Policies
Cost-sharing
The Office of Research and Engagement will cover 60 percent of a cost share, with the remaining 40 percent to be agreed on by lower levels. In general, the college will contribute to cost sharing. We must have a discussion with the PI and the department whenever cost sharing is a component of the budget. The earlier this topic is raised, the better. Ideally, cost sharing should be discussed while the budget is being developed. A cost share request that is for less than the amount of F&A to be retained by the college is likely to be approved. Cost sharing requiring larger contributions from the college will need detailed discussion and negotiation.
For more information, visit research.utk.edu/funding/cost-sharing-on-external-proposals.
Accumulation of Vacation Pay
All twelve-month employees, including twelve-month faculty, postdocs, technicians, and staff accrue vacation and sick leave, which are charged to the grant. If the grant ends and the employees have not taken the leave to which they are entitled, it does not go away, and will have to be paid at some point. In such cases departments may be hit with large and uncomfortable bills when employees who have accrued compensable time leave UT. PIs must ensure that employees who are on soft money charge their hours to vacation time when they are not working, and departments must keep an eye on this. The college does not have funds set aside to cover such costs.
Limited Submissions
When the National Science Foundation and other agencies allow a limited number of submissions per university, the Office of Research will announce an internal deadline for preproposals.
For more information, visit research.utk.edu/funding/limited-submission-policy.
Office of Research Workshops
The Office of Research’s Professional Development Program offers training and educational workshops free of charge for faculty, staff, and graduate students who are responsible for or interested in the requirements for funded research.
In FY 2011, the program conducted eighty-one workshops with approximately 1,000 attendees. To request a session in a specific area, please contact oretraining@utk.edu.
For more information, visit research.utk.edu/training-workshops.
NEH Summer Stipend
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Stipend is a competitive program to provide support for faculty members in the humanities to do scholarly work. For more information, visit www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/stipends.
This is the only NEH program that has limited submissions. In years in which more than the number of individuals allowed by NEH wish to submit proposals, the College of Arts and Sciences holds an internal evaluation.
The initial notification is sent out in May. Preproposals are due in August.
If more proposals are submitted than the NEH allows, the associate dean for research will create a committee to evaluate the preproposals. This committee’s membership changes annually, but it usually includes heads from appropriate departments that did not submit preproposals, and previous holders of NEH awards. The committee makes its evaluations early enough to allow the successful proposers adequate time to prepare competitive full proposals.
Those who wish to submit proposals are strongly encouraged to contact Alan Rutenberg for important information on the process.