Internal Funding

Research & Creative Activity

Objectives
The Research and Creative Activity (RCA) program offers internal research funding for new, innovative, and interdisciplinary research efforts. RCA Funds are intended to address important needs not met by other unit-level support programs and to develop preliminary research that lead to external funding opportunities.

There are no submission deadlines. The RCA competitions are conducted on a rolling basis during the fiscal year (July 1-June 30). Applicants will generally receive notification of the funding decisions within 8-10 weeks of their submission date.

Peer review has been conducted by anonymous internal U-M peer reviewers. The UM-Flint Office of Research uses the university’s competition space, InfoReady, to solicit online peer reviews.

Beginning February 2023, RCA proposal narratives are limited to two (2) single-spaced pages (with text no smaller than 11 point Calibri and margins no smaller than one inch). Budget documents should be one page in length. Budget justifications (explaining the expenses proposed and the basis for the cost estimates) are limited to one page. Biographical sketches or abbreviated curriculum vitae (CV) must follow NIH, NSF or NEH submission criteria.

BUDGET GUIDANCE:

Single-investigator projects requests are limited to no more than $20,000. The UM-Flint Office of Research will only fund requests that reflect reasonable and necessary costs to achieve project objectives. The Office of Research may offer less than the originally requested amount based on scholarly merit, the practicality of the request, and available funds.

Joint Funding requests involving two or more faculty can request $15,000 each in funding per PI-eligible (tenure-track, clinical-track) faculty member. Joint funding requests will be evaluated on the collaborative and integrated nature of the research, as an additional criterion, to the standard evaluation criteria of significance, innovation and approach.

Eligible Applicants
All instructional faculty may apply (including non-tenure track faculty with UM-Flint contractual agreements covering the proposed project period). Junior tenure-track faculty will be given priority. There is a career maximum of $60,000 from the Research and Creative Activity Fund for any one individual as PI.

Co-Investigators: Tenured and tenure-track faculty, non-tenure-track faculty and staff members may serve as co-investigators. Multiple co-investigators may be involved in a single-investigator project. Joint Funded projects are limited to PI-Eligible faculty eligible to apply for external funding as tenure-track or tenured faculty.

Scoring Proposals
A common scoring rubric will be used to evaluate each proposal. The scoring system for anonymous review follows four criteria, with space in the online review form for scores and comments in each section. Comments from the reviewers will be shared with the applicants following the review process.

Significance: Potential impact or scholarly merit of the project is clear for the field or applicant(s) research potential and progress.
Innovation: Potential of project to develop novel concepts, approaches, methodologies or technologies.
Approach: overall strategy, methodology and analytical strategies are appropriate to achieve aims.
Investigators: PI, and co-investigators are well suited to carry out the project, with appropriate experience and training

Eligible Project Components
Faculty are encouraged to develop the research or creative activity project that will best meet their specific needs. A research or creative project can include any or all of the following components:

Course Release Time or Spring-Summer Stipends: With approval of chair and dean, a faculty member can request compensation up to 1/9 of salary for a course release during the academic year (fall/winter) or a stipend (maximum of $6500) during spring/summer semester.
Research Assistance: Both student and non-student research assistants are eligible. Whenever possible, however, the RCA encourages the inclusion of UM-Flint students to serve as assistants on research projects supported with RCA funds and the latter will be given priority as per the rubric point system described above. Student assistants must be enrolled at the UM-Flint during the project period.
Fringe Benefits and FICA: Applicants should factor FICA and fringe benefits into their requests. Please view the RCA Submission Guideline for more details.
Materials, supplies and equipment: Itemization and description of expenses is required.
Travel costs associated with conducting off-campus research/creative activity. Travel costs may also be budgeted for dissemination at professional meetings. Budgeted publications costs must not exceed 10% of total budget and publication costs must be matched 1:1 by the home unit.

Exclusions
The following items are not eligible for inclusion in RCA grants:

Graduate research and dissertation writing for faculty and students.
Computer hardware/software for routine use (in rare cases, funds may be provided for highly specialized computer hardware/software).
Equipment necessary to contain health hazards in a laboratory.
Funds for organizing conferences or colloquia.

Project Budget
Maximum project budget for a single-investigator project is $20,000. The UM-Flint Office of Research may offer LESS than the amount requested if estimated expenses are judged to be too high. A completed budget form must accompany each grant proposal.

Project Timeline
Proposed projects are usually expected to be completed within a one-year time frame. If special circumstances exist, a no-cost extension request (for up to one year) must be completed in InfoReady and submitted prior to the end of the award for UM-Flint Office of Research approval. If progress is seen as insufficient during the awarded or extended project performance period, unused funds will be returned to the Office of Research.

Call for Proposals
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with the expectation that reviews and a funding decision will be forthcoming within 8-10 weeks. Project start dates should be planned to allow sufficient lead time for feedback and review.

Final Report
Within 60 days after the end of the period of the award, the Principal Investigator will be reminded to provide a brief report to the Office of Research of project outcomes, which will be made available to the RCA Committee. The final report should be completed in InfoReady and include:

The work completed on the project relative to objectives stated in the original proposal;
The relationship between the original timetable and the actual completion of tasks;
A detailed budget summary including a description of any deviation from the original plans;
Any scholarly or creative work, publications and/or presentations that resulted from the work

Please contact research administrators in the Office of Research to request a budget template (in Google Sheets or Excel format).

Forms
Submission Guidelines
Scoring Rubric
Sample Bio Sketches

Dr. Ben F. Bryer Foundation Medical Research Fund

The Ben F. Bryer Foundation Medical Research Fund was established by the family of Ben F. Bryer to encourage and support the medical research endeavors of the UM-Flint faculty. This research fund honors the accomplishments of Ben Bryer, surgeon, scientist, educator, author, and humanist, in his pursuit of medical knowledge. Special gratitude is extended to Dr. Bryer’s sister and foundation trustee, Bess Hurand, and her husband, Arthur, for making this fund possible.

Dr. Bryer graduated from Flint Central High in 1930 before receiving a medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh. His postgraduate studies were interrupted when Dr. Bryer joined the U.S. Army as a surgeon during World War II, eventually becoming lieutenant colonel M.C. with stations in Texas and China. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1946, Dr. Bryer continued his study of surgery specializing in abdominal and gastrointestinal procedures. Although his later appointments were in New York, Dr. Bryer continued to share his knowledge of medicine through fellowships, international medical lectures, and publications including “The Multiple Injury Patient” which has been distributed to all Medical Schools and Medical Libraries in the U.S. and abroad. His achievements earned Dr. Bryer several awards including the Gold Achievement Award from the American Society of Abdominal Surgeons and featured in “Who’s Who in the World” and a place in the Wisdom Hall of Fame.

The Dr. Ben F. Bryer Medical Research Fund will be available, on an application-by-application basis, to full-time faculty of the UM-Flint to provide support for medical and biomedical research, with priority given to research related to cancer.

Eligibility for each submission will be determined by how closely the proposed project embodies the level of medical and biomedical research intended by the Ben F. Bryer Foundation. Qualifying projects will involve formal medical and biomedical research that furthers knowledge in disease prevention and control.

Applicants must apply for the Bryer Medical Research Fund via the Research and Creative Activity (RCA) competition page on the Office of Research InfoReady site. The RCA application template allows applicants to request support from the Bryer Fund and RCA funds simultaneously. Applicants can request up to $10,000 from the Bryer Medical Research Fund, and an additional $10,000 from RCA funding, for a maximum total request of $20,000. Please contact research administrators in the Office of Research with any budgeting questions or to request a budget template (spreadsheet) prior to submission.

Forms
Submission Guidelines
Scoring Rubric
Sample Bio Sketches

Proposal Writing Academies

The lack of research development time is a significant impediment to UM-Flint faculty seeking external funding with major scientific agencies or professional foundations. This proposal writing program is designed to provide teaching release time to underwrite and incentivize the pursuit of external research funding. Each of the two largest national funding agencies, the NSF and NIH have regular submission cycles that permit some advance planning about funding streams well suited to research agendas at UM-Flint, and many professional Foundations also have regular annual competition cycles.

Pre-Proposal Due	Deadline	Writing Time	Sponsor Deadline
Fall	Mid-October	Spring/Summer	Next Year (Sept-Dec)
Winter	Mid-March	Fall Term	Next Year (Jan-Apr)
Spring-Summer	Mid-August	Winter Term	Next Year (May-Aug)

Faculty are encouraged to work with the UM-Flint Office of Research to learn about the opportunities best suited to their research ideas, explore the upcoming funding opportunities, and seek proposal writing time through the UM-Flint Proposal Academy. PI-eligible faculty (tenure-track or tenured) may apply for a course release for the four-month period in advance of a sponsor’s submission deadline, which the UM-Flint Office of Research will fund. Applicants are asked to provide a one-page summary or abstract of the proposed project (similar to the document that might be sent to a program officer at a federal agency or a Foundation) prior to formal submission. The summary and the faculty biosketch or brief CV will then be reviewed for their potential by anonymous reviewers within the three U-M campuses via the InfoReady review competition space.

Faculty selected for the proposal writing academy will receive a course release. They will be expected to participate in proposal writing workgroups, facilitated by the UM-Flint Office of Research, to draft the required sections of research proposal month by month during the academic term in which the release time is funded. Additional workgroup team members will be recruited to work with the Academy awardees based on their research expertise, interest in providing feedback to their colleagues and learning more about the submission and proposal writing process.

To Apply for the Proposal Writing Academy:

Applicants must first submit a pre-proposal. Applicants are asked to develop a one-page summary or abstract of their proposed research project. This is a concept document similar to one-page abstract normally shared with a program officer at a federal agency or a foundation to inquire about the relevance and fit of the idea with the sponsor’s current programs. The one-pager should address:
- Significance: potential impact or scholarly merit is clear
- Innovation: potential to develop novel concepts, approaches or technology
- Approach: design, methods and analytical strategies are appropriate to achieve goals
Applicants to NIH and NSF competitions must provide a biosketch using the required NIH (three pages max) and NSF (two pages max) formats. Foundation applicants must provide an abbreviated CV (three pages max). Each format focuses on preparation and publications most relevant to the proposed project.
Applications will be routed for approval to the department chair or director and the Dean’s Office. Faculty must discuss a potential course release with their unit leadership in order to proceed to a preliminary review.
Anonymous reviewers will conduct a preliminary review of one-page proposal narratives via InfoReady, UM-AA, UM-D, UM-F, U-M Foundation Relations.

In addition to the course release, faculty will receive proposal writing help from the Office of Research, statistical or graphical design assistance (if needed for the proposal writing) and additional feedback (depending on the subject matter) from mock study sections like those at MICHR (Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research) or UM’s research development network.

Eligibility: This program is aimed primarily at junior or mid-career faculty members (in years three to 10 of a tenure track appointment) for each sponsor track: NIH, NSF or the Foundations Academy.

A 3-credit course buyout for most applicants typically represents a 1/9th replacement cost of the faculty member with a nine-month appointment.

University year (nine-month appointed) faculty who seek protected proposal writing time during the spring/summer months are eligible for a salary stipend of up to $8,000, but precluded from teaching during the spring/summer award period.

During the academic year (fall and winter), all PI-eligible faculty may request support for a 3-credit course buyout. Twelve-month appointed faculty may request a 3-credit course buyout in all three cycles.

The Proposal Writing Academies will be offered in the fall, winter and spring/summer terms. During each application period, and subject to available funding, this program will select two to three faculty. Faculty will receive notification of whether they have been selected for this program within four weeks of the application deadline. Faculty not selected for the program will be encouraged to participate in proposal writing workgroups.

University year (nine-month appointed) faculty who seek protected proposal writing time during the spring/summer months are eligible for a salary stipend of up to $8,000 but precluded from teaching during the spring/summer award period. During the academic year (fall and winter), all PI-eligible faculty may request support for a 3-credit course buyout. Twelve-month appointed faculty may request a 3-credit course buyout in all three cycles.

The Proposal Writing Academies will be offered in the fall, winter, and spring/summer terms. During each application period, and subject to available funding, this program will select 2-3 faculty. Faculty will receive notification of whether they have been selected for this program within eight weeks of the application deadline. Faculty not selected for the program will be encouraged to participate in proposal writing workgroups.

Faculty International Travel Grants

The Office of Research will renew its program to assist faculty with international travel in the spring of 2022. Support for international travel is intended primarily for faculty who are presenting new research or creative work at professional meetings. Less priority will be given to applicants whose travel plans do not include presenting original research. International travel grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. Applicants are asked to provide an explanation of the scholarly benefit (new professional knowledge, expanded scholarly networks or exploration of collaborative opportunities) offered by presenting to an international audience at a major disciplinary or interdisciplinary meeting. The UM-Flint Office of Research can offer up to $2,000 in funding towards an overseas flight, or $1500 toward travel to Hawaii or Alaska, provided the applicant’s home academic unit can provide evidence of matching travel support that is no less than 25% of the total estimated cost of travel.

Eligibility

Full-time tenure-track or tenured faculty member who has been accepted to present research or creative work at an international conference*
Full-time tenure-track or tenured faculty member who has been invited to an international conference* as a session organizer/chair
Priority will be given to applicants who have not applied in the last three years.

*Per University policy, Hawaii and Alaska are considered international conference venues.

Travel Budget

The maximum award per request: $2,000 for overseas travel, $1,500 for travel to Hawaii or Alaska.
Office of Research support is contingent upon the academic unit providing evidence of a match of 25% of the total estimated cost of travel.
Meals and incidentals should be calculated using the Federal Government per diem rate for your travel destination.
Two written, economy-class airfare estimates are required to substantiate airfare requests.

Application Submission

Write an abstract of approximately 300 words describing the conference, the work to be presented, the role at the conference, and the potential professional impacts.
Complete the online application located at https://umflint.infoready4.com and attach the airfare estimates.
The Office of Research will convene an ad hoc committee of former International Travel awardees to evaluate all applications, and rank them based on scholarly merit and professional impact of attendance at the meeting.

Final Report

To be eligible for future funding under this program, grant recipients must provide a brief report to the Office of Research, within 60 days of return from their travel, detailing key outcomes of the travel experience. The final report should include:

A brief report on the conference outcomes, including opportunities for publication or collaboration
A brief explanation of how the experience will influence their future research and creative activity.

The scoring rubric for evaluating the applications is available here and in InfoReady. Travel conditions permitting, the Office of Research will resume this travel support program for three funding cycles each calendar year, in March, July and October.

Research Commons

Learn about new funding opportunities by searching in the Research Commons. The portal uses the InfoReady platform to pool internal opportunities, limited submissions, and some external opportunities. Find funding opportunities quicker by using the keyword search, and filtering by campus, school or college, discipline, career stage, funding type, or areas of interest.