Revised 7/12/2016
Application Information
CAS Seed Grant Award
I.
OBJECTIVES
The College of Arts and Sciences Seed Grant awards are specifically designed to provide support
for research1 and creative/performance projects of the highest merit that can directly facilitate
competitive applications for larger, extramurally funded projects.
Awards are not made to support:
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curriculum development
faculty education or training
service projects
development of commercial products, including textbooks or electronic teaching materials
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summer salary stipends, course releases, or expenses for meals.
II. ELIGIBILITY
To be considered eligible, projects must address the objectives listed above in Section I and be submitted by
eligible tenure-track/tenured faculty members who:
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III.
will have completed their terminal degree by date of application
have primary appointment in the College of Arts and Sciences
are not current members of the Faculty Research Support Awards Committee
are not on notice of non-retention for the next academic year
will be on the faculty during the period of the award (Faculty Research Support Awards are
made contingent upon the recipient’s continued service at UVM throughout the academic
year following the award year. If a grantee fails to complete this required term of continued
service, full reimbursement to the College of all expended funds is required)
Faculty may not concurrently apply for a Faculty Research Support Award and a
Seed Grant Award or have received a College Small Grant Award the previous
semester.
AWARD CONDITIONS
The maximum amount per award is $10,000; in addition, above that amount, the College will
provide a 50/50 match with departments up to a total award amount of $15,000. The total award
pool is $35,000.
Only one application is allowed from each eligible faculty member; however, more than one faculty member
may submit a single joint application.
Funds are for research support starting the semester of the award through the following fiscal year.
Example: if a faculty member receives an award in January 2015, the award would be available
through FY 16, ending on June 30, 2016.
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Research is defined broadly here to refer to scholarly products typical of a faculty member’s discipline.
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Recipients must submit a brief final report (one page maximum) to the Dean’s Office on their project
by the September 30 following expiration of the award. Failure to file a final report will make the
recipient ineligible for future CAS research support awards.
IV.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Applications that address award objectives (Section I) and are submitted by eligible applicants (Section II)
will be reviewed according to the following criteria:
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V.
Quality of the project being proposed, i.e., originality of proposed research, potential
contribution to, and advancement of, the field, etc;
Clear evidence of identification of a significant extramural grant[s] to which the
applicant intends to apply;
Evidence that the Seed Grant Award will directly facilitate that application and likely
contribute to its success;
Record of the applicant's achievement as indicated by scholarly and creative products
related to the proposal under review;
Clarity of the proposal. Proposals must be understandable to colleagues who are
not specialists in the applicant's field. Applicants are encouraged to seek advice
from other faculty before submitting their proposals;
Relationship of the proposed project to the applicant's long-term research agenda;
Feasibility of the proposed project in terms of reasonableness of the budget and
availability of facilities and existing resources necessary for satisfactory completion of
the project.
THE COMMITTEE AND THE REVIEW PROCESS
The Seed Grant Awards Committee is comprised of one CAS Associate Dean and faculty members appointed by
the Dean from each of the College's four main distribution areas (Fine Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, and
Social Sciences). Committee members are ineligible for Seed Grant Awards while serving on the committee.
Awards are made on the basis of a "collegial," rather than a "peer" review.
VI.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES AND DEADLINE
Attached are instructions for completing the application packet. If you have questions regarding the application
instructions, completion of the application, or your budget, please contact the College.
All proposals for awards must be e-mailed as a single Word document attachment (12 pt. Times New Roman
font) to cas+seed@uvm.edu to arrive no later than 4:30 pm, January 31. Applications that are received after this
time will not be considered.
A. GENERAL CAUTIONS
Make every effort to write an application that is understandable to readers from outside of your field. Since
your application will be reviewed and ranked by a committee of faculty from all four academic areas, you
should not assume that committee members are familiar with the significance of a given project to a
particular discipline. Minimize the use of discipline-specific terminology (jargon). It is advisable to have a
colleague critique your draft proposal before submission. Do not include these instructions with your
application.
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B. THE APPLICATION MUST INCLUDE: (in a single Word file 12 pt. Times New Roman font)
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Cover Page (see C below)
Budget Form (see D below)
Budget Description (see E below)
Project Description (see F below)
Relevant Bibliographic References (see G below)
Identification of Potential External Funding Sources (see H below)
An abbreviated c.v. (no more than 3 pages)
C. COVER PAGE Use the enclosed cover page and provide all required information using Microsoft Word
Times New Roman 12 pt. font.
# 4 Area:
Choose the disciplinary area in which you would like your proposal considered
(Fine Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, or Social Sciences)
#10 Project Title:
Limited to 120 characters
#11 Abstract:
Provide a synopsis of the proposed project in the allotted space
#12 Review Boards:
Award recipients are required to secure approval from any applicable review
board(s) prior to beginning a project.
D. BUDGET Use the budget form provided. Budgets should not be inflated to reach the maximum
provided; the Awards Committee will reduce or eliminate proposed expenditures that are not justified.
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For Research Assistants, you will need to specify percent appointment (33% or 50%), rate, time period
(semester, academic year and/or summer), and cost, which needs to include the university’s fringe benefit
rate.
For Student Hourly Help, specify the number of students, the number of hours each is to be employed,
and the hourly rate of pay. The student fringe benefit rate for SUMMER employment should also be
included.
UVM fringe benefit rates are located here: https://www.uvm.edu/spa/?Page=uvmfactsheet.html
This program will not fund or supplement the salary of the applicant.
No more than $1,000 may be requested for any individual non-UVM personnel costs (e.g., consultant).
List such costs in the Supplies & Expenses category on the Budget Form and explain in the Budget
Description.
In the Capital, Supplies & Expenses, and Travel Categories, list individual items and their costs. Be
specific. Provide a total for each category in the appropriate space.
Capital: Include in this category items that have a unit price of $5,000 or more, and a useful life of greater
than one year. Justify the need and cost for these items in the Budget Description.
Funds requested in the Supplies and Expenses category will not be awarded for subventions, indexing,
page charges or reprints. Do not include any travel-related expenses here.
Transfer of funds between categories requires permission of the Dean.
Funds requested in the Travel category will be provided only for travel directly related to the conduct of
the research project, not for dissemination of the results of this project or for attendance at conferences or
professional meetings. Expenses for meals should not be included; they are not funded by this award.
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E. BUDGET DESCRIPTION The budget description (maximum length of 1 page) should:
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provide a rationale for proposed expenditures; explain the costs of individual items; explain the role of
student appointments, including Research Assistant and student hourly help, in the project;
justify the purchase of Capital equipment; clarify and justify the involvement of non-UVM personnel; and
describe the source and amount of any other funds committed to the project;
F. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Use the following formatting guidelines for your project description. The
project description may not exceed three single-spaced pages including all supportive materials, e.g., graphics,
illustrations, figures, or pictures. Be sure to include
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a description of the research/scholarly project;
a discussion of the significance of the research/scholarly project;
a precise description of the methodology or system of inquiry;
a statement of expected outcomes, contributions to the field or discipline, and/or scholarly products;
a statement concerning how College support of this project will better enable you to compete for the
externally funded grant to which you plan to apply;
a description of how this project relates to your overall research agenda.
G. RELEVANT BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES Literature citations in the Project Description should
be listed on a separate page immediately following the Project Description. The references may not exceed one
page.
H. INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR TARGETED EXTERNAL FUNDING
Indicate, as appropriate, information concerning the external grant to which you are planning to apply.
i.) Funding Agency/Organization.
-e.g., NSF, NIH, NEH, The Kress Foundation, The Social Science Research Council, etc.
ii.) Program or Request for Application/Proposal Announcement.
-e.g. NIH - Economic Research on Incentives for Efficient Use of Preventative Services (R01); NEH
Bridging Culture Through Film: International Topics, etc.,
-Include a web link, if available.
iii.) Funding Available.
-e.g., $25,000-$250,000 direct costs/year for up to five years, up to $25,000/year direct costs, etc.
iv.) Application Deadline(s).
-either the next submission deadline for the indicated program OR (if appropriate) the deadline for your
intended proposal submission to this funding program
v.) Applicability of this Project to this Potential Funding Source.
-indicate the suitability of this funding source for longer term funding of this project
-describe plans/timing for grant proposal submission
I. C.V. The application should include an abbreviated c.v. of no more than three pages.
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CAS Seed Grant Awards
Cover Page
1 Name:
8 Amount
Requested:
2 Rank:
At Rank Since (Month/Year):
3 Department:
4 Area (Fine Arts, Humanities, Natural Sciences, or
Social Sciences):
5 Other Anticipated Funding:
6 Scholarly Product:
7 Years at UVM:
10 Project
Title
11 Project Abstract:
12 Check if your project involves any of the following:
1 ___ Human Subjects 2 ___Toxic, infectious or carcinogenic/mutagenic material 3 ___ Recombinant DNA
4 ___ Vertebrate animals 5____Radioactive materials 6 ___ Environmental impacts
7 ___ Use of UVM off-campus facilities
8 ___ Additional space , remodeling or construction (Requires chairperson's and Dean's initials)
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___________________________
Name
CAS Seed Grant Awards
Budget
Category
Description
Sub Total
Total
Research Assistant(s)
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
Graduate
Percent Appointment:
Period of Time:
Rate and fringe %:
Cost:
Undergraduate
Percent Appointment:
Period of Time:
Rate and fringe %
[summer only]:
Cost:
Fringe % can be found here:
https://www.uvm.edu/spa/?Page=uvmfactsheet.html
TOTAL: Research Assistant Cost:
Student
Hourly
Help
Number of Students:
Number of Hours each is Employed:
Hourly Rate of Pay:
TOTAL: Student Hourly Cost:
TOTAL ALL WAGES:
Capital: Unit cost $5,000
or more and useful life of
more than one year.
TOTAL: Capital Cost:
Supplies and Expenses:
No TRAVEL expenses
here. No page charges,
no reprint costs.
TOTAL: Supplies and Expenses Cost:
Travel: Only travel
directly related to
conduct of the research
project. Meal expenses
are not covered.
TOTAL: Travel Cost:
GRAND TOTAL ALL PROJECT COSTS:
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Budget Continued
GRAND TOTAL ALL PROJECT COSTS:
$
A. REQUEST FOR SEED GRANT UP TO $10,000:
[If grant request is $10,000 or below, stop here]
$
REQUEST FOR MATCHING FUNDS
B. REQUEST FOR CAS MATCHING FUNDS
UP TO AN ADDITIONAL $2500 FROM CAS:
$
C. REQUEST FOR DEPARTMENT MATCHING FUNDS
$
UP TO AN ADDITIONAL $2500 FROM DEPT:
D. TOTAL REQUEST [not to exceed $15,000]
Name of Department
Chair:
Signature of Department Chair and
date:
Indicating agreement to provide matching funds
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$