welcome to this webinar on the
undergraduate research creative projects
grant program
my name is susan ericson west and during
this webinar
i will be sharing with you information
about the u_ r_ c_p_ grant program
and tips to help you develop a strong
competitive proposal
the undergraduate research creative
projects grant programs designed to
provide financial support
for original research and other creative
projects by students under the
mentorship of a ksc faculty member
it should be noted that undergraduate
research takes many forms and can look
different from discipline to discipline
for example in the arts
it might mean engaging in the creative
process to create new works that reflect
and comment on the human condition like
making a film
in physical sciences it might be
mean working in the laboratory
in the social sciences it might mean
conducting observational or survey work
in the humanities it might mean
critically reading a body of work and
synthesizing it in a new way
offering a new understanding on a theme
or topic
or perhaps the uncovering the relevance
of previously under-appreciated archival
materials
in the profession's it might mean
designing innovative products
collecting or analyzing physiological
data aimed at improving health
are carrying out research to inform
public policy
all of these activities are forms of
undergraduate research and encouraged at
KSC
urcp grants have a maximum award
seven hundred and fifty dollars
or up to fifteen hundred dollars for a
project involving two or more students
working collaboratively
in terms eligibility all students
currently enrolled ksc are eligible
to apply
students must be working with the
faculty mentor throughout the project as
well as the proposal process
proposals for u r c p grants are
accepted four times during the academic
year
this years submission deadlines are
october third two thousand eleven
november twenty eighth two thousand
eleven
february six two thousand twelve
and april ninth two thousand twelve
proposals are submitted electronically
and must be submitted no later than five
p_m_ on the deadline date
you may be asking yourself where do i go
to get the most up-to-date information
about urcp grants
information can be found on the o_s_
p_r_ website at the following link
by going to this link you'll find a
webpage that has tabbed
areas that will give you
all the information that you need
regarding the u_ r_ c_p_ grant program
the next question you might have it
how do i make my urcp grant
proposal competitive
here are a few thoughts and tips for you
to consider
somethings keep in mind
internal does not mean
informal
even though it this is an internal grant
program you're still requesting that the
sponsor k_s_c_
give you money to conduct research or
do a creative project
your proposal should be every bit as
well constructed and as strong as any
external grant or paper you might submit
for publication
and now some proposal preparation tips
first and foremost give yourself enough
time
putting together a strong grant proposal
takes time to develop the project and
to construct the proposal
don't try to do this at the last
minute
carefully read the information on the
website
make sure that you understand the
guidelines and that your project meets guideline
requirements
tabbed section of the
urcp website is
noted as proposal submission guidelines
this tab can give you a
a lot of information
that is important in putting
together your grant proposal
one piece of information that you might
want to look at is to read the specific preview forum
for your research creative project
these are found right here on the
website the undergraduate research
review form in the undergraduate
creative project review form
these review forms are used by the
review committee to rate all proposals
make sure that your proposal addresses
each of the criteria on the review form
we have also included
included examples of several recent
successful grant proposals on our
website
more proposal preparation tips
work with your faculty sponsor
we find that proposals which students
worked with their faculty mentor sponsor
are stronger than those which had a
little to no faculty
involvement
your faculty mentor can help support you
in defining your project
reading drafts of your proposal
helping you to plan out a budget for
your project
please note that all of URCP
proposal applications are required to
have to a faculty mentor letter of
support
speaking to the nature of the project
the qualifications of the student
the faculty members role in working with
the student on the project
this letter must be signed by the
faculty member
and submitted prior to the proposal
deadline
applications submitted without a faculty
endorsement will not be reviewed for
consideration
and more proposal preparation tips
follow the instructions and use the
appropriate application form
and proof read your work and have others
proofread it for you
it sounds like simplistic tips but it's
a simple stuff back and badly impact your
proposal
proofreading it's particularly important
because by the time you
submit your proposal you spent so much
time on writing it you know what it
says
have other people look at your proposal
with fresh eyes
and help you to proofread for both
content and clarity
now let's go through the components of
the application
from the website
you'll find links to
the application forms for both research
and creative project grants
the links below
connected to a word document
where you'll see grey boxes
where if you click on the box
and type
you'll be able to enter information
the first
the first component of the application
is the abstract
this should be a brief description with
what the project is
what you hope to accomplish
and why it's important work to be done
the abstract can be entered into this
box here
and again should be about
two hundred and fifty words or less
project abstracts of awarded proposals
will be published on the ospr website
so make sure your abstract is clear
and concise
and well-written
the next important component the
application is the project narrative
this section has been broken up
into specific areas
of information that the committee wants
to see information on
these include
a description of the proposed project
project goals and objectives
or what you hope to accomplish
the background information
and literature review
methodology how you plan to do the work
of the project
and finally project timeline
section two of the application ask for a
bibliography of references cited in the
project narrative
section three of the application is
for the project budget
by double clicking
on the budget form
you will bring up an excel budget
template
where you can enter
your expenses onto it
and automatically total your budget
in developing your budget
make sure your expenses are specific and
accurate as possible
strong well-prepared budget is an
important component to a successful
proposal
the application will ask you if you've
received previous funding either from the
urcp grant
or another sponsor
for this particular project
if the answer to this question is yes
you'll be asked to identify all previous
funding that has been received and the
outcomes funding for that project
the budget justification in section four
allows you to explain and provide further context to the project budget but
in a narrative form
for example
if your project involves copying the
surveys as we 
put under
the supply line
you could include the explanation at
five hundred copies three page survey
at 4 cents a copy
equalling sixty dollars
an example of a budget justification
for travel might be
roundtrip mileage keen to boston to
conduct a research interview
two hundred and thirty miles
times fifty one cents a mile equals one
hundred and seventeen dollars and thirty
cents
section five of the application includes
a number of compliance issues and
questions
we asked all applicants to respond to
you
if your project
involves the use of hazardous materials
you'll be asked to include a statement
how you will safely work
and dispose of hazardous materials
projects involving the use of human
subjects or vertebrate animals require
additional review and approval
in order to comply with federal
guidelines regulating their use in
research
if you answered yes to either of these
questions
please contact the office sponsored
projects in research
further information regarding submitting
a request
for irb or iacuc approval
as previously mentioned 
the last component
to the application is the faculty mentor
letter of support
this letter must be in writing and signed by
your faculty mentor
and should address the nature of the
project qualifications with student
and the faculty members role in working
with the student on the project
this letter can be submitted by the
student with the application
or can be forwarded to the ospr
office
by the faculty members directly
however it must arrive before the
submission deadline
applications received without the
faculty endorsement will not be
reviewed for consideration by the
committee
in terms of review of proposals
six-member committee of faculty
two faculty from each academic school
review all proposals and make award
decisions
and applicants can expect to be
notified at their awards status within
two to three weeks of the application
submission deadline
in terms of post award requirements
students receiving a u_ r_ c_p_ grant
are expected to present at the academic
excellence conference at keene state in
the spring it each year
if the timeline of the award or the
project will not allow the student to
present at the aec
the student may present their work in
another public forum
we asked the students notify the ospr in writing
if they will not be presenting at the
aec but
will be presenting another public forum
other information you should be aware of
regarding awarded grants
all small equipment and supplies purchased with grant funds become the property of keene
state college
and must relate directly to
and/or be consumed by the project
and finally
a new internal grant program that ksc is now offering for students wishing
to work on research over the summer
it's summer undergraduate research
fellowship
or SURF
this program offers a limited number of
fellowships each summer
that allowed talented students
to spend a portion of their summer
conducting research or carrying out a
creative project
that makes an original contribution to
their chosen discipline
extending learning beyond the academic
year
applications for this program
due march first of two thousand
twelve
and more information about the program
can be found on the ospr website
at w_w_w_ dot kean dot e_d_u_ backslash
grants
backslash surf dot c f m
thank you for taking the time to
participate in this webinar
if you have questions regarding the u_r_
c_p_ grant program
or the surf fellowship
please contact me i can be reached by
email swest at keene dot e_d_u_
or via phone at three five eight two  zero four
six
thanks and have a nice day
