SFA Home / Policies

Research Enhancement Program (A-39)

Original Implementation: September 1965
Last Revision:  April 17, 2012

The Research Enhancement Program at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) is intended to encourage and enhance research and creative opportunities for faculty members, serve as support for innovative research, and provide seed monies to attract external funding.

The Research Enhancement Program consists of two components: the Faculty Research Grant Program and the Minigrant Program. The Faculty Research Grant Program provides substantive support for research and scholarly creative activities. Minigrants provide an opportunity for faculty to carry out small projects or preliminary research activities that will increase their competitiveness in acquiring Faculty Research Grants and/or external funding.

Individuals with a full-time academic appointment as professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, and librarian I-IV are eligible to apply for Faculty Research Grants and Minigrants.

  1. Faculty Research Grant Program

    1. The University Research Council establishes guidelines for proposal development, criteria for evaluating proposals, and conditions of eligibility. These are posted annually by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and include the following provisions:
      1. Faculty Research Grants shall not be awarded for the purpose of obtaining advanced academic degrees. Faculty Research Grants shall not be used to fund master’s theses or dissertations. This does not preclude the use of Faculty Research Grant funds to hire graduate assistants to assist faculty members with their research or creative endeavors.
      2. Except in extraordinary circumstances, an applicant is limited to either a Faculty Research Grant or Minigrant award in a fiscal year.
      3. Faculty Research Grant funds shall not be used to supplant funding for research activities or equipment provided by another source. This does not preclude the use of Faculty Research Grant funds for purposes of matching external awards.
      4. Researchers who have access to research funds from other sources are encouraged to exhaust all alternative funding pathways prior to applying for a Faculty Research Grant.
      5. In the expenditure of Faculty Research Grant funds, a recipient is subject to applicable university policies and local, state and federal regulations.
      6. For research projects that will involve the use of human subjects, laboratory animals, or hazardous materials, the applicant must, prior to funding, provide a memorandum of approval from the chair of the appropriate university committee.
      7. A Faculty Research Grant recipient must submit progress and final reports as required by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Any publication, presentation, or exhibition resulting from a Faculty Research Grant shall acknowledge that the project was supported by an SFA Faculty Research Grant.
      8. Copies of publications or other appropriate media that document a published work or exhibition shall be filed by the project director with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and with the East Texas Research Center in the Steen Library.
    2. The University Research Council makes recommendations for funding to the chair of the council who then obtains approval for funding from the provost and vice president for academic affairs.
    3. Research Enhancement Program funds remaining in a fiscal year after Faculty Research Grants have been awarded shall be used to fund the Minigrant Program.

  2. Minigrant Program

    1. The director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs awards Minigrants based on criteria developed by the University Research Council.
    2. Minigrant awards criteria and application materials are posted annually by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

 

 

Cross Reference: Intellectual Property (D-20); Academic Appointments and Titles (E-1A); Tex. Educ. Code § 141; 7 U.S.C. §§ 2131-2139; 9 CFR § 3; Title 17 of U.S.C.; 37 CFR §§ 203-204; Title 35 of U.S.C.; 42 U.S.C. §§ 289-289g-3; 45 CFR § 46

Responsible for Implementation: Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Contact for Revision: Director, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

Forms: None

Board Committee Assignment: Academic and Student Affairs