Chairs, and Deans have 24 hours after the proposal deadline to electronically approve applications. Submissions without the necessary approvals within the provided time will be disqualified and not 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 SRS 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 SRS Subcommittee.
• Reviewers will use the SRS Reviewer Guidelines for scoring the proposal. 
• 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 30 days following notice of award; failure to submit these documents in a timely manner may result in the withdrawal of the award.
• Progress Reports: Awardees must respond to post-award progress reports, emailed at 6-, 12-, and 18-month intervals.

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 an SRS 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 an SRS 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. Summer funding will not be awarded to faculty planning to leave the University immediately following the award period.
• The balance of any remaining award funds will be returned to the CRC general fund at the conclusion of the award period.