Scholarly Activity Improvement Fund
Category A & B

Purpose

The purpose of the Scholarly Activity Improvement Fund (SAIF) is to promote scholarly activity among the faculty, librarians, and instructional academic staff of UW-Platteville.

Category A funds are to support research activities, scholarship, or creative endeavors which will form the basis of more extensive scholarly activities; Category B funds are to support the writing, revision, and submission of grant proposals to extramural agencies.

• "Research" is categorized as discipline-based, basic (pure) or applied, and/or pedagogical that is qualitative or quantitative in methodology.
• "Scholarship" refers to updating and extending an area of study within the professional life of a faculty member.
• "Creative endeavor" refers to the production of creative work by faculty.

Eligibility

Faculty, librarians, and instructional academic staff who normally teach one-half time or more for the entire academic year and are returning to the university the following year are eligible to apply for SAIF grants. Faculty may receive one SAIF grant - Category A or B - per year. Newly appointed faculty, librarians, and instructional academic staff are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to proposals that address race, ethnicity, diversity and inclusivity in their research.

Time Period

SAIF funds will be available after July 1, 2013 and must be expended by June 30, 2014.

Process

1. SAIF proposal reviews are blind; the cover page is removed before the proposal is sent to the AIRC. Therefore, do not include personal identifying information in the proposal.
2. The proposal should not exceed seven single-sided pages (including all attachments); use a 12-point font, with double spacing and 1-inch margins.
3. The cover page should be printed out, sign it and obtain signatures from the department chair and college dean and send/bring it to OSP, 5th Floor Pioneer Tower. Attach your proposal also for the dean to review.
4. An electronic version (excluding the cover page) should be submitted to osp@uwplatt.edu in either Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat (<10mb) by the OSP due date.
5. When the research involves human participants or animals it must be approved by either the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC), respectively, prior to the onset of data collection.
6. The Office of Sponsored Programs will forward proposals to the AIRC.
7. The AIRC will evaluate the proposals primarily on the basis of their clarity, objectives, methodological integrity, and worth. The AIRC will rank both category A and B proposals.
8. The committee has the discretion to adjust proposal budgets.
9. Projects that actively involve students are strongly encouraged.
10. The AIRC will forward ranked proposals with funding recommendations to the Office of Sponsored Programs by April 5, 2013.
11. The Office of Sponsored Programs will send the AIRC's ranking and recommendations to the provost/vice chancellor by April 12, 2013. The provost/vice chancellor will notify applicants by April 29, 2013.
12. Recipients are required to participate in the annual UW-Platteville Research Poster Day.
13. SAIF grants will be administered by the Office of Sponsored Programs.
14. The grant proposal (Cat B) is due in the Office of Sponsored Programs by May 1, 2014.
15. Final written report are submitted via e-mail attachment to osp@uwplatt.edu by September 1, 2014. The report should describe the results of the project. If the project required approval from the IRB for Human Subjects Research and/or the ACUC for animals, a copy of the approved IRB/ACUC protocol must be attached. Grant applications, publications, or other tangible outcomes of the project should also be attached. Final reports will be sent to the provost/vice chancellor, on file in the Office of Sponsored Programs and posted on the UWP AIRC web page, http://www.uwplatt.edu/committees/airc/index.html.
16. Any faculty, librarian, or instructional academic staff member who fails to submit (1) a final written report and, if applicable, documentation of approval from the IRB or ACUC, and (2) share the results with university colleagues will be ineligible to receive additional funding opportunities in the future, including but not limited to CIF, SAIF, AAF, and sabbaticals.

Restrictions

1. The maximum award for a SAIF project is $4,000. These funds may be used for salary, travel to the sponsoring agency/organization, honorariums, consultants, release time, or other project-related expenses.
2. SAIF funds should not be used in projects which focus on curriculum development, attendance at conferences, workshops, or conventions.
3. SAIF funds cannot be used to support graduate study leading toward a terminal degree. SAIF funds cannot be used to purchase printers, computers or computer monitors, or reproduction costs for CD duplication or self-published research and/or scholarly activity.
4. Faculty, librarians, and instructional academic staff members may receive one SAIF grant - either category A or B - per year.

AMOUNT AVAILABLE: $70,000 UNIVERSITY WIDE (For Both Category A & B)

TIMELINE CATEGORY A & B
SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY IMPROVEMENT FUND (SAIF)