ND EPSCoR :: Request for Proposals :: New Faculty Start-Up Opportunities for FY08 :: Main

New Faculty Start-Up Opportunities for FY08

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Issued: August 23, 2006
Deadlines: ABSTRACTS: 12 Noon, September 13, 2006
PROPOSALS: 12 Noon, October 11, 2006

TO: Deans and Chairs in the Sciences, Engineering, and Mathematics (SEM)
FROM: David R. Givers, Interim Co- Project Director, ND EPSCoR, NDSU Office
Gary Johnson, Co-Project Director, ND EPSCoR, UND Office

RE: New Faculty Start-Up Opportunities

Department Chairs, Deans recruiting Department Chair/Head positions, and Directors of the two ND EPSCoR-designated State Research Initiatives (SRIs) are invited to submit proposals requesting start-up funds for tenure-track research faculty to be hired during FY2008. The major goal of this program is to attract highly qualified tenure-track faculty to our research-intensive universities who will be nationally competitive for grants from federal agency research programs in science, engineering, and mathematics.

Electronic abstracts are due by no later than 12:00 Noon on Wednesday, September 13, 2006, to the campus Co-Project Director. Include submitter’s name, department, phone number, number of positions requested, amount of the request, and a brief description of the desired qualifications of a successful candidate. Abstracts will aid in the selection of the external review panel, but are not required and will not be part of the evaluation process.
Proposals are due in the ND EPSCoR campus office by no later than 12:00 Noon on Wednesday, October 11, 2006. Proposals will be reviewed by an external panel, November 15-16, 2006 who will interview only the Dean, Department Chair, or one SRI Director submitting the proposal. The interviewee is welcome to bring six copies of supplemental hard copy handouts to this session, but no audio/visual aids will be allowed. This year’s interviews will be held on the NDSU campus. Awards will be announced on or about November 30, 2006. ND EPSCoR anticipates making 10-15 awards for up to two years of support. Awards are contingent on continued funding from the National Science Foundation and the State of North Dakota. Funds should be available July 1, 2007, to hire a new Department Chair and August 16, 2007, for new faculty.

Key Points Relevant to this Award Program:
1. ND EPSCoR is focused on building research capabilities that are aligned with the research-intensive universities’ institutional long-term research objectives; the research commitments of the higher education roundtable; and research that builds the economic base of North Dakota as expressed by the Governor and the State Legislature. Applicants should consider these points in devising an appropriate Research Infrastructure Development Plan.

2. Department hiring processes will be at various stages during proposal review. Thus, it is not necessary that individual recruits be named in the proposal. Rather, the evaluation will be based on the Primary Evaluation Criteria listed below.

3. Proposals will be reviewed externally, and this committee makes recommendations for funding. Each Co-Project Director, in collaboration with the campus Vice President for Research, negotiates award levels with the successful departments.

4. These funds should be allocated for faculty summer salary (two months maximum), graduate research stipends (academic year and summer), research-related travel, critical permanent equipment, supplies, and other resources deemed essential for a promising investigator to launch a nationally-competitive research program. No academic year faculty salary is allowed.

5. These funds must supplement and not replace resources that would be used to recruit a new professor.

6. These funds are targeted for the new faculty member’s exclusive use.

Primary Evaluation Criteria:
1. The quality and sustainability of the Research Infrastructure Development Plan for recruiting and hiring high-quality faculty with exemplary academic/professional qualifications.

2. The extent to which the applicant department can ensure/provide the environment; i.e., research space, reasonable teaching load, access to equipment and support staff, and the support of her/his colleagues necessary for building a nationally-competitive and sustainable research program in an area normally supported by the National Science Foundation.

3. Matching funds/support available to the new faculty member provided by the applicant department. These funds may be from sources within the university or from extramural (non-federal) funds. Each university has typically provided a 1:1 match for academic department new faculty hires, although this level of support is not required.

4. The relevance of the Research Infrastructure Development Plan to long-term North Dakota research initiatives expressed by the Governor, the State Legislature, and the federal congressional delegation.

DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CAMPUS CO-PROJECT DIRECTOR ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND EXPECTATIONS REGARDING INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENTS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED.

Checklist Requirements:
Proposal Hard Copies: Original + 10.
No more than 11 double-spaced, one-sided pages, margins ≥ 1”, with no less than a 10-point font. Staple all copies in the following order)
1. ND EPSCoR Cover page−Available from www.ndsu.nodak.edu/epscor/rfps/index.htm .
2. Abstract (one page) which must describe the long term plan for the department.
3. Proposal description (no more than eight pages).
4. NSF style budget sheet available from www.ndsu.nodak.edu/epscor/rfps/index.htm .
5. Appendices (20-page maximum) limited to and in the following order:
a) One-page fact sheet describing the state-of-the-department, including current faculty and their research expertise, active and recently expired grants and contracts, and average teaching loads.
b) Letters of commitment for match.
c) Interdepartmental support letters if specific collaboration is proposed.
d) CVs of candidates who have received invitations for interviews from the applicant department (if appropriate, and if particularly strong candidates have been identified).
Proposal Electronic Copy: A complete proposal in a single PDF file to the campus Co-Project Director via e-mail attachment.

UND: Please direct your questions to Dr. Gary Johnson at 701-777-2492 or GaryEJohnson@mail.und.nodak.edu.

NDSU: Please direct your questions to Mr. David R. Givers at 701-231-7516 or David.Givers@ndsu.edu.

For information about ND EPSCoR and other funding opportunities, please visit the Web site at www.ndepscor.nodak.edu.

Sample NSF Style Budget Form

CoverSheet.NewFacultyStart-Up