Faculty Research Development Award

Rev 2022-06-17

Description: This funding is intended to support small aspects of project that have high likelihood of supporting applications for external funding.

Aaward Amount: Awards will not exceed $3,500.

Scope of the Awards: Funding can support a variety of expenses, including but not limited to graduate student support, prototype development, materials and supplies, equipment usage, participant payments. Faculty salaries are not allowed. Award recipients are expected to submit a proposal for competitive external funding, based on the project conducted with the funding, within 18 months of the award start date.

Eligibility Information: All full-time faculty in the department of psychology with appointments that allow them to submit external proposals through the UB Sponsored Projects Services Office are eligible to apply. Investigators who do not meet these criteria may serve as co-investigators on submitted projects, but are not permitted to serve as the applicant (PI).

Review Process: Proposals will typically be reviewed by ad hoc panels of faculty who will make recommendations to the Coordinator of Research Advancement (CoRA); in the case of time-sensitive applications, the CoRA may provide a review directly to the Department Chair. The final funding determination will be at the discretion of the Department Chair.

Successful applications will effectively describe the need for the Research Development Award in generating preliminary data for an application for external funding, and will clearly demonstrate the difference the Research Development Award will make. If applicable, inclusion of reviews from unfunded applications that request specific preliminary data are welcome and will strengthen an application. Budgets will be reviewed for reasonableness in relation to the proposed project. Evidence of using current resources or departmental/school cost-sharing to ensure the success of the project is encouraged.

Application Format: Use at least 1⁄2 inch margins, 11-point or larger Arial, Georgia, Helvetica, or Palatino Linotype fonts; no more than 15 characters per linear inch, no more than 6 lines per vertical inch; no restriction on color, but black is preferred for legibility purposes.

• Cover Page (1 page maximum): The cover page should include a) the name and contact information for each investigator, b) designation of a corresponding investigator (if more than one investigator is included), c) an abstract describing the future grant application that the pilot fund is intended to support, and d) any plans to use pre-submission review program offered by the department (including the individual planned to serve as a pre-submission reviewer; use of pre-submission review is not required and not part of the review process; this information is provided for planning purposes only).
• Proposed Research (5 page maximum): The proposal must include a detailed description of the proposed Development Award project, including timeline, and a clear indication of how the project fits into the larger planned external funding application, including the specific aims of the external funding application. Specific information about the external funding opportunity (program and funding agency), submission deadlines, and submission timeline should be included in this section. A list of references cited in the Proposed Research section should be included, but does not count in the page limits. A detailed budget and budget justification are required, but do not count in the page limits. The 5-page maximum is not a recommended length, but an upper limit.
• Previous reviews: If the proposal is a response to reviewers of an earlier unsuccessful external application, reviews of that proposal should be included. Specific comments by reviewers should be highlighted in the Proposed Research section to show the need for seed funding to address the comments of the reviewers.

Award Terms: Applicants can request funding up to $3,500 for projects of no more than a 1-year duration. Prior to the start of the project, all regulatory approvals needed to conduct the work must be in place. A brief progress report is due within 90 days after the conclusion of the funding period. This should be a short summary of the results in relation to the stated goals of the application.

Submission Deadline: Applications do not have a formal deadline and will be considered on rolling basis. Please direct any pre- or post-submission inquiries to the Psychology CoRA.