Research and Scholarship Program - Regular Grant

The Research and Scholarship Program (RSP) – Regular Grant (RG) provides funds to support outstanding research, scholarship, or creative endeavors that will make a major contribution to any field of study.

Projects should lead to a significant outcome during the period of the award. The RSP-RG should not be used as seed funding for the generation of preliminary results. This grant should be used for standalone projects that bring additional visibility and recognition to the University of Notre Dame. Grants up to $100,000 of total funding, as appropriate to the research proposal, over three years are available through this program. Augmentation of the grants by the Colleges and Departments is allowed.

Eligibility

The following categories are eligible to apply for this program:

• Full-time members of the University of Notre Dame regular faculty are eligible to apply.
• Faculty members receiving FRSP-RG funding during the past five years are ineligible (award years 2018–2023).
• The RSP-RG program supports outstanding research, scholarship, or creative endeavors that will make a major contribution in any field of study. The RSP-RG is intended for standalone, seminal research that will elevate the University’s research profile. This grant program is not meant for research eligible for funding through external sources, nor is it meant for “seed” or “pilot” projects (e.g., proof of concept funding).
• Proposals requesting support for ongoing research projects funded by another sponsor, or projects that can be funded by PI startup or discretionary funds, or projects in the final stages of completion are not considered priorities.

Priorities

The following are key priorities for the RSP-RG:

• Excellence: The program of research, scholarship, or creative endeavor must be of the highest quality. It is expected that the outcomes of the project will bring recognition to the researcher(s) and the University.
• Mission Fit: Projects should support the University’s Mission.
• New projects, or major innovations connected to established research.

Some example projects include:

• An intercontinental comparative study of the influences of current global events
• A multi-year conference series that allows important exploration of an issue from many ethnic, cultural, and religious perspectives
• A research program that supports visits to archives and sites that would otherwise not be possible and would open new comparative study opportunities for international collaboration
• A quantitative analysis of how acoustical differences amongst places of worship affects liturgical style

Note: These examples are for illustrative purposes only. Many other similar types of projects are encouraged. A full list of past award recipients can be found here: https://research.nd.edu/our-services/funding-opportunities/faculty/internal-grants-programs/faculty-research-support-regular-grant---past-recipients

Budget Requests

A maximum of $100,000 is awarded through this grant. Augmentation of the grants by the Colleges and Departments is allowed. The following are allowable budget requests:

• Partial summer salary for faculty
  • Up to one-ninth of academic year salary maximum for faculty on nine month appointments
  • Up to one-twelfth of annual salary for faculty on twelve month appointments
• Graduate research assistant and post-doctoral fellow stipends and benefits
• Undergraduate student support
• Equipment and supplies necessary for the research
• Payment to human subjects
• Library acquisitions
• Research travel for conduct of the proposed effort
• Manuscript editing

The following are unallowable budget requests:

• Faculty academic year course reduction or academic year salary
• Travel for the purpose of presenting research results or attendance at conferences
• Publication costs

Deadline

This grant is currently closed. Please check back again soon for details of a future opening.

Grant Period

The grant period is for up to three years. A one-year, no-cost extension may be approved with satisfactory progress or growth of the project. Funds for awarded projects will typically be made available following review and approval by NDRAC.

Proposal Format

Interested applicants will submit two documents to Google Forms—the proposed project and the proposed budget with the directions below.

To submit a proposal, please use the following intake link (ND netID only):

Submit proposal

Part 1: Project Description

Each project proposal must be uploaded as a single PDF document with the naming convention of “<PIName>_RGProposal_<2024>.pdf” and include the following items in the order listed:

1. Cover page (one-page maximum)
   • Name of principal investigator, department, center, institute affiliation, phone, email, proposal title, and designation as a RSP-RG
   • Any co-principal investigators and their department, center, or institute affiliations
2. Abstract (one-page maximum)
3. Description (five pages maximum)
   • The objective of the project
   • Background, previous work, and motivation as appropriate
   • The project approach and methods
   • The anticipated outcomes
   • The anticipated time schedule
4. Discussion (one-page maximum)
   • How the project will address the program priorities including:
     • Excellence
     • Mission fit
     • Innovation
5. Citations or bibliography, optional (one-page maximum)
6. Current and pending grant support
   • List all current and pending proposals by all faculty participants individually, including sponsor, amount, project title, and start/end dates
   • Indicate discretionary, startup or capitalization funds available to the principal investigator(s)
7. Current curriculum vitae (two pages maximum/per CV)
   • Required for each faculty member listed on the cover sheet as an investigator
   • If postdocs, graduate students, and/or undergraduates are included in the project as collaborators, please describe their qualifications (one page maximum per person)

Please note: The proposed project submission should use clear, non-technical language for a general audience as the review panel contains a broad representation from across the University. Arial 12 point with double spacing and one-inch margins is preferred.