Internal Grants

Introduction

The Internal Grant Programs (IGPs) are designed to support research in all areas represented on the campus, including fine arts, humanities, the social and behavioral sciences, the biological and physical sciences, and the various education and professional studies disciplines. Currently the IGPs include the Research Travel Grant (RTG), Faculty Research Program (FRP), Summer Research Fellowship (SRF), Individual Development Awards Program (IDA) and Special Projects Fund/Nuala Drescher Awards. The following information is designed to provide an overview of the internal funding available, to provide guidance for choosing the appropriate funding, as well as to assist the applicant with his/her submission.

General Overview

For the purposes of the IGPs, research is broadly defined as a two-step process that includes, first, the identification of a problem or question related to a specific discipline, and, second, an investigation of the proposed question using methods appropriate to the discipline. The task of the researcher is to seek answers to the question in an objective and/or an imaginative fashion. It is assumed that investigators in all disciplines seek answers to questions concerning problems in their fields; therefore, research proposals from all disciplines are encouraged and will receive equal consideration.

The IGPs are sponsored by the Research and Sponsored Programs Office, Cortland College Foundation, and the State of New York/United University Professions Joint Labor/Management Committees. The Research and Sponsored Programs Office administers each IGP in accordance with the prime sponsor's funding requirements. The College Research Committee (CRC) serves as the peer review body for the Research Travel Grants, the Faculty Research Program, and the Summer Research Fellowship, while the campus Professional Development Committee (PDC) serves as the peer review body for the Individual Development Awards Program and the Special Projects Fund.

CRC members are appointed by the Faculty Senate and have either been successful at obtaining funding for their own research or have had experience in reviewing proposals for an agency outside of the College (2002-04 College Handbook, pg. 11). All academic areas of the College are represented equally including: Education; Fine Arts and Humanities; Health, Physical Education, and Recreation; Library; Mathematics and Science; Professional Staff; and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The Associate Director of Research and Sponsored Programs, or designee, is an ex-officio member of the Committee. The College Research Committee also serves as a peer review body for limited proposal submissions.

The campus PDC functions to assure that internal grant programs funded by the State of New York in furtherance of the Agreement between the State of New York and United University Professions (UUP) are awarded consistent with the objectives of the State of New York/UUP Statewide Professional Development Committee. The College president appoints a minimum of three management staff and the campus UUP president appoints a minimum of three UUP members to serve as a joint labor management campus committee for the Individual Development Act and Special Project Fund programs.

Generally, the Internal Grant Programs are administered by RSPO which works in concert with the two Committees. Both Committees recognize that there are differing models of research and creative activity that are appropriate in each area, ranging from quantitative statistical models to more qualitative concepts of research. Past experience of both Committees has shown that there are some areas for which the normal research models are not appropriate. Thus, the guidelines for the IGPs established by the Committees over the years are designed to aid in the evaluation of proposals and to make decisions about support for the work. This is a difficult process and requires that criteria be used so that the limited funds available can be distributed as judiciously and carefully as possible. Ideally, for example, a panel of experts in the discipline would evaluate a person’s proposed work. Any member of a Committee is eligible to submit a proposal but will not participate in the evaluation or ranking of his or her own proposal.

Each of the IGP guidelines is meant to provide a consistent and fair method for arriving at decisions about funding for the various proposals. The committees believe that regardless of discipline it is possible for a person to write a thoughtful proposal expressing the nature of the problem being studied, some background to the project, the specific plan of work to be done, and a section on evaluation or summation of the intent of the proposed activities.

First-time applicants who would like assistance in preparing an IGP application are encouraged to contact the appropriate divisional member of the College Research Committee or campus Professional Development Committee member or the Research and Sponsored Programs Office (RSPO). RSPO can also assist faculty in trying to match a first-time applicant with an individual who has successfully applied to previous IGP programs. RSPO and the CRC also organize an internal grants workshop each October to share informational strategieson successfully obtaining IGN awards.