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Faculty Creative Activities and Research (FCAR) Grant Program

Spring 2025
Deadline: Monday, March 17, 2025, 5:00 pm

Files

Request for Proposals (RFP)

Project Narrative and CV Templates

Budget Template

Proposal Submission

Please visit the Syracuse University Application Portal at https://syracuse.infoready4.com/#freeformCompetitionDetail/1963275 to submit your proposal.

Questions

FCAR Grants FAQs

For questions about the FCAR Grant RFP, please contact resdev@syr.edu.

Program Overview

Syracuse University’s Office of Research is pleased to announce the Spring 2025 round for the Faculty Creative Activities and Research (FCAR) Internal Grant Program. The FCAR program will provide up to $5,000 for one-year projects for faculty to engage in research and creative endeavors and increase high-quality scholarly output.

FCAR internal grants will be awarded to full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty members to enhance their creative activities and research. Proposed project activities should be concrete and achievable in one year with the $5,000 of funding. Faculty may propose an achievable component of a larger project, such as completion of a book chapter, film teaser, exhibition design, or subset of experiments; however, completion of the project should not be contingent upon other funding sources that are not yet in place. Applicants must clearly state how the funding will be used and why FCAR funding is critical for the project completion.

Examples of eligible projects include, but are not limited to:

  • Research for book publication projects;
  • Artistic performances;
  • Exhibitions of creative work;
  • Travel to conduct fieldwork or conduct research at an archive, special collection, or specialized facility;
  • Efforts to obtain preliminary data or demonstrate feasibility of an approach or method;
  • Workshops to directly enhance the PI’s research and creative activity; and
  • Purchase of software, supplies, or equipment that supports research and creative activities.

Projects that are not eligible for FCAR funding include:

  • Travel to conferences;
  • Costs associated with publication such as subvention, copy editing, indexing, and open access fees;
  • Hosting seminar series or speakers for departmental seminars;
  • Projects related to curriculum development or evaluation; and
  • Projects that cannot be fully completed in the budget and timeline for the FCAR program ($5,000 and 1 year)

If FCAR requests exceed the amount of funding available, assistant and associate professors seeking promotion will be prioritized for funding. Faculty with a clear opportunity for funding support from large external sponsor programs such as the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health should not apply to FCAR.

Applicants must provide information on all internal funding currently held. Existing internal funds from startup, indirect costs returns, and school or college awards/research bourses should be utilized or committed to the maximum extent possible before applying to FCAR. If internal funds are committed to other projects, applicants should provide such an explanation in the current and pending support document. Faculty with significant existing internal funding should not apply to this program.

Please review the Frequently Asked Questions posted on the Office of Research website for additional information. Abstracts of prior FCAR projects may be found on the Office of Research Development’s SharePoint page (login required). Applicants may contact the Office of Research Development (ORD) at resdev@syr.edu for questions regarding the suitability of their proposed project. ORD staff are not able to provide reviews of any proposal drafts.

Eligibility

All full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty members may apply to the FCAR Program and serve as Principal Investigators (PIs) or Co-PIs on awards. Individuals are limited to submitting one application per funding cycle as PI. Up to 3 Syracuse University Co-PIs per application are allowed. As noted above, this round of FCAR targets funding for assistant and associate professors seeking promotion.

All PIs who have received prior funding from the Office of Research must be compliant with requests for final reports. PIs of active FCAR grants or who are still in the outcomes reporting period for a closed FCAR project are not eligible for this program as PI or Co-PI.

Funding and Project Duration

Faculty may request up to $5,000 in funding from the FCAR Program. FCAR projects are awarded for one calendar year and PIs may only hold one active FCAR project at a time.

Funds for Spring 2025 applications will be available starting approximately May 1, 2025, and must be expended within one year of the award date. Funds will be provided on a reimbursement basis to the PI’s school or college. Unspent funds will be retained by the Office of Research at the end of the one-year project period. The total anticipated funding for this cycle is $75,000.

Budget

Applications must provide a budget using the provided template. Justification for costs must be included for each line item. Examples of allowable costs include:

  • Travel
  • Purchased services
  • Consultant costs
  • Materials, supplies, software, or equipment purchases
  • Human subject payments
  • User facility fees
  • Salary for graduate students and/or other personnel
  • Publication/documentation/dissemination costs

Unallowable costs include:

  • Salary (academic year or summer salary), stipends, or honoraria to Syracuse University faculty
  • Subcontracts to external institutions
  • Purchase contracts that exceed the duration of the grant
  • Tuition
  • Office supplies, reference books, subscriptions, memberships, laptop computers, iPads, software, desktop computers, or computer peripherals (e.g., printers, data storage, etc.). Project-specific computers and/or project-specific software package(s) are allowed if predominately used for the project, but a strong justification must be provided.

Requests which primarily include support for undergraduate research and creative activities should be made to the Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Engagement (The SOURCE).

Application Materials

  1. Application form (online) – Sign into the application page using the Syracuse University Login option. Complete the Application details screen (name and email will pre-fill):
    1. PI appointment title, school/college, and department/center/institute
    2. Proposal title
    3. Total funding request
    4. Project summary: Include a non-technical summary of no more than 250 words in the text box provided. These summaries may be shared publicly by the Office of Research.
  2. Project Narrative (PDF format) – 3 pages. The Project Narrative should include the following information: Significance and Contribution; Concepts and Methods; Work Plan; Competencies, Skills, and Access; and Final Product and Dissemination. You may include no more than one page of references/works cited on a separate page, which does not count in the three-page limit for the narrative. The document should be single-spaced text, 11-point font or larger, 1” margins. A recommended template is provided in the InfoReady system with more detailed requirements.
  3. Curriculum vitae (CV) (PDF format) – up to 5 pages per PI/Co-PI. Provide a CV or biographical sketch for each PI/Co-PI. A recommended template is provided in the InfoReady system with more detailed requirements.
  4. Current and Pending Support (PDF Format) – no page limit. Include current and pending funding for the PI from internal and external sources, if any. This should include the source of support, the amount of funding, if it is current or pending, and any overlap with the proposed project. Provide information, including dollar amounts, on any internal funds, including startup funding, research bourses, and travel funding available to the PI and Co-PI(s). If all internal funds are committed to other projects, applicants should provide such an explanation. Applications that do not comply with this requirement will be returned without review. If there is no funding available, write NONE and submit the document. A recommended template is provided in the InfoReady system with more detailed requirements.
  5. Budget (PDF format) – Submit a budget using the provided template. Justification for costs must be included for each line item. Save the Excel file as a PDF file for upload.

PDF documents should be provided where noted. Uploading Word or Excel documents may change the page count and make your submission non-compliant.

Review and Evaluation

Proposals will be reviewed by ORD staff and faculty representatives and will be based on the following criteria:

  • Significance and Contribution: Is the project intellectually significant? Are the ideas, problems, and/or research questions being addressed clear? What value does it offer to the faculty member’s disciplinary field(s) and/or general audiences?
  • Concepts and Methods: Is the project’s conception, definition, organization, and description clearly articulated? Is the methodology sound and indicate project success?
  • Work Plan/Budget Justification: Does the work plan provide sufficient detail on what will be accomplished during the project period? Does the proposal specify how the funding will be used? Is the work plan and timeline feasible, appropriate, and supported by a well-justified budget?
  • Competencies, Skills, Access, and Support/CV: Is the applicant well-qualified to carry out the proposed work and have the means to do so if funded?
  • Final Product(s) and Dissemination: What is the likelihood of achieving project final product(s)? How strong is the dissemination plan for its intended audience(s)?

Limited comments will be provided to those who are not funded under this round of FCAR.

Reporting

A final report is required and is due one month after the conclusion of the award year. An outcomes report is due one year after the conclusion of the award to capture project outcomes. Required information in these reports will include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Brief description of work accomplished, activities completed, and results to date; and
  • Listing of products generated and disseminated, such as publications, presentations, exhibitions, and events.

PIs with reports that are outstanding for more than 60 days after the due date will be ineligible for future funding from the Office of Research intramural funding program until reports are completed.

Anticipated Project Period and Timeline

Applications due: Monday, March 17, 2025
Notification of awards: late-April 2025
Project start date: May 1, 2025
Project end date: April 30, 2026
Final reports due: May 31, 2026
Outcomes reports due: April 30, 2027

Questions

Questions regarding the FCAR Program should be directed to ORD at resdev@syr.edu