Scholarly and Creative Activities Grants Program

SCAGP Application & Budget Worksheet

2023-2024 Application Deadlines
September 8, January 29, March 29

General Principles

• The funds available for disbursement on a competitive basis are for direct faculty development, i.e., for research, creative, and professional activities.
• The funds usually will be designated for projects already begun and, if possible, nearing completion, with the promise of publication, performance, or exhibition.
• The funds must be spent within one year of the date of the award letter. If an extension is necessary, a request must be sent to the Committee Chair and a copy to the dean. Unspent funds will be returned to the College.
• The Scholarly and Creative Activities Committee recognizes differences among the disciplines concerning the creative process and evaluates proposals according to the standards of each discipline.
• The existence of funds and the procedures for applying for them will be disseminated directly to all faculty members in the college.
• The Dean's Office will both administer this fund and encourage the faculty to submit applications.
• Only applications from continuing faculty will be considered.

Implementation Procedures

• Scholarly and Creative Activities Committee
  • The college bylaws provide for a standing committee called the Scholarly and Creative Activities Committee (15 E), which shall consist of up to seven members of the continuing faculty: five elected (two each from voting groups 1 and 2, and one from voting group 3, as defined in section 14.B. of the bylaws), and up to two additional members appointed by the dean to broaden representation and maintain committee experience. Nominations, elections and appointments to the Scholarly and Creative Activities Committee shall normally occur at the end of the spring semester of each academic year. Should a vacancy occur, the dean shall appoint a faculty member to serve out the academic year. The appointee to replace an elected member shall be from the same faculty voting group as the member being replaced.
  • Members shall serve three-year terms.
  • The committee shall elect its chair, preferably from among the members who
    have served at least one year on the committee.
• Committee Operations
  • The committee shall identify and promote ways to support and enhance the scholarly and creative activities of the college faculty. These responsibilities shall include overseeing funding for scholarly and creative activities and establishing procedures for distributing monies. Specifically, the committee will establish policies, application and review procedures, and deadlines for the Scholarly and Creative Activities Grant Program. The committee will review these grant applications and vote on disbursement of funds in a timely fashion after announced deadlines, which will occur three times a year.
• Eligibility for Funding
  • Funds are made available for but not limited to the following activities in support of a specified scholarly or creative project with the promise of publication, performance, or exhibition:
    • Money to complete or initiate research or creative activities (e.g., equipment, book purchases toward a specific project, training in new research/creative techniques).
    • Travel to libraries or repositories where materials for research and creative activities are being held. Travel to conduct original research in the field.
    • Travel to professional meetings to deliver papers, participate in poster sessions, or participate in other aspects of the program. The committee may consider funding travel to attend professional meetings. Applicants must demonstrate the relevance of the meeting to the current scholarly or creative project. This funding can be used only to supplement travel costs beyond that provided by the college of Liberal Arts and VPR or other resources (i.e., must seek funding from other sources first).
    • Money for publication subvention or to support manuscript, exhibit, or performance production.
    • Money to hire assistant(s) for specific projects. SCAGP funds may be used for payment of the hourly salary and associated fringe costs of a graduate or undergraduate research assistant. This use of SCAGP funds may require a higher match from another funding source. SCAGP funds may not be used to fund undergraduate and/or graduate assistantships. However, when it can be clearly demonstrated that the assistance of a graduate or undergraduate student is linked and limited to the specific project for which SCAGP funds are being requested, SCAGP funds may be used to contribute toward an assistantship by funding salary and fringe only. Payment f or graduate and/or undergraduate assistance must be temporally linked to the proposed timeline for the specific project for which SCAGP funds have been requested. Retroactive funding for salary/fringe is not available.
• Guidelines for Application and Disbursement of Funds
  • Each application must be submitted on the standard form that the Dean's Office provides to all faculty members at the beginning of each academic year. Applications should be typewritten. All application materials should be submitted together in one document as single PDF file.
  • Total disbursements from combined CLA travel funds and Scholarly and Creative Activities grants generally will not exceed $5,500 per fiscal year per faculty member. However, the maximum amount will be determined annually, and applicants should consult the annual guidelines for the relevant year. Since funds are limited, faculty should seek the lowest possible costs, especially air fares and hotel accommodations.
  • If a faculty member has received a Scholarly and Creative Activities grant within two years prior to the month when the application is reviewed, he/she will only be eligible for the maximum amount minus the amount of the previous award. For example, if an award of $3,000 was made within the previous two years, the maximum allowable in the current cycle is $2,500.
  • Faculty members who have previously received SCAGP and are applying for a second grant should provide documentation that project-related external funding has been sought since receipt of the first grant. When a second SCAGP is under consideration, priority will be given to those applications that are accompanied by documentation attesting to the applicant’s attempt(s) to secure external funding.
  • Grants may not be made for supplementary pay or summer salary support.
  • Grants do not cover (a) membership in professional organizations, particularly when included as part of conference registration fees, (b) computers, (c) replacement materials or technology, or (d) conference registration fees in excess of $200. Expenditures on these and other uncovered items should be included in the overall budget. Personal expenditures on uncovered costs can be counted toward any required match.
  • When money is used to purchase equipment or special books, those items will revert to a department, the college, or the library when the applicant leaves the university.
  • When requesting funds to pay research participants, proof of IRB approval is required. The maximum amount of funding per research participant is $100.
  • Applications will only be considered complete and appropriate for review by the committee if requests for every type of cost (i.e., intercity travel, local transport, meals, registration fees, lodging, supplies, materials, research or clerical assistance, publication subvention or publication/performance production) are accompanied by a vendor quote or contract.
  • The committee reserves the right to request additional supporting documentation.
  • Wherever possible applicants should be encouraged to seek additional funding from their departments or other sources to supplement the money received from the college, and the committee should look favorably on those applicants who have already secured additional funding or in-kind contributions. Applicants should make explicit the relationship between other funding and SCAGP funding requested on the application.
  • The committee will reserve a portion of the available funds to be distributed at each of three funding cycles.
  • The dean may reserve a portion of the fund for special research-related requests and institutional support for research- related projects such as production of scholarly journals.
  • Applications from tenured and tenure-track, full-time faculty will receive highest priority.
  • Requests for money to complete research and creative activities will receive highest priority.

Annual Funding Guidelines

These guidelines are in addition to the continuing specifications of the program in the General Guidelines.

• Funding may be requested for expenditures incurred between July 1 and August 31.
• The overall funding maximum is $5,500 for combined research support from the college (SCAGP and/or Travel Support). The committee will determine the amount of funding for each proposal.
• Only continuing faculty are eligible for funding through this program.
• Applicants are encouraged to pursue matching funds. These matches may include expenditures by the applicant on non- covered items, but preference will be given to applications that include a significant contribution from other sources within the university or outside funding agencies. The committee considers the benchmark standard for a “significant contribution” to be 20% of the total budget.
• In addition to the funding limitations specified in the SCAGP General Guidelines, the following annual guidelines will guide allocations:
  • $900 maximum for domestic intercity air/rail/auto travel expenses.
  • $1,250 maximum for international air/rail/auto travel expenses.
  • Normally, hotel expenses will be limited to $125 per night. Travel requests in excess of the stipulated maximum will require additional justification.
• In a normal funding year, no more than one-third of the annual budget can be allocated at the September meeting; no more than a cumulative total of 80% of the annual budget can be obligated by the end of the January allocations. The Committee may, if it chooses, carry over applications it did not fund to subsequent meetings and make retroactive awards for that fiscal year. Proposals for expenses that will be incurred during the summer may be submitted for consideration at any of the
  three meetings.

Any faculty, staff, volunteers, or students participating in travel sponsored by, related to, or affiliated with the University shall first submit applicable travel requests prior to the date of travel as in accordance to the University Administrative Manual. International travel requests received fewer than 30 calendar days prior to the date of travel may not provide adequate time for review, and travel may not be reimbursable. International travel authorization requests submitted after travel has been completed shall not be reimbursable.

• International travel forms
• Domestic travel policy