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What is the Faculty Intiatives Fund?
Rice University's Faculty Initiatives Fund is an internal funding mechanism that awards competitive grants of between $5,000-$75,000 to Rice faculty. These grants are intended to help faculty members develop adventurous projects that might enhance the university and that might lead to larger endeavors, research breakthroughs, external funding opportunities, or unusually creative works.
Who is eligible to apply?
Full-time and research faculty members at Rice are eligible to apply. Proposals may be submitted individually or by a group of faculty. Please inform your dean or deans that you have applied.
What is the Review Process?
The initial review will be done by a committee of outside referees assembled by the vice provost for research with the help of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS has an office dedicated to helping universities do such reviews and the committee that is appointed will have the breadth necessary to review proposals across the disciplines represented by Rice’s schools. The outside reviewers will make recommendations on the proposals and will also provide written feedback to the authors of all the proposals. Final decisions on funding will be made by the vice provost for research in consultation with a faculty-based campus committee. The reviews and recommendations provided by the AAAS reviewers will be used to help inform the final decisions.
What are the Selection Criteria?
Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- The contribution the project makes to furthering the Vision for the Second Century (V2C), including fostering interdisciplinary endeavors, building departments or programs of distinction, strengthening collaborative institutional relationships, and supporting university-wide priorities;
- The quality, significance, and potential impact of the project;
- The likelihood that the project will lead to outside funding;
- The degree to which the project might enrich research opportunities for students.
Applicants are encouraged to seek funding from other available sources. Multi-year grants will be considered but may not exceed $75,000 total. All funds awarded will carry over for a second fiscal year, but normally not beyond that.
How do I Apply?
Please use the "Add a submission" link on the left menu of this web page. Proposals are due by April 1, 2009 and must include the following documents in PDF format: a project description of no more than four (4) pages (in 12-point type), including figures; a budget that indicates how the requested funds would be expended and lists resources sought or acquired from other sources; a curriculum vitae for each applicant of no more than three (3) pages, and a current & pending support document listing any awards of each applicant. Budgets and current & pending support need to be submitted on the forms that can be found on the document submission page. The Vice Provost of Research plans to announce the selected grant recipients by early to mid-May 2009.
Previous Awards:
Information about the awards last year (FY 2008) can be found at http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=11119 and information about the awards made in FY 2007 can be found at http://media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=9625.
Questions: Contact Jim Coleman (James.S.Coleman@rice.edu) with questions.
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