Internal Funding – Office of Research, Sponsored Programs & Grants

Internal Funding Opportunities for CGU Faculty

CGU faculty may apply during open seasons for two types of awards that are managed by the Faculty Research Committee and ORSPG and funded by restricted donations: the Fletcher Jones Foundation (FJF) Awards to support faculty research projects and the Blais Challenge Awards for Claremont intercollegiate collaborations.

Note re student researchers: For information on external fellowships and related grants for students, the Office of Advancement offers a personal fellowships search service — please contact the advisor at fellowship.research@cgu.edu. You may also consult the Financial Aid site, portals for individual schools, and the All-CGU Dissertation Awards and Transdisciplinary Studies Dissertation Awards pages. There are also useful online search engines for graduate student funding sources on the UCLA and Cornell websites.

BLAIS CHALLENGE AWARDS

The BLAIS Foundation is a CGU endowment devoted to the promotion of intercollegiate service, academic program development, and research. Applications for BLAIS Challenge awards must be submitted by teams of two or more faculty members, including at least one CGU core faculty member and one professor from another Claremont College consortium member. The awards are generally in the range of $10,000-$25,000 with approximately $70,000 available for each fiscal year.

2024 BLAIS CHALLENGE AWARDS

Request for Proposals

Closing Date: November 4, 2024

The Claremont Graduate University Faculty Research Committee invites core faculty at the Claremont Colleges to develop proposals for the 2024 BLAIS challenge awards. The initiative must be led by one or more CGU core faculty members and include active participation by core faculty at one or more of the undergraduate Claremont Colleges. BLAIS proposals must be submitted by a CGU core faculty member. Awards are in the range of $10,000-$25,000.

The BLAIS Foundation is a CGU endowment devoted to the promotion and support of academic cooperation between CGU and the undergraduate Claremont Colleges. New BLAIS challenge awards will be available on or about Dec 1, 2024 with funds to be spent through June 30, 2026.

A proposed BLAIS initiative must have at least one of the following features:

A service and/or applied research program designed to help local communities outside of the Claremont Colleges and to create/strengthen firm linkages. Communities may be defined by geography, interests, or affiliations. Proposals focused on the following are especially encouraged:

Communities in immediate proximity to the Claremont Colleges
Communities/organizations that can provide internship/work experiences for graduate and undergraduate students beyond the life of the project
Projects leading to external funding applications in collaboration with community partners
Projects involving transdisciplinary teams

Collaborative research meant to result in joint series of publications and/or external funding applications. Proposals focused on the following are especially encouraged:

Development of research teams integrating faculty and students
Programs (e.g. multiple studies) of research amenable to extramural funding
Programs of research involving transdisciplinary teams

Innovative academic program development, such as a new curriculum, new or enhanced instructional technology, or a thematic series of creative learning experiences outside of traditional coursework (BLAIS challenge awards will not pay for faculty to teach courses). The following are especially encouraged:

Applied project-based proposals
Projects engaging external communities and organizations
Projects taking a transdisciplinary approach

Important! In keeping with CGU’s strategic research priorities, a proposed BLAIS initiative must address at least one of the following key areas: Human Health & Flourishing, Leadership & Mentoring, Data Analysis & Computational Mathematics, Applied Arts & Humanities, and Policy & Society.

BLAIS Challenge Awards may involve a challenge condition (such as matched funding) to be met before all funds are released. Challenge conditions may be proposed by applicants; however, any challenge conditions will be determined and finalized by the committee and definitively stated in the notice of award.

Projects will be reviewed by the CGU Faculty Research Committee and judged on the following points: embracing the letter and spirit of the BLAIS mission to strengthen intercollegiate cooperation; clear and ambitious goals; thoughtful, sound, feasible implementation plans; persuasive evidence of interest or support beyond CGU; provisions to develop a new line/lines of internal or external support to for the proposed initiative; reportable measures or milestones to evaluate progress toward the project’s goals; overall benefit to the University, fit with the above-noted areas of emphasis.

Proposals must include all of the following components, preferably in docx format:

- A publishable summary of the project, not to exceed 100 words.
- A clear description of the aims, methods, schedule, and expected products/results of the project, explaining how the project would satisfy each of the eligibility requirements and points stated above. Maximum length is 1,500 words, not including references or any items below.
- A detailed budget (see template below)
- A list of up to five lead participants, including a clear explanation of what each participant will contribute to the project and how leaders will manage the project.
- A brief biosketch or CV (2 page maximum) for each lead participant.
- If applicable, letters of interest or support from pertinent community agencies or representatives

Proposed projects may be entirely new or may build on activities already underway, including activities that may have received previous BLAIS Challenge support—however, any earlier BLAIS funding must have been completed and a final report submitted by the date of submission of the new proposal.

All proposals received by midnight, November 4, 2024 will be reviewed and responded to by November 30, 2024.

Submit all proposals electronically to Eusebio.Alvaro@cgu.edu

Budget Template for BLAIS Challenge

Object Code		Amount
SO150	Regular Faculty Salaries
S0012	Adjunct or Extended Faculty
SO179	Graduate Student Wages
SO173	Staff Salaries and Wages
SO540	Fringe Benefits: Student = 5%, Regular Faculty & Staff = 28%, Adjunct/Extended = 13%
SO272	Postage
SO297	Telephone
SO228	Duplicating
SO238	Travel- Mileage
SO243	Travel- Airfare
SO245	Travel- Lodging
SO248	Travel- International Travel
SO264	Honoraria
SO400	Office Supplies
SO229	Books and Periodicals
SO508	Other Current Expenses
	TOTAL:

FLETCHER JONES FOUNDATION AWARDS

In 1987 the Fletcher Jones Foundation (FJF) endowed CGU with a fund dedicated to providing small grants to faculty members to help support promising research projects. The FJF Faculty Research Grants of $2,000 to $8,000 are issued through an annual competitive call for proposals.

FJF FACULTY RESEARCH AWARDS

In 1987 the Fletcher Jones Foundation (FJF) endowed CGU with a discretionary fund that has been dedicated to supporting self-initiated faculty research projects designed to yield publishable results consonant with CGU’s scholarly mission. The Faculty Research Committee (FRC) and the Office of Research, Sponsored Programs, and Grants (ORSPG) hereby invite proposals for FJF Research awards. Each proposal must support a research program or project that advances the disciplinary or transdisciplinary mission of CGU and is likely to yield publishable results or facilitate the generation of viable applications for sponsored research funding.

Approximately $25,000 will be available for this round of FJF awards. Individual awards will be in the range of $2,000-$8,000. Award funds will be credited to a distinct FJF project account assigned to the faculty member.

Each proposal should include:

Two title pages, one with and one without your name, in order to facilitate blind review. Also, please avoid self-identification. Refer to or cite your own work in the third person.
Research Plan, must contain the following elements:
- Overall research goals and specific questions/problems to be addressed
- Outline your relevant previous work
- Describe the proposed methodology
- Provide a project timeline—maximum duration is 18 months
- Name the external funding sources you plan to solicit (if any)
- If applicable, explain the roles of any collaborator(s) on the project
  - Signed letters from proposed collaborators should be attached

Important notes: The research plan is limited to four pages. It must be double-spaced with type no smaller than Times New Roman 12-point font and 1” margins). Proposals with non-compliant research plans will not be reviewed.

Itemized Budget, conforming to the template below. The preferred use of funds is to pay for research assistants and/or research expenses. Funds may not be used to compensate faculty members.
Budget Justification, not to exceed one page—a narrative covering each budget line.
Optional: no more than three pages of attached documents, e.g., collaboration letters.

Eligibility & conditions of award:

An applicant must hold a full-time faculty appointment at CGU or have formally accepted such an appointment.
Applicants may not serve as FJF proposal reviewers.
An applicant who has a current project supported by a previous FJF grant must complete that project before applying again.
To complete an FJF project, a grantee must submit to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs a brief final report, including proposals submitted for external funding and pertinent publications (draft, submitted, or accepted).
A previous grantee will not receive new funding if he or she has not applied to at least one external source of research funding since receiving the previous grant. Grantees should identify such proposals and submit copies of them if not already on file with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
Travel expenses will be considered only to obtain research data or documents. Funds may not be used for faculty salaries, purchase of equipment, publisher subventions, costs of reprinting copyrighted material, or routine attendance at professional conferences.
Grantees must obtain Institutional Review Board approval before commencing any data collection that is covered by the Common Rule.

Budget Template

Object Code		Amount
SO179	Graduate Student Wages
SO173	Staff Salaries and Wages
SO540	Fringe Benefits: Students: 5%, Staff 28%
SO272	Postage
SO297	Telephone
SO228	Duplicating
SO238	Travel- Mileage
SO243	Travel- Airfare
SO245	Travel- Lodging
SO248	Travel- International Travel
SO264	Honoraria
SO400	Office Supplies
SO229	Books and Periodicals
SO508	Other Current Expenses
	Total:

The object codes correspond to the new WorkDay accounting system. Please attach a budget narrative that explains the specific dollar amount in each line of non-zero costs; maximum length one page.