Faculty Research or Creative Activity Grant Guidelines

Research and Sponsored Programs

Faculty Research or Creative Activity Grant Guidelines

Updated September 2025

Faculty Research or Creative Activity Grant Guidelines

The IFO/Minnesota State Master Agreement offers funding opportunities faculty members to engage in professional improvement activities (Article 19, Section A).

Approved Fall 2016; Revised Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Fall 2016, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Fall 2022, Summer 2025) Funding is provided through the IFO/Minnesota State Master Agreement (Article 19, Section A)

Application deadlines:

4 p.m. on the last Tuesday in September, and
4 p.m. on the third Tuesday in February

Late applications will not be accepted.

Purpose and Activity Criteria

The primary purpose of a Faculty Research grant is to fund Scholarly activity. Research is broadly defined as creative achievement, or scholarly pursuit of knowledge, using recognized procedures in applicant’s discipline/area of study. The IFO Master Agreement with MinnState specifies that the “... procedures and criteria [for evaluating grant applications] shall include a priority for professional improvement funds focused on equity and inclusion and/or elimination of education equity gaps.” (Article 19.A Subd.5) The committee may award projects meeting the following criteria:

Scholarly activity must require a minimum of 14 days of dedicated time.
Funds are to be used for the execution of a well-conceived scholarly or creative activity.
Scholarly activities should align with the faculty member’s professional development goals, have specific outcomes primarily of the faculty member’s own making, and include at least one scholarly or creative product resulting directly from the proposed work.
Scholarly activity that has a focus on advancement of equity and inclusion and/or potentially contributes to reduction/elimination of educational/academic equity gaps.

Grant Details

Eligibility Requirements

An applicant must have at least a 33% assignment in an IFO role at the time of application and during the grant activity. Adjunct faculty are not eligible. Faculty on sabbatical are considered to be on assignment. No funds may be expended when the person is not in eligible status.

Faculty may receive a Faculty Short-Term grant in conjunction with the Faculty Research grant.
Only one Faculty Research application per individual per round is allowed.
Joint submissions are allowed, but such applications count as the one submission allowed per individual.

Final reports for all previous Faculty Research grants must be submitted by the date of committee consideration to be eligible for current funding.

Budgetary Guidelines

The committee may award up to may award up to $10,000 per application to support the execution of well-conceived scholarly or creative plan.

Allowable Costs:

All university policies apply i.e., travel policies, wage limits, Business Services requirements, and the following budget-related conditions apply:

Personnel Costs

Faculty compensation up to $3,000. It must be expressed as additional duty days justified in detail and must include associated fringe costs calculated at 22%.
If salary is requested for the applicant, detail should be provided explaining how the proposed time falls outside of IFO Contractual work and Article 22 expectations.

Living and Travel Costs

Per diem expenses are capped at $588 per month, or the standard contractual per diem rate, whichever is less.
Lodging expenses are capped at $2,000.

Supplies, Materials and Other Identifiable Costs

Equipment or supplies purchased with grant funds remain property of SCSU.
Materials acquired by the library will be managed by the University Library as part of the regular collection once the project has been completed.
Use of research funds to pay subjects will be determined on a case-by-case basis, but are generally not allowable unless payment is itself a variable being studied.
Funding for book or creative works projects is limited to one Faculty Research Grant per applicant per project.

Unallowable Costs

Development of a research agenda, scholarly or creative plan.
Dissemination costs (e.g., dissertation defense, conference presentations, submission/binding fees; journal charges; etc.).
Leading a study abroad course.
Multiple chapters in a single book by a single author.
Projects specifically targeted at developing grant applications, or other planning activities.
University/college/school/department initiatives.
Equipment or supplies for basic infrastructural items (e.g., computers, glassware, easels, etc.).
Organization of conferences.
Course development.

Selection Process

Proposals are scored by each Faculty Research Grant committee member using the Evaluation Rubric. Final scores are made during a committee meeting scheduled for this purpose.
A separate score will be added to the subtotal points. The highest point-adjustment is given to applicants who have received little/no funding from this program within the last 3 years.
If a proposal scores less than 21.6 points, then no funding recommendation will be made.
At the discretion of the Committee, and availability of funds, a second round of funding may be offered. The deadline will be posted on the Research and Sponsored Programs website.
Allow six to eight weeks from the application deadline for the selection process to be completed.
Award recommendations are subject to final approval by Faculty Senate and the Provost.

The committee reserves the right to discuss with the applicant alternate cost-effective ways of achieving their goals; with the intent of disbursing funds more broadly, and thus fund more proposals.

Application Instructions

Applicants are encouraged to REVIEW THE EVALUATION RUBRIC WHEN COMPOSING THE NARRATIVE.

Clarifications provided below should not be considered a substitute for thoroughly reading the rubric.

Preparing the Narrative

Project narrative is completed online, and all required questions must be answered to save and submit.
The narrative should be understandable to an educated, but non-expert, audience. Avoid jargon.
Applicants must click the submit button within their Application Intake page; an application is not submitted for consideration until the green "Submit" button is clicked.
- Once you click the green Submit button above the submission will no longer be editable. The Submit button will be greyed out.
Applicants will receive an email confirmation that your application was successfully submitted.

Responding to the Narrative

Background/Literature
- Review Clearly explain why the project should be undertaken. Include a statement of the problem, or purpose of the proposal, and tie that to the relevant literature describing what is known or unknown in the field of scholarship, to demonstrate the need for the proposed study.
- Include a concise statement of the objective(s) of your proposal.
- Consider contacting a University Library subject specialist/liaison for assistance in accessing any difficult-to-obtain intellectual content needed.
Relevance to Professional Development
- This grant is intended to support Article 22 research activity. Provide a clear explanation of how this project will contribute to the applicant’s professional development.
Goals and Objectives
- List the tangible goals and objectives that align with the scholarly need of the project.
Strategy, Methods, and Design
- Describe what is to be done, and how. Detailed information will vary according to the type of project undertaken, e.g., experimental, survey, documentary, or creative endeavor. Outline a systematic procedure for accomplishing the stated goals and objectives.
Timeline
- Provide a reasonable timeline that includes when specific goals/objectives will be completed.
- Reasonableness will be evaluated with the assumption that the faculty member is performing contractual obligations normally associated with their position.
Outcomes
- What tangible product will result from the proposed work? At least one outcome must be a scholarly product or creative activity that can be evaluated, assessed, and/or critiqued.
Broader Impacts/Benefits
- Discuss the benefits this project will have beyond the applicant’s professional development and research/scholarly discipline, including- but not limited to- teaching,SCSU, or the community.

Preparing the Budget

Budgets include the Estimated Project Budget spreadsheet and budget justification.

Download the Estimated Project Budget spreadsheet and complete following the directions provided within the Excel file, the worksheet is setup to calculate automatically for applicants.
Complete budget justification fields within online application.
- Clearly explain the budget items requested and how the costs are calculated. Be sure to outline the necessity and rationale behind each line item, and to connect requests to your project’s implementation plan.
- If funding is requested for personnel beyond the applicant, detail should be provided explaining why the activities being performed are beyond the ability or expertise of the proposer.
- You will be judged on how realistic your budget is. Take as much of the direct cost of the project into account as possible and obtain current rates for each item to demonstrate responsible stewardship of funds.
- If you request an honorarium for an expert outside SCSU, you must provide the individual’s credentials, and explanation of your relationship with the individual.
- Be sure to identify when these expenses will be incurred (i.e. airfare is typically purchased 1-3 months in advance).
- If published materials are not currently available at the University Library, but are needed to support the proposed project, please account for them in your budget request.
Once complete, upload the completed spreadsheet in the Estimated Project Budget field in the Attachment section.
Upload additional budget documentation
- Documentation is needed for all costs. Provide written quotes, online ordering sources,etc.

Tips for Writing a Successful Grant Application

Proofread the grant proposal to ensure your ideas are clearly communicated.
Ask a colleague to read a draft copy of your proposal prior to submitting the final version.
If you have any questions please contact the chair of the Faculty Research Grants Committee, someone who has received an internal grant in the past, or Research and Sponsored Programs.