Research Advancement Grants

• Tier 1 (up to $5,000): designed for early-stage, preliminary, or feasibility-stage work, with priority given to new and early-career faculty.
• Tier 2 (up to $15,000): designed for well-developed projects with a clear trajectory toward external funding.
• Supports a broad range of scholarly activity — creative projects, new and ongoing research, grant proposal development, and pilot/preliminary research. Not limited to a single discipline or methodology.

The Research Advancement Grants program exists to help Radow College faculty move their research to a level of competitiveness for external funding, regardless of the stage at which they start. Early-career or newly hired faculty, or those testing a feasibility question, can enter through Tier 1 without needing to compete against fully developed proposals; faculty with a well-articulated, externally fundable research trajectory can apply directly to Tier 2 for a larger investment. Tier 1 projects are explicitly encouraged to mature into future Tier 2 applications, and Tier 2 projects are expected to move toward actual external submission, including through the college’s External Grant Development Award.

General eligibility (both tiers):

• Full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty member in Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences, in good standing.
• Proposed activity may include creative work, new or ongoing research, grant proposal development, or pilot/preliminary research.
• Applicants must specify which tier they are applying to and meet that tier’s specific criteria below; faculty may apply to only one tier per project per cycle.

Tier 1 Eligibility ($5,000 maximum) :

• Appropriate for early-stage or preliminary work, feasibility studies, or the initial development of a new research project or creative direction.
• Open to faculty of any rank, with priority consideration for new and early-career faculty (i.e., those in their first several years at the institution or in the early stages of a research agenda).
• Does not require prior extramural funding or an extensive publication record; project potential and clarity of the feasibility question are the primary considerations.

Tier 2 Eligibility ($15,000 maximum) :

• Appropriate for well-developed projects with a clear, articulable trajectory toward external funding (e.g., a named target sponsor/mechanism, or substantial preliminary data already in hand).
• Applicants should demonstrate a research record or project development stage sufficient to justify the larger investment (e.g., a prior Tier 1 award, existing preliminary data, or a documented research history).
• Applicants must describe how Tier 2 funding will move the project measurably closer to an external submission; this award funds development, not the submission itself, though it may feed directly into External Grant Development Award activity.
• A Tier 1 awardee may apply for a Tier 2 award for the same project in a subsequent cycle once it has matured.

1. Tier Selection: Applicant identifies the appropriate tier (Tier 1 or Tier 2) based on project maturity, using the eligibility guidance above.
2. Application Submission: Completed application submitted via the college’s designated system (e.g., InfoReady or email to the Radow College Associate Dean of Research) by the posted deadline.
3. Required Components (scaled by tier):
   –    Tier 1: Project narrative (2–3 pages) describing the research or creative question and the feasibility plan; itemized budget up to $5,000; CV or biosketch.
   –    Tier 2: Project narrative (4–6 pages) describing the research program, prior progress, and external funding trajectory; identification of a target external sponsor/mechanism (if known); itemized budget up to $15,000; CV or biosketch.
4. Internal Review: Applications will be reviewed by the Research Advancement Award Committee using the tier-appropriate Evaluation Rubric; Tier 1 and Tier 2 applications are reviewed by separate sub-panels to ensure fair, stage-appropriate comparison.
5. Notification & Award Setup: Successful applicants will be notified in writing via email; funding will be made available through the college’s research administration process. 

Tier 1 and Tier 2 applications are evaluated separately so that early-stage and advanced proposals are judged against appropriate standards rather than competing directly with one another. The Tier 1 review emphasizes the promise and feasibility of a new or preliminary direction, with intentional openness to new and early-career faculty. The Tier 2 review emphasizes demonstrated project maturity and the credibility of the path to external funding. In both tiers, the review considers significance, feasibility, and budget appropriateness, but the relative weighting differs to reflect what each tier is designed to reward. See the tier-specific rubrics below.

Tier 1 Rubric ($5,000 maximum)

Total: 100%. Minimum threshold score for funding recommendation to be determined by the reviewer.

Tier 2 Rubric ($15,000 maximum)

Total: 100%. Minimum threshold score for funding recommendation to be determined by the reviewer.

Examples of Allowable Expenses (Both Tiers, Scaled to Award Size):

• Summer salary in June.
• Preliminary or pilot data collection, including materials, supplies, and participant costs.
• Consultant fees (methodological, statistical, technical, or creative-practice expertise).
• Graduate or undergraduate research assistant support.
• Travel for research, archival access, fieldwork, or collaborator coordination directly tied to the project.
• Specialized software, equipment rental, or data/licensing costs required for the project.

Not Allowable :

• Conference Travel (please request this support from your Department).
• General departmental operating costs unrelated to the specific project.
• Equipment purchases not directly justified by the project’s aims.
• Retroactive reimbursement for activities completed prior to award notification.
• Indirect/overhead costs (award is direct-cost only unless otherwise specified by the college).
• Tier 1 requests exceeding $5,000 or Tier 2 requests exceeding $15,000.
• Use of funds for activities unrelated to the stated, tier-appropriate project.
  All funding must be expended or encumbered by the date noted in your written award notification and is subject to standard institutional budget and procurement policies.

• Tier 1 Primary Deliverable: Completion of the described feasibility or preliminary work, with a brief final report describing outcomes and next steps, including, where applicable, an intent to apply for Tier 2 or another Radow research award in a future cycle.
• Tier 2 Primary Deliverable: Demonstrated progress toward external funding readiness, with a final report describing project outcomes, preliminary data or products generated, and the status of the external funding trajectory (e.g., planned submission, use of the External Grant Development Award).
• Interim Reporting: A brief progress update at the midpoint of the award period is required for Tier 2 awards; optional for Tier 1 given its shorter, smaller scope.
• Acknowledgment: Any resulting proposal, presentation, or publication should acknowledge Radow College Research Advancement Grant support.
• Non-Completion: Awardees who do not complete the described activity or submit a final report must provide a written explanation to the Radow College Associate Dean of Research; this may affect eligibility for future awards.
• Strategic Reporting: Aggregate outcomes by tier (number of awards, career stage of Tier 1 recipients, resulting external submissions or awards from Tier 2 recipients) will be reported by the Radow College Associate Dean of Research to track the program’s role in building an internal pipeline toward external funding.