January, 2016
University of South Alabama
Office of Research and Economic Development
Seed Grant Program to Support the Arts and Humanities
The Seed Grant Program to Support the Arts and Humanities provides funding to support faculty
members as they build their academ ic careers thr oug h scholarly, creative and research
contributions to their fields. The expectation is that faculty who receive this support will seek and
secure external funding to support future activities. $25,000 has been allocated annually for this
program. Funding may be used to support activities such as:
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Copyright permission fees associated with the use or incorporation of text or
visual images;
Illustration usage fees (often required by museums or archives);
Indexing (i.e. the creation of an index for one's book);
Subventions (i.e. payments made to support book projects at non-profit,
university presses);
International travel above the standard $1,450 provided by departments to
support scholarly, creative and research activities;
Mastering music CDs;
Mounting a visual-art exhibition;
Art competition entry fees;
Music or visual art supplies;
Bringing guest artists/producers to campus for collaborative drama
productions;
Bringing projections or special-effects specialists to campus for collaborative
drama productions;
Commissions for musicians to provide scoring for faculty - created drama
productions;
Eligibility
Faculty with primary appointments in the departments of English, Communication, Dramatic
Arts, Modern and Classical Languages and Literature, History, Philosophy, Music and
Visual Arts in the rank of assistant, associate, and full professor, (without regard to tenure
status) are eligible to apply and receive an award. Faculty known to be in their last year of
employment are not eligible to apply for, or receive, an award.
1. Appointees working solely in visiting or adjunct titles are not eligible to apply as a PI
or Co-I.
2. Faculty who are on leave without pay or on sabbatical are not eligible to receive awards
during the leave period.
3. Faculty may receive one (1) award per funding year.
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January, 2016
Proposal Submission Guidelines
1. Proposals, including application documents listed below, must be submitted through the
InfoReady Review platform by the proposal due date. Detailed instructions can be
found at: https://southalabama.infoready4.com/#homePage
2. A signed USA Transmittal Form must be received by the Office of Research
Development and Learning by the proposal due date.
3. The submission deadlines are 5:00 p.m., each March 1st and October 1st.
4. A complete application document will contain the following items:
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Abstract (summary of research proposal—150-word maximum);
Scholarly, Creative and Research Project Description (two-page maximum);
Literature Cited (one-page maximum);
Proposal Budget and Budget Justification;
Curriculum Vitae - include publications during the last three years, current and
pending support including amount, source (internal and external sources must
be listed) and term of funding (two-page maximum);
Items b-e must be compiled as a single PDF and uploaded into the InfoReady Review
application (detailed instructions may be found on the InfoReady Review site). The proposal
should be presented in 12-point Times or 11-point Arial font, page margins should be set at 1”
(right, left, top and bottom); line – spacing must be 1.0 or higher; pages should be numbered
consecutively beginning with the Research Project Description.
Scholarly, Creative and Research Project Description:
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Provide a clear description of the creative, scholarly and/or research work to be
conducted. Frame the significance of the project relative to the field stated in language
that can be understood by an educated, non-expert.
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Define the specific goals of the project, how the goals will be achieved and the timeline
for achievement of the goals; include milestones.
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Describe how the work carried out in this project will seed future proposals for external
funding, publications, presentations, exhibitions, further scholarly activities, visual and
performance art and/or facilitate collaboration.
If appropriate, the use of animal or human subjects must be clearly presented in the
project description. Animal or human subject use protocols must be approved before
beginning the project. Additional information may be found at:
http://www.southalabama.edu/researchcompliance/index.html.
Literature Cited: Standard citation formats for the applicant’s academic field can be used.
Proposal Budget: Awards are limited to a maximum of $1,500. A detailed budget a n d
b u d g e t j u s t i f i c a t i o n must be provided. Include an effort commitment and description
of the role(s) of any person projected to be supported by the award (as appropriate). Fringe
benefits should be included in the budget projection as applicable. The budget justification
should briefly address all of the items listed in the budget. No indirect cost charges will be
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January, 2016
applied to this program.
Evaluation Criteria
Intellectual Merit: What is the potential for the proposed activity to advance knowledge
within the field? To what extent do the proposed activities enable original and potentially
transformative work or otherwise represent significant work in the field of expertise, including
projects focused on revival or integration of earlier works?
Personnel and Environment: How well qualified is the individual and/or the team to
conduct the proposed activities? Are resources and/or equipment necessary to complete the
project available?
Quality of Proposal Document: Is the proposal well written and convincing? Are the work
plan and methodology well-reasoned and well-organized? Is the budget appropriate for the
proposed activities?
Outcomes: Are demonstrable outcomes clearly defined and a timeline for completion, with
milestones, provided?
Proposal Review Process
Proposals will be received by the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Research
Development and Learning and the review will be conducted by the USA Faculty Senate
Committee on Research and Creative Activity. For additional information contact Dr. Kim
Littlefield. Applicants will be notified of the funding status of their application by April 1 or
November 1 annually.
Award Administration
The term of the award is one year from the date specified on the award letter.
Fund numbers will be established by the Office of Grant and Contract Accounting. Post –
award administration of the award is the responsibility of the PI and School/College and
Department.
No-cost extensions, up to one year, will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please
contact Dr. Kimberly Littlefield for additional information about applying for a no-cost extension.
Unexpended funding remaining at the end of the term of the award, including the no-cost
extension period, will revert back to the Office of Research and Economic Development.
A final progress report must be submitted via the InfoReady Review platform no later than 90
days after the end of the award period.
The Office of Research Development and Learning may contact awardees for additional, ad
hoc progress updates for up to three (3) years following submission of the final progress report.
The ad hoc update information may be used to highlight Arts and Humanities work/research
and/or to comprehensively assess the effectiveness of the program.
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