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Research Enhancement Program (A-39)

Original Implementation: September, 1965
Last Revision:  April 21, 2009

The Research Enhancement Program at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) 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 the acquisition of 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.

I.          Faculty Research Grant Program

  1. The University Research Council establishes guidelines for proposal development, criteria for evaluating proposals, and conditions of eligibility (published annually by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs) that include, at a minimum, the following provisions:
    1. A Faculty Research Grant shall not be awarded for the purpose of obtaining an advanced academic degree. Faculty Research Grants are not intended to fund master’s theses or dissertations. This does not preclude the use of Faculty Research Grant (FRG) 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 one Faculty Research Grant award or a Minigrant award(s) in a single year.
    3. Faculty Research Grant funds may not be used for research activities or equipment funded by another grant. This does not preclude the use of these Faculty Research Grant funds for purposes of matching.
    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 all 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, upon notification of 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 about the project as required by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Any publication, presentation, or exhibition resulting from an FRG shall acknowledge that the project was conducted under an SFASU Faculty Research Grant.  Copies of publications, DVDs, or other appropriate media that constitute documentation of a published work or exhibition shall be filed by the project director with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and with Steen Library.
    8. Each recipient of a Faculty Research Grant is subject to the provisions of, and shall be responsible for adherence to, the university policy on Intellectual Property (Policy D-20), which applies to ". . . intellectual property of all types (including any invention, discovery, trade secret, technology, scientific or technological development, computer software, conception, design, creation or other form of expression of an idea) regardless of whether subject to protection under patent, trademark, or copyright laws or common law." In addition, each recipient shall be responsible for securing and disposing of all other legal claims, such as copyrights, to any publication or other original creation made or conceived in the course of research or other activity supported by a Faculty Research Grant.
  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.

II. 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 published annually by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

 

Cross Reference: University policies D-20, Intellectual Property and E-1A, Academic Appointments and Titles; Texas Education 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