Faculty Research Fund

The Research Development Program

This program operates jointly with the Faculties and the Office of the Vice-President, Research.

Proposals submitted to this program are reviewed by two multidisciplinary committees: first by the Faculty of Social Sciences Research Committee (in April and December) and then by the Office of the Vice-President, Research Committee (in June and January). Only projects receiving funding from the Faculty are eligible for funding from the Office of the Vice-President, Research. Consequently, all applications must first be submitted and approved by the Faculty of Social Sciences.

  • At the Faculty level, this program covers only Research Assistant’s salaries (RA’s) as well as a lump sum of $100 for every 130 hours RA contract awarded. This $100 can be used to cover miscellaneous costs related to the RA’s work.
  • The maximum amount that can be requested from the Faculty is $10,000, which corresponds to roughly two (2) Research Assistants and $200 in related costs.
  • The same maximum of $10,000 can be requested from the Office of the Vice-President, Research program. This means that the total amount requested in this competition cannot exceed $20,000. The application must include the complete budget (maximum $20,000) requested from both committees.
  • Funds received from this program can be used for the following expenses:
    • Research assistant
    • Materials and supplies for research.
    • Small research equipment (justified in terms of that project)
    • Research-related travel for data collection; and
    • Other direct research costs

Example: You are initiating a new research project for which you estimate a need for three Research Assistants and $4,000 in miscellaneous costs. You prepare and send your proposal to the Office of the Vice-Dean for Research (see deadlines below) for a total of $20,000. If the Research Committee of the Faculty of Social Sciences finances your proposal for the total sum asked of the Faculty ($10,000), the cost of two research assistantships will be covered. Your proposal will then be submitted to the Office of the Vice-President, Research with a letter requesting that a joint contribution be made for the remaining amount requested.

It is important to note that this is a competition based upon the quality and merit of your proposal (see criteria below). The total amount awarded also depends on the available budget and the number of requests received.

DEADLINES

Unless specified otherwise, applications must be submitted to the Office of the Vice-Dean, Research of the Faculty of Social Sciences (DMS 3130) no later than 4pm on April 15th or December 1st.
If the deadline date coincides with a holiday, a Saturday or a Sunday, the application is due the first working day after the deadline. Incomplete applications and applications received after the deadline date will not be considered.

Number of copies: Six paper copies and one PDF copy sent by e-mail to mpotvin@uOttawa.ca

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND PROGRAM PRIORITIES

Applicants must have a full-time tenure or a tenure track position at the University of Ottawa. In the previous three years, no funding must have been received from the RDP or its predecessor (IRND) program.

Program Priorities

Please specify which priority you fall into:

  1. Professors in their first 10 years as independent researchers who do not, at the time of application, hold funds from external peer-reviewed sources and who have yet to obtain their first award from one of the three Canadian granting councils (NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR).
    1. Professors in their first 10 years as independent researchers and who have not held an award from one of the federal granting agencies (NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR) or another peer-reviewed agency for at least one year and who are seeking to apply or re-apply to one of the three Canadian granting councils.
    2. Professors beyond their first 10 years as independent researchers who have not held a peer reviewed award or an award one from one of the three Canadian granting councils (NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR) for at least one year and who are seeking to apply or re-apply to one of the three Canadian granting councils. In such cases, the RDP program is intended to support the development of a field of research which is either a substantive extension of, or clearly different from, the applicant’s previous research areas. The proposal must convincingly demonstrate how the proposed work will enhance her or his competitiveness at one of the three Canadian granting councils.
  3. Professors who already hold a peer reviewed award and who are seeking to extend and diversify their research program in order to become competitive at one of the three Canadian granting councils (NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR) other than one from which current funding is held. In such cases, the RDP proposal must clearly distinguish the applicant’s proposed research from the current program and demonstrate that she or he is planning to develop projects eligible at, and to apply for funding from, one of the three Canadian granting councils (NSERC, SSHRC or CIHR) other than one from which current funding is held.

Application Requirements

Applications must include:

  • RE Form completed and signed by all parties which confirms the PI's and the Faculty's approval of the proposal.
  • Research Proposal consisting of:
    • Summary of Proposed Research (approx. 1/2 page).
    • Research Description (approx. 5 pages).
    • References (approx. 1 page).
    • Budget (approx. 1 page).
    • Budget Justification (approx. 1 page).
  • C.V. in OCGS Format (the CV should include degrees, employement history, graduate supervision, internal and external research funding and a resume of publications, especially those related to the project).

*** Please note that the application cannot exceed 14 pages (including the U form and the CV).

Applicants are reminded that proposals will be reviewed by multi-disciplinary Research Committees, and that the proposal should be written accordingly.

BUDGET JUSTIFICATION, ELIGIBLE EXPENSES AND NON-ELIGIBLE EXPENSES

The maximum award in the RDP program is $20,000 over one year: $10,000 requested from the Faculty of Social Sciences, and matching funds ($10,000) requested from the Office of the Vice-President, Research. The budget section should describe the budget for the entire project.

Budget Justification

The justification must clearly demonstrate the need for funds from the RDP Program relative to other funding available to the applicant, and should explain how the costs were established. All budget items must be clearly justified in terms of their need for the accomplishment of the project objectives. Grant funds must contribute towards the direct costs of the research project for which the funds were awarded. The funds must be used effectively and economically, and the expenses must be essential for the research supported by the grant.

Examples of eligible expenses are:

  • Research assistants;
  • Materials and supplies for research;
  • Minor research equipment (within the context of a research project and justified in terms of that project);
  • Research-related travel for data collection; and
  • Other direct research costs.

Examples of non-eligible expenses include:

  • Professional fees to the grantee;
  • Administrative fees/standard monthly connection or rental costs of telephones/connection or installation of lines (telephone or other links), voice mail;
  • Passport and/or immigration fees;
  • Costs associated education: thesis preparation, tuition and courses fees, thesis examination/defense fees;
  • Cell phones, Blackberry devices, and/or personal digital assistant devices;
  • Library acquisition, computer and other services already provided by the University;
  • Cost of alcohol, entertainment, or gifts; and
  • Travel to conferences and scholarly meetings.

Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation is based on documentation available in the proposal. Applications will be assessed according to the following selection criteria:

i) Scientific merit of the proposal, including, without limitation:

  • Originality and innovation.
  • Clarity and scope of objectives.
  • Feasibility and adequacy of methodological approach.
  • Importance of the expected outcome of the research.

ii) Quality of the presentation

  • Proposals should be clear, concise, legible and complete.

iii) Record of research achievement, including, without limitation, such factors as:

  • Quality and significance of past contributions.
  • Level of research activity relative to the stage of the applicant's career.

iv) Need for funds, including, without limitation, such factors as:

  • Justification of the budget relative to the requirements of the proposed project.
  • Need for RDP funds and justification of the request relative to other currently-held and/or available funding. (Other currently-held funds, for example start-up funds or external grants, must be clearly stated in the C.V.).

v) Plan to apply for external, peer-reviewed funding

  • It is important that you demonstrate your plan and timeline for accessing peer-reviewed external funding because a primary objective of this program is to increase the likelihood of competing successfully for such funding. Briefly demonstrate that you have identified potential external funding agencies (including granting councils, industry, foundations, government etc.), that you are cognizant of the evaluation criteria and guidelines of the said external funding agencies and that the proposed work will support and strengthen a future grant application.

vi) Contribution to the training of students;

  • Applicants must clearly explain how the involvement of students in the project will contribute to the training of highly qualified personnel.

Proposal Format and Suggestions for the Preparation of Proposals

Proposal Format:

Proposals must be formatted in accordance with generally accepted standards at the granting councils, as follows:

General Presentation

All text, including references, must conform to these standards. Incomplete applications and/or applications that do not meet the presentation standards may be rejected or be at a disadvantage in comparison with those that are complete and respect the presentation standards.

  • Print must be in black ink and of letter quality.
  • The accepted font is Times New Roman regular 12 pts, or any comparable font – nothing smaller.
  • Condensed fonts, and applications completed strictly in italics, are not acceptable.
  • Use white paper, 8 1/2 x 11 inches (21.5 cm x 28 cm), portrait format, with a single column, unless specified otherwise.
  • Set margins at 3/4 of an inch (1.9 cm) (minimum) all around.
  • Sequentially numbered pages.

Suggestions

  • Be clear, concise and use plain language and non-technical terms.
  • Avoid using acronyms and abbreviations or explain them fully.
  • Your proposal should include a clear description of your research objectives, why the research you are proposing is important, how it relates to prior work and what the impact of the findings will be on the discipline.
  • Explain and support the methodological approach.
  • You should briefly describe any prior work that you may have performed to demonstrate that your idea for the research project is promising. If no such projects have been performed, mention of this should be made in the proposal.
  • Outline the risks and pitfalls, if any, and explain how they will be overcome and/or outline alternate plans.
  • Outline the resources available to you for this project and the additional resources you are requesting is support of the work you are proposing.
  • Provide an expected timeframe for the performance of the research.
  • Explain what your plans are for the dissemination of the results, and provide a timeframe.
  • The proposal should clearly explain how the proposed research would support or enhance a future peer-reviewed grant application.

For more information please contact the Research Development Manager, Sophie LeTouzé.

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Last Updated: 4/10/2012