Policy Procedures & Guidelines

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Proposal Submission Guidelines

The University provides support for research in the areas of science, engineering, medicine, and business with the aim of promoting productive investigation and creative scholarship. The following guidelines describe the pre and post award process and types of funding available including guidelines for writing proposals and relevant downloadable forms.

Funding
Pre-award
Post-award
Guidelines for writing proposals
Forms

1. Funding of Research

There are several ways to fund research projects either through the University’s internal budget or through externally funded programs or projects such as Research Chairs, Centers and Grants. This section gives a description of each.

1.1. Internal Research Funding Process

This type of support takes two forms; start-up funds and regular internal grants. Start-up funding is dedicated to new faculty to help initiate their research capability and is a one time event. Such funding comes from the University’s central research budget. Newly appointed faculty, can apply for start-up funding directly through their college by filling out the Start up Application Form (Form SUFA08). Requests must include justification and a start-up fund plan (such as intended equipment, research fields, supplies, and potential required space). Approval is recommended by VP OOR with final approval by Provost.

Faculty may apply for regular longer term support by filling out an Internal Research Proposal Application (Form IRPA08). This is competitive in nature and must fall under one of the University’s priority research areas. Faculty has the option of filling out a Pre-proposal Application (Form PPA08) in order to get preliminary feedback before completing a full application. The Internal Research Budget is intended to:

Provide continuity for research especially at the start up phase.
Fund tuition and salary of graduate students.
Purchase essential equipment for research labs.

The submission process for a regular internal grant consists of the following

Faculty prepares Internal Research Proposal Application (IRPA08)
OOR Reviews Proposals for Correct Format
Proposal Evaluation (Research Committee as per Alfaisal criteria)
Approval & Funding by VP OOR and Provost

1.2. External Research Funding Process (Download Guideline)

Office of Research encourages and supports faculty to submit proposals to granting and funding agencies to achieve the University’s mission. Such research projects originate mainly from faculty members. The funding is managed by the faculty member(s) involved. Overhead charges - i.e. indirect costs, may be incurred for such grants.

The submission process for external funding consists of the following:

Faculty Submits Proposals according to the funding agency guidelines
OOR Initial Review of Proposals for Correct Format for Submission
Approval & Funding
Funding Allocated to Faculty

Useful External Funding Sources

KACST www.kacst.edu
CORDIS http://cordis.europa.eu/en/home.html

2. Pre- award Process for Internal Research Funding

The following guidelines describe research eligibility, the proposal route and the pre-award phase and are provided to assist faculty conducting research at Alfaisal University.

2.1 Eligibility
Alfaisal faculty of professorial ranking are eligible to submit research proposals for funding.

2.2 Proposal Route
Research Proposals must be routed to ensure the following: Proposed project is recommended at departmental/college level with respect to effect on teaching load, total release time, availability of sufficient resources (equipment/facilities), identification of (human/animal subject use & biohazards/rDNA) and compliance with ethical standards and best practices; and to ensure that the proposal is consistent with department/college objectives; and that all costs are included.

2.3 Preparing a Proposal
Proposals for conducting research at Alfaisal are made by filling out the Internal Research Proposal Application (Form IRPA08) which is comprised of three parts: (see guidelines on writing proposals for further information)

Proposals for conducting research must be submitted in hard as well as soft copy. The Internal Research Proposal Application (Form IRPA08) is available through the University’s public folders and OOR webpage and is comprised of three parts:
Part I: COVER PAGE: The cover page which includes the name and titles of PI and Co-PI the title of the research, date of submission, a summary and signatures.
Part II: OUTLINE OF PROPOSED RESEARCH: (10 page maximum, font Arial, size 12, spacing 1.5) Suggested contents; justification, literature review, objectives, methodology, expected results, project timeline and expected start & end dates. If applicable, use of human or animal subjects and/or biohazardous materials must be accompanied by relevant forms
Part III: BUDGET: For each year indicate salaries, tuition, equipment, materials and supplies, travel, consultants, other related costs. Attach budget narrative for each year which justifies all costs.

A short CV should be attached for each investigator. A sample form is included or investigators can use their own.

2.4 Proposal Submission
Upon submission of the completed proposal (hard & soft copies) and required documentation, OOR will provide the PI with a Proposal Receipt. This should be used as a reference when enquiring about the status of proposals.

2.5 Review Process
Evaluation of research proposals is conducted by three external subject matter experts. Final approval is obtained from the University Research Council. The technical review is based on the following: scholarly merit and viability of proposed project; justification and purpose of project; expertise and ability of researcher(s); availability of equipment and availability of funds

2.6 Award Notification
Once the proposal has been reviewed, the Office of Research (OOR) will communicate the Council’s decision to the PI.

3. Post-award Process for Internal Research Funding

Once a project has been approved a research account will be opened by the Office of Research. This section describes the post-award process: award notification, reporting, and account closure processes.

3.1 Award Notice
An award notice will be forwarded to the PI with the award number, start and expiration dates and funding amount. It will also outline the payment terms and conditions, reporting timeline which must be signed by the PI. Continuation of payment is automatic, if progress reports are satisfactory, in accordance to the payment terms notification and reporting timeline.

3.2 Reporting
Interim reports are submitted annually by the PI. Reporting must be conducted and submitted by the PI as per the timeline provided. These should reflect progress and obstacles in the research including a tabulated report on fund expenditure. The report is reviewed by both internal and external evaluators to ensure progress and appropriate allocation of funds. Accordingly, the interim progress reports are submitted to OOR for release of funds in accordance with the timeline notification.

3.3 Account Closure
Upon completion of the research, the PI submits a final report. This is evaluated by the Advisory Research Committee which submits its report to the University Research Council, upon which the account is formally closed.

4. Guidelines for writing proposals

Applicants may use the Internal Research proposal Application form (IRPA08) for submitting proposals.

The following are suggested guidelines for areas that should be covered in the proposal application:

4.1 Justification:

Briefly describe the need for doing this type of research. What research priority area will it address? How will the successful completion of the proposed study help society at large?

4.2 Literature review:

Provide a brief critical review of refereed publications in the proposed area of research with an emphasis on shortcomings and needs. This part sets the stage for the objectives.

4.3 Objectives:

What is the long term goal of this research? What are the specific goals of the proposed project (use point form)?

4.4 Methodology:

Describe in detail how you propose to do the work. Use the specific goals as a guide for developing subheadings for this section.

4.5 Expected results:

Briefly describe what results you expect and how this will help to address the problem outlined in the research priority area.

4.6 Project timeline:

Using a bar chart, indicate how long (in months) each specific objective will take to be achieved.

4.7 Investigator Short C.V:

A short C.V must be attached to the proposal, a sample can be viewed in the Internal Research Proposal Application.

4.8 Proposal Budget:

A budget narrative for each year explaining /justifying specific coasts must be attached. The budget includes the following:

Salaries and Wages
Capital Equipment
Materials and Supplies
Travel
Other Direct Costs
Indirect Costs

5. Forms

The following application forms can be downloaded, filled out and submitted electronically. Pre-proposal forms are submitted directly through the colleges.

Internal Research Proposal Application (IRPA08)
Startup Funding Application (SUFA08)
Pre-Proposal Application (PPA08)