Application Guidelines & Instructions

This program is designed to provide a limited number of mid-sized grants to faculty for projects with solid preliminary data requiring additional research effort necessary to compete for external funding awards.  These grants are not intended for terminal projects; rather, the aim is to advance selective research projects within the highly competitive national environment for external funding. 

Eligibility:

• Only full-time faculty members at Touro College may apply and serve as a Principal Investigator (PI).
• The role and contributions of Co-PIs—particularly in multi-disciplinary projects where it is strongly encouraged—should be carefully delineated in the Research Project Plan section of the proposal.
• The application must clearly and convincingly demonstrate that the proposed project embodies a new research direction for which strong preliminary results have been obtained and that the project will be well-positioned after further development to seek external support.
• The proposal must not overlap with any existing sponsored projects.  Projects for which a pending proposal has been submitted to an extramural funding source for the same or a closely related project are not eligible for PRDG awards, with the exception of small pilot grant applications.

Submission, Review, and Selection Process:

• Applications are due by November 13, 2017 for an anticipated grant performance period of January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018.
• Consideration for funding will be considered within two grant pools:  (1) projects in the biomedical and health sciences; or, (2) projects in the liberal arts & sciences, behavioral, social, and educational sciences (including such fields as psychology, education, law, and social work), technology, and business.
• Faculty may only submit one proposal as the PI, but may serve as a Co-PI on more than one submission.
• Applications are expected to identify the extramural funding source(s) that will be targeted and the likely deadline(s) involved, for the next phase of project support.
• Applications for the two grant pools identified will be reviewed by two Selection Committees consisting of Deans and members of the Senior Academic Leadership.
• Recommendations from the Selection Committees will be made to President Kadish.
• Announcement of awards is anticipated on or about December 22, 2017. 

Funding:

• Applications may request support from $7,500 to $15,000.  Requests for support of up to $20,000 will be considered for projects that typically involve greater expense (e.g., laboratory-based research), but clear justification must be provided in the application.  Budgets may be subject to revision as part of the award process.
• Applications may not include a request for faculty salary support, but must identify the level of faculty effort that will be committed to the project over the entire project period.
• Support may be requested for: staff support, such as technicians or research or lab assistants (particularly students); materials and supplies; publications; and, other costs such as services and subject participant costs. Support for consultants and travel costs generally will not be provided, but will be considered based upon a significant justification of necessity for conduct of the research.  Fringe benefits costs commensurate with all salary requests should be included in the budget (full-time staff members have a benefits rate of 25.4% and part-time staff members have a benefits rate of 10%).
• Support may not be requested for equipment.
• Schools are encouraged to offer additional internal matching support for projects that require additional resources, including faculty release time or summer salary support, to accomplish the project’s aim.  Any such complementary support must be detailed as part of the application. 

Application Preparation Instructions: 

• Prepare your application in Word, using ½ inch margins and 11 points Arial.
• To the maximum extent possible, when crafting your technical proposal narrative please use lay language and explain scientific terms and concepts succinctly to facilitate review by the cross-section of reviewers.
• Proposal Section (please label each section of your proposal and follow the page limitations outlined; incomplete proposals or proposals that do not follow the application requirements or page limits will not be reviewed):
  • Cover Page:  Complete the Application Cover Page. All communication will be with the PI listed on the Cover Page. If the project involves a Co-PI, a separate Application Cover Page should be completed by that individual and attached with proper notation of Co-PI status.  Institutional approvals for use of human subjects, animals, and/or biohazards will be required on a just-in-time basis if the proposal is selected for funding.
  • Research Project Abstract and Plan (limit 4 pages):Include a project abstract, a summary of preliminary research results previously obtained, and a research plan consisting of specific aims, significance and impact, and a brief research strategy providing an overall rationale for the experimental approaches proposed (avoiding highly specific details regarding scientific methods) that builds upon your pilot research results.  Include a clear statement describing the nature of the collaborative arrangement if a Co-PI is involved.  A detailed plan to pursue external sponsorship for the next phase of the project, identifying potential sponsors and proposal deadlines targets is to be included.
  • References (limit 1 page): Provide complete references, including all authors & full title, to publications cited in your research plan.
  • Biosketch (limit 2 pages + addendum, if relevant, per individual): Include a biosketch for the PI (and Co-PI, if relevant), using the National Science Foundation format (see Section II.C.2.f. in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide).  An addendum that lists past, current, and pending support, if relevant, may be added to the biosketch (one page, per individual; see Section II.C.2.h. in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide).
  • Facilities (limit 1 page + addendum, if relevant):  Describe the Touro facilities you will use to conduct your research.  If you are using facilities outside of your school, please include as an addendum correspondence from an individual who can make that commitment confirming your access to such facilities.
  • Budget (limit 1 page):  Provide a table that details all costs by major budget category and sufficiently itemized to be evaluated in light of your proposed project.
  • Budget Justification (limit 1page + addendum, if relevant, 1 page):  All items must be fully justified, following the format of the budget page; indicate the percentage effort and describe the role of all personnel, including that of the PI (and Co-PI, if relevant).  An addendum that describes all complementary departmental/school support, if relevant, may be added to the budget justification.

Proposal Submission:

When your application is completed the above proposal components must be combined into one pdf file. 

Please use the following naming format for your pdf file:

• Biomedical/Health Science applications:  Lastname_Firstname_PRDG_2017_BHS.pdf
• Other Disciplines applications:  Lastname_Firstname_PRDG_2017_Other.pdf

Submit applications to:  Glenn Davis, Director, Office of Sponsored Programs, at glenn.davis5@touro.edu.  

Questions: 

Questions about the PRDG Program may be directed to Glenn Davis, Director, Office of Sponsored Programs at glenn.davis5@touro.edu or (212) 463-0400 x5345.