REACH Grant Program

2013-14 Applications Closed — see the 2013-14 REACH recipients

The REACH Grant Program seeks to identify and promote promising research, scholarship and creative arts in all areas of the University and to encourage faculty members to envision ambitious, long-term projects that will have a substantial impact on their own profiles as researchers or creative artists as well as enhance the profile of UVM by the quality and significance of their achievements. The program is designed to foster conditions of possibility in which these more ambitious projects can grow by providing seed money, exploratory funding, leveraging capability, and similar options.

Goals of the REACH Grant Program are as follows:

To promote innovative research, scholarship, and creative projects and to enhance UVM's reputation as an incubator for cutting-edge ideas. Projects can be in established disciplines, interdisciplinary, or in new and emerging fields. Successful applicants will articulate their perceived innovation and describe how it marks a new direction in their own work, its potential outcomes, and its relation to UVM's mission.
To advance research with broad societal, scholarly and/or creative impact that extends beyond UVM into the community and the world. Successful applicants will address the potential scope and impact of their proposed project.
To encourage faculty members to reach the next level of achievement in their research trajectory. Both individual and collaborative achievement is encouraged. Successful applicants will describe their long-term intellectual and professional goals and how the REACH Grant will help them achieve these objectives.
To leverage institutional investment by providing the building blocks to support a larger applications for competitive extramural funding.

Eligibility

All UVM faculty members active in scholarship, research, and/or creative work are eligible to apply to the REACH Grant Program. Interfaculty and/or interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged where such an approach enlarges the possibilities for significant accomplishment, but it is not a requirement.

Proposals that anticipate cost sharing or other funding (internal or external) are especially encouraged, but cost sharing is not required; such funding need not be firmly approved at the time of application.

Proposals in areas that are commonly eligible for extramural support must include a plan to leverage the REACH funding by subsequent application to an external funding agency.

Amount and Duration

For 2013-2014 the total budgeted amount for the REACH Grant Program is $300,000. Depending on the pool of proposals and available resources, any well-justified budget from $1,000 to $50,000 will be considered. Academic year faculty salaries may not be included for tenure track faculty. Indirect costs are not included.

Funds will be available immediately upon completion of the selection process and must be expended by 30 June 2014.

Criteria for Selection

Proposals will be reviewed by a faculty committee chosen from broad areas of research, scholarship and creative activity across campus. Attached is a "scoring rubric" consistent with the goals of the REACH Grant Program outlined above, which will guide the committee in its review of applications. Reviews and recommendations will be forwarded to the Office of the Vice President for Research where the final decisions will be made.

Award Conditions

Persons accepting REACH Grant awards will comply with all applicable procedures and regulations.

At the end of the grant period, successful applicants will report their activities and accomplishments to the Office of the Vice President for Research. Awardees are expected to participate in ongoing activities associated with the REACH Grant Program.

A REACH Grant award will be acknowledged in all publications and presentations and, as appropriate, in applications for further funding.

Procedure for Submitting Proposals

Before using the form, please ensure that you have the most current version of (free) Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

Please note that the first page of the form is essentially blank — just scroll down. Also, you can fill the form out online and print it. Or, you can save it to your hard drive for later editing (but test that on your system to make sure).

You will need to print the form and obtain signatures of all lead investigators before submission via email, fax or hard copy. Please note that you may see an online "Submit Form" button at the top right on the application form. This button is NOT live; there is no email attached to it. You cannot submit the form using this button.

Proposals must be submitted via email to cynthia.forehand@uvm.edu no later than 18 February 2013.

Applicants must use the application form. The form includes a cover page with abstract, the budget and budget justification and a description of the requirements for preparation of a document with a project description section limited to 3 single-spaced pages (excluding references), a bibliography, and an abbreviated CV or resume limited to 4 pages each for all faculty members involved in the project.

Decisions will be announced by 1 April 2013.

Questions?

Please contact Cynthia Forehand at cynthia.forehand@uvm.edu or 656-9028 with any questions.