3/5/2002, University Research Foundation Guidelines

The University Research Foundation (URF) is an intramural resource to support faculty research for a variety of purposes, including:

Disciplines--The URF supports research in all disciplines, including international research. For purposes of review, applications are assigned to four broad disciplinary areas, liberal arts, social and behavioral sciences, natural and engineering sciences, and biomedical sciences.

Term--Grants are given for a single year only. Applications for a second year of funding may be submitted but usually receive low priority. Funds must be spent within 12 months of the beginning of the grant, and may not be "banked" for future use. Unexpended funds must be returned to the Foundation.

Budget--Applications up to $50,000 will be entertained, but most grants are for no more than $25,000. Because the total cost of meritorious requests exceed available funds by several fold, applicants are encouraged to request only absolutely essential resources.

Eligibility--Eligibility is limited to Standing Faculty (tenure track or tenured faculty), Standing Faculty-Clinician-Educators, and Research Faculty.

Dates--Applications are accepted twice each year, for November 1 and March 15 deadlines. If the date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline is the next working day. Every effort will be made to process applications and notify applicants of the outcome within 10 weeks after the deadlines.

The Application--Brevity and clarity will enhance the likelihood of success. All applications should be limited to 10 pages (applications for >$25,000 can be up to 15 pages) and should include:

2. An abstract, no more than 200 words, written for the educated non-specialist.

3. A description of the research proposal, which should be no more than 5 single spaced pages for grants up to $25,000 and no more than 10 pages for grants >$25,000. Proposals should provide background, hypothesis or purpose of the research, significance of the research, methods used, work to be undertaken, and outlook for future extension of the research and its potential for external funding (see also criteria for evaluating proposals, below).

5. A budget, with justification for each item requested. Items that can be requested include faculty release time, summer stipends, research travel expenses, supplies, minor equipment specifically designed for the proposed research. Items that are usually excluded include renovations of the physical facilities, major equipment, and extension of projects that are already well funded.

6. Other research support, including current funding with a list of titles, amounts, sources, and grant periods, expired funding for the prior three years, plus pending applications. Applicants with "start up packages" should provide detailed dated budgets.

7. All Assistant Professors in their first three years are required to include a letter from their department chair indicating their career plans within the department, and listing all department funding, including startup packages and the like. In addition, the letter should document the degree of independence of these investigators.

8. Regulatory issues. If research involves human subjects, animals, biohazards, or other regulatory issues, the application should identify those concerns and provide documentation that they have been addressed. This may require IRB or IACUC or Environmental Safety review and approval. It should be emphasized that full regulatory compliance apply to Research Foundation grants which must meet the same standards applied to larger extramural applications. Regulatory documentation can be provided as an appendix to the body of the application and will not be included in the page count. For advice please consult the Office of Regulatory Affairs.

9. Conflict of interest. The applicant should explicitly make a statement whether or not the application involves any potential conflict of interest, and any such conflicts should be described. For instance, if the research could forward the interests of a company in which the applicant has a pecuniary interest, this should be disclosed. Conflict of interest documentation (if required) can be provided as an appendix to the body of the application and will not be included in the page count.

Submission--An Original and Ten Copies of the complete proposal with the cover sheet should be submitted to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, 119 College Hall/6303.

All applications are reviewed by one of four faculty committees, in the four disciplinary areas mentioned above. Every attempt is made to spread funding equitably across the major disciplines. Each application is reviewed for a variety of attributes, including:

Since meritorious requests exceed available funds, reviewers often reduce budgets to extend the number of applications that can be supported. The review committees make their recommendations to the Vice Provost for Research, who makes the final decisions about funding, based on year-to-year availability of resources. Decisions will be made shortly after review committees have met and should be distributed by email within 10 weeks of the date of submission.

Procedures for Approved URF Grants

1. Transfer of funds. Within one month following notice of award, recipients are required to arrange a transfer of award funds from the Provost's Administrative Office to their home department. This transfer should be arranged by the Business Administrator for the home department. The process is initiated by submitting the financial form which accompanies the award letter to:

Mai Friedman, Provost's Administrative Office, 133 S. 36th Street, Suite 401/3246, fax: (215) 573-2227

Regulatory approvals--If regulatory approvals (IRB, IACUC, and the like) are required and have not been obtained at the time of the award, they must be obtained prior to the utilization of funds or initiation of the research. Failure to comply would be considered a serious transgression of the policies of the University of Pennsylvania.

2. Report. A brief (1-2 pages) report is required to be submitted to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research one year after the date of the award. This should describe the work accomplished, the planned date of completion, and whether there are residual unused funds in the budget. In general, it is expected that the scope of research would be completed within one year of the date of award. Also, if alternative funding has been obtained, recipients are expected to return unexpended funds.

3. Questions should be directed to:

Lanese Rogers, Office of the Vice Provost for Research, 119 College Hall/6303 (215) 898-7236 larogers@pobox.upenn.edu.