Introducing the Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute
SBSRI’s mission is supporting the research of SBS faculty and students. This unit emphasizes two
approaches to that mission: (1) We support a variety of individual and group activities to increase the
quantity and improve the quality of grant proposals and fellowship applications from SBS. (2) We
provide funding for small projects or parts of larger projects. These guidelines concern the latter. SBSRI
funds are seed money with a variety of functions. As examples, you might use SBSRI funds to start a
larger project, to get the pilot data that will facilitate a proposal for external funds, to narrow your
research emphasis, or to supplement support for a more expensive project. Specific instructions are
embedded in the SBSRI Grant Application System (GAS).
SBSRI-internal grants and professorships
Each award type has its own eligibility requirements (see below; questions on GAS address eligibility).
We have two review cycles every year. Applications must conform to our formatting requirements. Also,
deadlines are firm. Incomplete applications and late applications won’t be reviewed in the current cycle.
Note also that some procedural details in competitions for SBSRI funds are educational. For example,
SBSRI grants require justification of budget items similar to applications to external agencies. Also, if
your research requires institutional approvals (e.g., for human subjects), SBSRI requires documentation
of these before funds will be released. Proposals will be reviewed by the SBSRI Advisory Board.
Evaluation criteria include scholarly merit (e.g., clarity of research question, appropriateness of
methods), feasibility (e.g., completion of the SBSRI-funded activities within the funding period),
significance (e.g., context within existing literature), project’s value to SBS (e.g., integration of research
and education). In some cases, the project’s potential for external funding is also relevant. Applicants
can expect to receive notice of funding decisions within six weeks of the deadline. The funding period
expires on June 30 of the academic year in which the funds are awarded. No award will carry forward to
the next fiscal year. An individual can receive only one grant from SBSRI per fiscal year.
For faculty
1. The faculty small grant funds up to $1500 for research support. See below regarding allowable
expenses. Typically, SBSRI funds five of these each semester. Priority will be given to junior faculty and
faculty who are new to SBS. Grants to more senior faculty will be limited to projects that have not
received prior funding through this mechanism.
2. Professorships support course buy-outs; details must be worked out with the applicant’s
head/director before the application is submitted. To be eligible for this award, you cannot have
received a teaching release during the current or next academic year.
a. The research professorship provides $7000 to an applicant’s unit to free up research time.
Priority will be given to junior faculty and/or faculty who are new to SBS. Professorships for
other faculty will support projects that have not received prior funding through this
mechanism. Faculty who have received professorships for other projects must describe what
that earlier funding enabled them to do. Typically, SBSRI funds one of these each semester.
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b. The research/mentoring professorship provides $7000 to an applicant’s unit to free up time
for both research and mentoring activities and a small grant of $1000 to the awardee. Priority
will be given to tenured faculty with a track record of external funding. Typically, SBSRI funds
one of these each academic year. Recipients must commit to meeting for up to five
hours/week with SBS faculty (especially new or junior faculty) to mentor them in grant- and
fellowship-writing and to offer comments on draft proposals. (SBSRI will coordinate such
mentoring activities.) This application requires a one-page description addressing your
fellowship and/or grant experience, your philosophy on mentoring, examples of where you
helped someone (peer or junior), and how you will evaluate your effectiveness as a mentor.
For students
1. The dissertation research grant funds up to $1000 for students in good standing in an SBS unit.
(Eligibility of GIDP students is determined on an individual basis before proposal submission.)
Applicants must submit a letter from the chair of their dissertation committee verifying that they
will have completed qualifying exams and advanced to Ph.D. candidacy, and will be registered
during the academic year of the award. This letter should also describe the project’s value to SBS. See
below for information regarding allowable expenses. Typically, SBSRI funds five of these each
semester. Priority will be given to individuals who have not received SBSRI funding through this
mechanism.
2. The pre-doctoral research grant funds up to $500 for graduate students in an SBS unit. (Eligibility of
GIDP students is determined on an individual basis before proposal submission.) Applicants must
submit a letter from their academic advisor verifying that they are current students in good standing,
and addressing the likelihood that the applicant will achieve the project’s stated goals on by the end of
the fiscal year. This letter should also describe the project’s value to SBS. See below for information
regarding allowable expenses. Typically, SBSRI funds five of these each semester. Priority will be given
to individuals who have not received SBSRI funding through this mechanism.
Budget-related information
It’s important to understand three budgetary restrictions before planning an application for an SBSRI
grant. First, expenditures related to funded activities (e.g., airfare) must be made by June 30 of the
award year. The proposal budget and item-specific justifications must show how all SBSRI funds will be
expended by that date. Second, SBSRI will not fund the purchase of equipment such as computers or
similar devices. Third, following procedures that apply to grants from external agencies, all equipment
belongs to the U of A rather than the PI. Equipment purchased with SBSRI funds must be returned to
SBSRI at the end of the funding period. SBSRI does not have the resources to track and maintain widely
dispersed equipment. In the case of computers, additional issues arise (e.g., data security).
It may help to see a list of allowable expenses. When grants are processed, UA object codes are assigned
by your business managers or SBSRI staff. So, it can help when planning your budget to refer to these
codes. Our examples below of typical SBSRI expenses are followed by examples of object codes that are
associated with such expenses. These illustrate the desired level of specificity in the budget section.
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animal or human research subjects
o subject payment (UA object code 3210)
o recruitment of subjects (UA object code 4110 for advertising)
o animal charges (UA object code 4130)
o consent forms (UA object code 4850 for department copy cards)
software
o software licenses (UA object code 4620)
research supplies
o paper, CDs, printer cartridges/ink (UA object code 5230 for office supplies)
o compass, excavation tools (UA object code 5190 for field supplies)
research-related travel (UA object codes in 6000, e.g., domestic vs. foreign travel)
o air fare, ground transportation (or mileage if using your own vehicle), per diem (lodging,
meals and incidentals)
archival fees, database fees
payment of consultants
research assistance (e.g., translation, coding, transcribing, website development, database
development)
Example justifications for personnel on GAS :
 GOOD: I am requesting $336 for an undergraduate research assistant to transcribe five interviews.
My past experience with this type of transcription suggests that each will take about five hours to
transcribe. I therefore estimate needing 30 hours for this (including five hours of training for the
undergraduate). I will pay $10/hour, and the ERE on $300 for this category of employee is 12%.
300 (30 x 10) + 36 (300 x 12%) = 336
 BAD: I need about $300 to cover transcription.
Timeline-related information
Our budget section requires that expenditures are tied to specific months and years in order to clarify
the timeline for the research activities. (Recall too that the funding period expires on June 30 of the
academic year in which any funds are awarded.) For example, a project including foreign travel over the
entire summer (i.e., past June 30) might specify the purchase of a plane ticket in May or June. We
encourage applicants to supplement the budget-specific information with a graphic concerning the
larger project within the proposal narrative.
Reporting
Awarded applicants will have reporting obligations. Within 14 days of the end of the funding period,
awardees are required to submit to SBSRI a report and an updated CV with products of the award
highlighted on it. The report form can be downloaded from our website. As with external agencies,
failure to meet the reporting requirement affects your eligibility for future SBSRI funding.
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