UDMPU Faculty Research Awards

UDMPU Faculty Research Awards - 2009-10

Request for Proposals Guidelines and Instructions: Deadline for Submission:  October 30, 2009

Please note that only UDM unionized faculty members are eligible to apply for these awards.

General Guidelines

Proposals are due to the MFA Ad-Hoc Internal Research Fund Committee by October 30, 2009 at 11:59pm.  Late proposals will not be considered.  Proposals must be either emailed, hand delivered or sent interoffice mail to Sheri Pickover {(313 993-1626) pickovsa@udmercy.edu}- Reno Hall Room 115 and must include an original signature page. Email applications must include a scanned signed cover page and/or a separate cover page submitted at the same time as the proposal.  If an original signature page is submitted after the deadline, the proposal will not be accepted.  

If awarded monies, the funds for the contract year 2009-10 are to be spent from December 1, 2009 through August 15, 2010.  All monies not spent by August 15, 2010 will be forfeited; there are no exceptions. This includes receipts not submitted by this deadline and work not completed by this deadline.  Funds cannot be transferred to the next contract year.  It is the responsibility of the faculty member who is awarded the funds to ensure that the guidelines are met.  All University policies concerning expenses are applicable.  All submitted receipts must be original receipts.  Copies are not accepted.  Please see the Employee Expense and Reimbursement Form and Check Request Form for complete guidelines.

Please complete the Application Package, which includes the signature page, as well as the Excel Budget Sheet.

Budget Guidelines

Submitted proposals for funds must include specific details, including the reason for the request, how the request directly relates to the research/scholarship project and the dates the money is intended to be used.

All travel fund requests must be in accordance with University of Detroit Mercy travel expense policy.  Stipends for meals cannot exceed $40/day with receipts or $25/day without receipts. 

All reimbursement requests must be accompanied by a University of Detroit Mercy Employee Expense and Reimbursement Form.  Make sure to include your signature and T Number when completing this form. 

Payments made to outside vendors require set up in the Banner system.  If a vendor is not set up in the system, complete Vendor Set-up and W-9 forms so a Check Request or Purchase Requisition can be processed.

If a faculty member is requesting research assistant stipends, the budget must clearly outline how the faculty member wants the funds to be paid to the research assistant.   Faculty can choose to have the funds paid as salary or in tuition remission.

Faculty requesting stipends for a course release cannot request in excess of contract stipulated funding and/or in excess of adjunct faculty pay for the College/School where the faculty resides. Faculty cannot request stipends for courses taught outside the required contract load (e.g. if a faculty chooses to teach Term III but is not required to do so to fulfill contract obligations).

Faculty must include a budget justification that provides an explanation for requesting the funds and provide supporting documentation.

Completing the Budget Form

To complete the budget, open the Excel spreadsheet and fill in each line item of the budget.  If you are not requesting a stipend, please put a 0 in the amount line.

You may list more than one research assistant and/or add lines if needed.  If you are not requesting a research assistant, please put a 0 in the amount line. 

For supplies please remember to factor in postage, shipping fees etc. 

For travel expenses by car, you must use the University of Detroit Mercy current mileage rate, 55 cents per mile through 2009.  The Purchasing Department sends an email informing all employees of the mileage rate for the current year, take care to note the change, if any, for 2010. 

Scholarship/Research Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria as determined by the McNichols Faculty Assembly.

• The proposal must directly demonstrate an ability to engage in a specific scholarship/research plan in the time allotted (December 1, 2009 - August 15, 2010)
• The requested funds must be clearly related to the research/scholarship plan. For example, if a faculty member is conducting collaborative research activity with a faculty member in another state and is requesting travel funds for research purposes, the faculty member must clearly demonstrate the need for travel vs. conducting the research activity via email or phone.
• o Similarly, if a faculty member is requesting a stipend to pay for a course release, the faculty member must demonstrate how that time would be spent on the research.
• The budget amount requested must be supported by data that justify the amount. For example, if a faculty member is requesting to pay a research assistant at $15.00 hour the faculty member needs to provide justification that the assistant's level of experience and skill justify this amount. If the budget includes purchasing items, the proposal needs to include documentation that supports the reason for purchasing the items, amounts, size if appropriate etc.
• The faculty member(s) is competent to carry out the research. This criterion refers to faculty conducting scholarship/research in their area of expertise.
• Finally, the proposals are reviewed for academic rigor according to general standards of scholarship and research. For example, requesting to conduct a survey without first conducting reliability and validity sampling is not considered sound research.

Follow-up Requirements

All faculty who are awarded research funds are required to submit a maximum two page report to the Ad-Hoc IRF Research Fund Committee by September 30, 2010.  This report must include documentation of monies spent and a brief outcome report on the research conducted, including the current state of the research project, future planning and project limitations.  Please use the Report Template.