This is a call for exploratory research grants that are faculty‐led. This type of grant is exploratory in nature and as such is meant to be flexible and to follow a low overhead process (application process and reporting).
Scope
The exploratory research grant is designed to complement the funds one can obtain from a University Research Board (URB) grant, and to allow one to spend on budget lines that are otherwise restricted under URB. For example, faculty members who are funded by a URB grant, should avoid including a travel budget line in their proposal, and instead can plan to spend on the following budget lines:
- Protected Time (summer pay)
- Travel
- Minor quipment
- Proposal and/or Paper Editing
- Other, such as Hiring consultants to support writing grants; costs for the organization of workshops, tutorials, conferences, hackathons, etc...
Application Process & Reporting
Applications are to be submitted by individual faculty members (Full‐time professorial rank faculty of all ranks not on leave). A faculty member can submit only one proposal per call. Project duration is for one year. The application is a two‐page note including:
Name of PI
Summary of proposed concept, including an explanation of how the requested funded categories/items map to the intended research activities for the year.
A timeline
Expected impact and outputs (include at least one objective measure of success).
Budget with justification
Description of any current URB grant. Please list the topic and desired outcomes of any current URB you hold, as well as the duration of the grant. Also list any URB grant you applied for and was not awarded.
Reporting at the end of the project includes:
Listing the outputs accomplished,
Details of how the funds were spent,
Proposed research in the near future to follow up on the achieved outputs.
Review Process
The applications will initially be evaluated by the MSFEA Research Committee, which will make its recommendations to a committee consisting of the dean team (dean and associate deans) and the chair of the MSFEA Research Committee. Applications will be scored based on the expected impact of the proposed activity on the faculty member’s research progress and how well the proposed work aligns with MSFEA mission and vision. Factors that are not considered in the evaluation include the professorial rank of the faculty member and whether the faculty member is applying soon for tenure/promotion.
Important: Faculty members who received previous exploratory grants (concept notes) must have submitted their closing progress report to apply for a new grant. Performance on previous exploratory grants will be weighed during the evaluation process.
Funds
The total requested funds by the concept note are limited to $14k USD. Funds cannot be used for items already covered by operational budget or from other sources. Awarded funds are external USD and can be used for:
- Faculty salary (summer) (limited to 1 month)
or course buy‐out (requires chairperson approval)
- Equipment and materials
- Travel and transportation
In case a faculty member goes on leave without pay during the one-year time frame of the project, unspent funds will return to the initiative.
Timeline
The following timeline will be observed for the upcoming exploratory research grant proposals. Submissions of the exploratory research proposals (at msfea@aub.edu.lb) are due on September 29, which will be evaluated until the October 27. On the first of November the awards will be notified, and you may begin work. The final summative progress reports are due on October 1, 2024. Reporting at the end of the project is limited to listing the outputs accomplished and those that are expected in the future.
