Institutional Mini-Grant Application
The LMU Mini-Grants Program is intended to support and encourage scholarly activity at LMU. These grants are made available to assist junior faculty in building a portfolio or for veteran faculty who wish to initiate scholarly activities in a new area. The successfully funded proposal should act as seed money making it possible for the researcher(s) to apply and be competitive to outside granting or contracting agencies. The results of funded projects should be disseminated to a professional audience such as a peer reviewed publication or discipline-appropriate outlet.
The LMU Mini Grants committee evaluates proposals and makes recommendations to the Committee on Scholarly Activity (COSA). Grants are awarded for a one-year period; funds must be spent within the one-year period. Funds allocated for a research project may not be transferred to another project or used for any other purpose. Any unused funds will remain in the LMU Mini-Grants fund.
The LMU Mini-Grants committee chair reviews all grant proposals and provides comments to the COSA committee with regard to, but not limited to, (a) consistency with the University's mission and purpose, and (b) the potential for external funding. The Executive Director of the ORGSP also maintains a database on grants funded from past cycles and can provide examples of funded proposals.
Applications will be invited for projects requesting up to $8,000 in support. The number of awards made will be dependent upon the amount of funding available and the evaluation of applications made by the committee. A faculty member may receive no more than one award per fiscal year. Recipients will make every reasonable effort to fulfill the expectations under which the award is made. The project must be completed within the time period for which it was funded. Any significant deviation from the funded proposal must be approved in advance by the COSA.
LMU Mini-Grants may be requested to support library research for faculty and modest costs of supplies and travel to collect or analyze data. Grants also may be used to defray the costs of computer software. LMU Mini-Grants will not support individual journal subscriptions and/or membership fees, travel to conferences, academic year faculty stipends, clerical support for manuscript preparation, support for advanced degrees, or preparation/publication of theses or dissertations.
Eligibility
Full-time faculty/staff of the non-professional schools are eligible to apply for funding. Consideration will be given to those projects that are collaborative and initiate an ongoing program of research, and/or have the potential to lead to external funding.
Application Deadline
February 1st of each year
Proposal Preparation
A link to the LMU Mini-Grant application/budget form can be found above.
A. Application/Budget Form
Fill out the form completely. Describe every item in the budget in detail. Sign and date the form and obtain the signatures of the appropriate department chair(s)/program director(s) and dean(s).
B. Budget Preparation Guidance
1. Supplies - Supplies are individual items that cost less than $1,000. Provide a written explanation for items that are not self-explanatory.
2. Travel - Only travel to collect or analyze data, or obtain information pertinent to an existing research project will be considered. An itemized list of expected expenses must be included. Current guidelines for meals, mileage, and hotel charges are available in the Financial Procedures section of the Faculty/Staff Policy Manual.
3. Equipment - Equipment is for individual items that cost more than $1,000.
C. Proposal Narrative
The narrative should be a maximum of 5 pages typed, single-spaced (use font size of 12), using non-technical language (non-technical language is defined as terms found in an abridged dictionary) and must include:
1. An informative description of the project (including a description of the project's prior history in the case of a continuation grant)
2. Specific objectives
3. Significance of the project
4. Evidence that appropriate facilities are available and that the faculty has the capability to do the work
5. Expected use of the data obtained from the research
NOTE: Grant proposals that do not follow established guidelines will not be reviewed (applicant will be notified).
Proposal Submission:
1. Complete the application (do not exceed the stated page limit).
2. Sign the application as principal investigator.
3. Obtain signatures from your department chair and dean on the completed application.
4. Email the application with signatures to the Executive Director of the ORGSP at [email protected]
Review Criteria
Mini-grants will be reviewed and awards made on the following basis:
- Availability of funds
- Research merit (originality, research significance, research design, predicted outcome, previous research achievements of the applicant, etc.)
- Broader impact (the likelihood that the project will either produce or be incorporated within published material; the potential for external funding, etc.)
Notification of Funding Awards
Applicants will be notified in writing as to the funding decision on their proposals by April 1st.
Accountability
A written report must be submitted electronically to the Executive Director of the ORGSP within one month of completion of any project funded by the Mini-Grants fund. The recipient(s) must present the results of the research effort to peer faculty at a 'research day' or seminar on-campus, scheduled to highlight research efforts of University faculty.
All charges against the LMU Research Grants fund must be consistent with the policies of the University. The recipient(s) must submit a full financial accounting to the ORGSP within one month of completion of the research. Questions regarding financial accounting should be addressed to the Post-Awards Grants Manager.
2021-2022 Mini-Grant Awards
Dr. Karen Foster, "Using Online Support of Clinical Candidates to Raise edTPA Licensure Scores to Higher Performance Levels"
Dr. Whitney Kistler, "Disease Surveillance of Wild Birds in the Southern Appalachians"
Dr. Patrick Wensink, "The Great Black Swamp"
Dr. Cody Whitefoot, "The Utility of Blood Flow Restriction as a Dynamic Preparatory Activity Prior to a 2-mile Run Time Trial"