University Research Foundation Award Guidelines: October 31
September 18, 2007, Volume 54, No. 4	Print Issue

Below are the latest University Research Foundation Award Guidelines, revised as of September 2007.
The Guidelines and additional information may be found online at www.upenn.edu/research/FoundationGuidelines.htm.
For the recipients of the Fall 2006 awards, see Almanac February 6, 2007.
The recipients of the Spring 2007 Awards were published in Almanac July 17, 2007.

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

1. Helping junior faculty undertake pilot projects that will enable them to successfully apply for extramural sources of funding, and aid in establishing their careers as independent investigators.

2. Helping established faculty perform exploratory research, particularly on novel or pioneering ideas, to determine their feasibility and develop preliminary data to support extramural applications.

3. Providing support in disciplines where extramural support is difficult to obtain and where significant research can be facilitated with internal funding.

4. Providing limited institutional matching funds that are awarded contingent upon a successful external peer-reviewed application that requires an institutional match.

Conference Support Guidelines are on the next page.

Scope
Disciplines. The URF supports research in all disciplines, including international research.  For purposes of review, applications are assigned to four broad disciplinary areas: Biomedical Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Engineering, and Social Science and Management, see www.upenn.edu/research/ReviewPanels.htm.

Term. Grants are given for a single year only.  Applications for a renewal of a previously funded project 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.  If well justified in writing, carryover of unexpended funds may be possible with approval by the Vice Provost for Research.  Request for carryover of unexpended funds should be made in writing two (2) months prior to the expiration of an award.  No extensions will be considered if request is made after award is expired.

Budget. Applications up to $50,000 will be entertained. 

Eligibility. Eligibility is limited to University faculty, in any track, at any professorial level. Instructors and Research Associates may apply but need to establish (by letter from the Department chair) that the applicant will receive an appointment as an Assistant Professor by the time of the award.

Conference Support: Scholarly conferences of a research nature will be considered for funding at the level of up to $3,000 per conference (See Conference Support Guidelines on page 5.)

The Application
Applications that fail to meet these guidelines will not be reviewed.

Dates. Applications are accepted twice each year, for October 31 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. Clarity and brevity will enhance the likelihood of success.  Please number all pages at the bottom right-hand corner. Use one-inch margins and a 12-point font. Applications should be limited to 10 pages (applications over the page limit will not be reviewed) and must include in this order: (Checklist can be download for your use; does not need to be submitted.)

1. A completed Research Foundation Proposal Cover Sheet, download at www.upenn.edu/research/FoundationGuidelines.htm. Application should be classified under one of the four Statement of Purpose categories listed above.

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

3. A description of no more than 5 single-spaced pages of the research proposed. Proposals must 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 Review Process).  

Note: an application formatted for another sponsoring agency or failing to conform to these guidelines will not be reviewed.

4.    A Research Foundation Budget Form, supplied as a link, must be used justifying each item requested. Allowable items include research costs associated with supplies, salaries of non-faculty personnel and travel expenses essential to the project. Equipment costs of up to 100% of the proposed budget may be eligible for funding but such requests must be justified in the application as essential to the research. In addition, if all or most of the budget is to be used for equipment, the applicant must document that other resources are available to conduct the proposed research. Specific research objectives should be identified and described. The review will focus not on the equipment being requested but on the scientific program to which it will be applied. Equipment requests for multiple user items will enhance the likelihood of success. Faculty salaries, including summer salaries or release time, are not funded. Because it may not be possible to fund meritorious proposals fully, the budget must prioritize items in the order of their importance to the project (not simply list all items requiring support for which support is requested) in the comment section of the budget form.

5. Research support clearly stated, including other current funding (direct and indirect costs) with a list of titles, amounts, sources, and grant periods, expired funding for the prior three years, and pending applications (include notification date of pending applications), as well as faculty research funds and funds associated with professorial Chairs. Prior grants from the University Research Foundation must be itemized, with dates, title, and amount of funding, plus a statement about whether external funding was received as a result of the URF grant.  Other research support for co-investigators should be similarly identified in detail.

6. Regulatory issues. If research involves human subjects, animals, biohazards, or other regulatory issues, the application should identify those concerns and provide documentation that they will be addressed. Please note that IRB approval may be required for human subject research in all disciplines, including the sociobehavioral sciences and humanities.  If IRB, IACUC or Environmental Safety review and approval is required, it may be obtained after the application has been approved, but before funds are provided or research has been initiated.  For advice please consult the Office of Regulatory Affairs, see  www.upenn.edu/regulatoryaffairs.

7. A single page biographical sketch for the principle investigator and all co-investigators. The biographical sketches do not count against the page limit.

8. Assistant Professors in all tracks (including Tenure, Clinician Educator, and Research track) are required to include a letter from their Department Chair indicating their career plans within the department, future commitment of independent space and of department or School resources including all department funding (startup packages, etc.). In addition, the letter should establish that the applicant will be working as an independent investigator or scholar. Such additional documentation can be provided as an appendix and will not be included within the page count.

9. Conflict of interest. The applicant should explicitly make a statement about 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 financial 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, see www.upenn.edu/researchservices/docs/findisc.doc.

10. Resubmitted applications that were not funded in a previous cycle must be revised, and it would be of benefit to indicate the nature of the changes. 
Submission. An original of the complete proposal with the original signatures of the PI, Chair and Dean should be submitted to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, 118 College Hall/6303 on or before 5 p.m. on the deadline date. In addition, please send a PDF version:

1) PDF file name must be the last name of the principal investigator.

2) Full proposal must be one PDF document to include the fully signed cover sheet, budget sheet and all attachments in the exact same order as the submitted original proposal.

3) Email to: vpr@pobox.upenn.edu.

4) Must be received on or before 5 p.m. of the deadline date.

Review Process
Applications are reviewed by one of four faculty committees, Biomedical Sciences, Humanities, Natural Science and Engineering, and Social Science and Management, see www.upenn.edu/research/ReviewPanels.htm. Funding is spread equitably across the major disciplines.  Each application is reviewed for a variety of attributes, including

• scholarly merit, creativity and innovation
• feasibility
• significance of the research
• time-limited opportunities that require immediate funding
• prospects for future extramural funding
• matching support from other sources
• availability of alternate funding sources
• career development of researchers at early stages of career
• evidence that junior applicants will be working as independent investigators
• advancement of school or institutional objectives, such as interdisciplinary research

Certain frequently found weaknesses should be avoided, such as
• “re-inventing the wheel” due to ignorance of prior published work, often in cognate fields
• a fishing expedition without a focused hypothesis
• repeated requests for research projects that are eligible for but have failed to garner external peer reviewed support

Critiques of applications will not be provided for unsuccessful applications.  Please do not contact the faculty who volunteer their time as peer reviewers, since this would place an excessive burden on them. 

If awarded: 

• Regulatory approvals must be obtained before funds are transferred to the department.
• The home department must have a 26-digit budget code.
• A brief (1 to 2 pages) report should be submitted to the Vice Provost Office of Research within one year of the date of the award. This report should include publications, other funding, patents or discoveries, which resulted because of this award.

University Research Foundation Conference Support Guidelines: October 31

Scope
The conference support program is designed for scholarly meetings that will be convened on the Penn campus, thereby providing enrichment opportunities to interested faculty, students, and staff, most frequently in the format of a 1-2 day colloquium.  The intent is to support meetings that are designed to enhance existing research and scholarly programs, particularly in disciplines where external funding is difficult to obtain.  High priority will be given to inter- or cross-disciplinary conferences that include faculty from more than one School.

The Application
Funding will be limited to no more than $3,000 per event, and should be dedicated to reimbursing the speakers for travel and accommodations, but not for meals and entertainment.   It is expected that funding from the University Research Foundation will supplement funding from other sources and will not be the sole source of funding for the meeting.  Applications must be brief, usually no more than three (3) pages, and should include:  (Checklist can be downloaded for your use; does not need to be submitted.)

• A completed Conference Proposal Cover Sheet, with all signatures, download must be used and the appropriate review committee must be indicated,  www.upenn.edu/research/ReviewPanels.htm.
• A description of the purpose of the meeting
• A proposed program agenda (appendix)
• A proposed list of presenters (appendix)
• The number of Penn students and faculty expected to attend
• An explanation of the benefit to Penn students and faculty
• An explanation of the benefit to scholarly or research programs at Penn
• Relationship of the meeting to department, institute or center programs
• The names of faculty who are organizing the meeting
• Identity and contact information for the business administrator responsible for administration of the funds
• Evidence of matching funding from institutional or external sources
• Evidence of institutional support in the form of no cost facilities and AV support
• A Research Foundation budget form, link, itemizing the types of proposed expenditures (appendix)

Submission
Submission. An original of the complete proposal with the signed cover sheet should be submitted to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, 118 College Hall/6303 on or before 5 p.m. of the deadline date.  In addition, please send a PDF version:
1) PDF file name must be the last name of the principal investigator.
2) Full proposal should be one PDF document to include the signed cover sheet, budget sheet and all attachments in the same order as the hard copy.
3) Email to:  vpr@pobox.upenn.edu
4) Must be received on or before 5 p.m. the deadline date.

Review Process
Applications for the Conference Support Program are processed in the same cycles, and will be reviewed by the same committees that review URF research applications.  Please identify which Review Committee will review your conference proposal (Biomedical Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Engineering, and Social Science and Management). See  www.upenn.edu/research/ReviewPanels.htm.
Questions should be directed to: Irene Soroka, (215) 898-3606, vpr@pobox.upenn.edu, Vice Provost for Research, 118 College Hall/6303.