School of EducationResearch and Practice Mini-Grant Program

2014-2015

Request for ProposalThe Research and Practice Mini-Grant Program is a discretionary competition for grant funding opportunities that focuses on initiating or expanding the scholarship and career of the pre-tenure and tenured TCNJ School of Education faculty. In addition, this program has been established to develop skills in grant-writing and will require successful applicants to identify and apply for future outside funding. Therefore, this program will include training and technical assistance in the development of the application as well as subsequent grant management processes through a series of three technical assistance meetings that will occur in October, December, and January of this academic year. The following dates and meetings are organized to provide a timeline for proposal development. Although applicants are strongly encouraged to attend ALL the technical assistance meetings, they are not mandatory. However, please note that individualized attention will be limited to the availability of the Project Officer.

Technical Assistance and Proposal Submission ScheduleSeptember 29, 2014 Request for Proposal is Published

October 1, 2014, 3 pm (Mandatory)

Initial Introduction of Proposal Development/Pre-Application Meeting will be in the form of a webinar

October 10, 2014 Applicants that intend to participate in this grant competition MUST submit a Letter of Intent.

November 5, 2014 Final Proposal Development Technical Assistance Meeting

November 21, 2014 A Hard Copy (and on Flash-Drive) of the Proposals MUST be submitted and stamped by 4:00 pm to the School of Education Office

December 19, 2014 Research and Practice Mini-Grant Awards are Announced

January 28, 2015 Awardee Post-Competition Meeting

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Description

This grant program is designed to respond to a wide range of scholarly research projects, research-based innovative instructional projects (activities designed to advance teaching, learning, instruction with new or emerging technologies), field-initiated projects (including program evaluation and clinic-based practices) and other systematic inquiries into professional practice based on rationale from the current literature. Although all proposals meeting these descriptions will be accepted, proposals that reflect the overall theme of social justice are strongly encouraged. In addition, the following attributes of an application will be given priority status:

Demonstration of participation across departments and disciplines (10 Extra Points); and Projects that demonstrate program development or research that lasts past the grant

period (5 Extra Points)

Type of Award: Competitive / Discretionary

Principal Investigator(s): Up to 3 Principal Investigators are allowable

Number of Awards: TBD

Estimated Range of Awards: $4,000 - $9,000

Project Period: 12 Months (January – December, 2015)

Eligible Applicants: Pre-tenure and tenured School of Education Faculty

Exclusions: Full Professors or Instructors as Principal Investigators; andPrincipal Investigators that have had external funding of $50,000 or more in the past 5 years

Content and Form of Application Submission:

The grant application must be submitted as a single Microsoft Word Document in both hard copy and in electronic format using a flash drive. Additional requirements are outlined under each section of the application description and the format of the application must include the use of 1” margins, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, 1.5” spacing (with the exception of the abstract, tables, figures, and CVs) and there must be no outside covers. The Grant Application must include the following:

I. Research and Practice Mini-Grant Program Coversheet – A completed Coversheet must be included as the front page of the grant proposal. (Use Coversheet Provided in the Application Packet)

II. Abstract – A one-page single spaced abstract that briefly describes the proposed grant project. This should include the purpose, objectives and expected results/outcomes of the

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project in succinct and clear language. The abstract will be used in announcements and other publications.

III. Certification/Assurances Page - The applicant(s) must submit a signed Certification / Assurances Page agreeing to specific requirements outlined for this grant program. (Use Certification/Assurances Page Provided in the Application Packet)

IV. Program Narrative – The Program Narrative is the primary body of the grant proposal and cannot exceed 10 pages using the required format (see above). Due the generic nature of this Request for Proposals, there is an overall general format to the narrative that is designed to accommodate for a wide range of projects, however, as with all grant competitions, the specific nature of any one project may not be an exact fit. It is the responsibility of the applicant to accommodate the format accordingly. The Narrative must include the following components:

A. Description of the Project (10 Points)

o The extent to which the applicant describes the parameters of the project and its outcomes including, if appropriate, the hypotheses or research expectations (5 Points)

o The extent to which the applicant describes the efforts to-date within the literature and/or in their own practice/work (5 Points)

B. Significance (30 Points)

o The extent to which the applicant clearly describes the need and importance of the project (10 Points)

o The extent to which the applicant clearly describes the beneficial impact on a targeted population (10 Points)

o Is this area of practice or research tied to the invitational priority of “social justice”? (10 Points)

C. Management Plan (20 Points)

o The extent to which the applicant has developed a systematic plan for project implementation.

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D. Evaluation Plan (20 Points) (See Example)

o The extent to which the effects / outcomes of the project are measured in relationship to the efforts. How are the planned results measured? (10 Points)

o The extent to which the plan of evaluation will be used to improve the performance of the project through the feedback generated by its periodic assessments - formative and/or summative evaluation procedures (10 Points)

o Logic Model– (See Example) A Logic Model is a depiction of a program illustrating the efforts and the associated expected effects. In other words, it is a graphic that shows what the program or research project wants to accomplish and how it will do it. It is a series of “if-then” relationships that, if implemented as intended, will lead to a set of desired outcomes. A logic model graphically describes the core of program planning and evaluation. Other terms for the same concept are Theory of Action, Model of Change and Conceptual Maps. (5 Extra Points)

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E. Adequacy and Accessibility of Resources (10 Points)

o The extent to which the applicant is committed to providing sufficient time and effort to the project (5 Points)

o The extent to which the applicant is knowledgeable and skilled to address the planned activities / research. (5 Points)

V. Budget & Budget Narrative – (10 Points)

A budget must reflect the TCNJ standard budget format and its associated line items. In addition, a budget narrative that briefly describes each budget line must be included in the application. The description should include what the funds will be used for and its connection to the project and its activities.

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The following are the Budget Parameters - All budget items must be linked to the project goals and a rationale should be provided within the context of the budget narrative for all budget line/categories. It is important to consider all costs related to the project and to identify any additional non-grant resources that will be used. The following guidelines must be followed:

• Mini-Grant funds cannot be used for release time from routine workload; however, additional pay may be requested. Additional pay for faculty time is referred to as “supplemental pay.”

• Department and/or School human or other resources cannot be used to implement these projects; therefore, all resources needed must be reflected within the budget.

• The support of student researchers and/or student workers is an allowable cost, but must adhere to the guidelines established by the College’s student employment policies and procedures.

• Stipends for project participation are allowable and must be reasonable. This could include the purchasing of gift cards or certificates as incentives for participation in research efforts, however, if an IRB approval is necessary, this must be stated within the approval.

• Travel reimbursement is allowable for in-state mileage/toll reimbursement for participating faculty, students or others directly involved in the project. In addition, if indicated, out-of-state mileage/toll reimbursement and overnight lodging and food is allowable. All travel reimbursement must follow college policy and procedures. Travel related expenses for the purpose of dissemination of project results are not allowed.

• Equipment such as digital voice/video recording devices, electronic tablets, cameras, etc. are all allowable costs.

• Contractual services such as language interpreters, transcription, statistical analysis, web or computer program development, etc. are all allowable costs.

• Project related supplies such as office supplies, consumable materials, flash drives, external hard-drives, etc. are all allowable costs.

• Educational/Professional Material such as professional books, apps for computers and tablets, videos, etc. are all allowable costs.

• Reception costs to support gatherings and meetings such as refreshments and meals are all allowable costs.

• Although collaborations with other institutions of higher education are allowable, all funds must remain within the parameters of TCNJ and therefore, no contractual arrangements between institutions are permitted.

VI. Principal Investigator(s) Abbreviated/Highlighted Curriculum Vitae – CVs in any format for the Principal Investigator(s) must be included, and abbreviated to 2-3 pages.

VII. Appendices (Optional & Limited) – Appendices are allowed but only up to 3-5 pages and could include support letters. If the project requires collaboration with a school district or another entity, a letter of collaboration should be included.

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Reporting: There will be two reporting requirements that include a short mid-term report (Max 2-3 Pages) due in June, 2015 and another at the end of the project

(3-5 Pages Max) due in December, 2015

Total Possible Points – 120

Review Process: The review process will include a panel of 3 reviewers (2 from the School of Education and 1 from the TCNJ Faculty outside of the School of Education). The panel will read and score all the applications.

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