Cohen Peace Fellowship Program: February 1

The call to submit proposals for the 2012 Benjamin V. Cohen Peace Fellowship. The Fellowship provides support to conduct basic or applied research on topics related to peace.

For the 2011-12 academic year, Ball State faculty members AND graduate students are eligible to apply!

For faculty members, funds may be used for salary, supplies, expenses, and/or travel. Preference will be given to tenure track faculty members at Ball State University.

For graduate students, funds may be used for assistantship stipend, supplies, expenses, and/or travel and may also include tuition remission during the academic time period of the fellowship.

Completed applications and all required materials are due to the Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) by 5:00 PM on February 1, 2012. SPO will route the University Clearance Sheet and forward the completed applications to the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies. The Cohen Proposal Evaluation Committee will then review the proposals.

For more information on how to apply for the fellowship, visit the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies website.

EPA P3 Competition Open!

EPA's P3 – People, Prosperity, and the Planet—Program is a unique college competition for designing solutions for a sustainable future. P3 offers students quality hands-on experience that brings their classroom learning to life. The EPA considers projects that address challenges from a wide range of categories: agriculture, built environment, materials and chemicals, energy, and water.

The P3 Award competition is a two-phase team contest. In the first phase, interdisciplinary student teams compete for $15,000 grants. Recipients use the money to research and develop their design projects during the academic year.

In the spring, all teams submit their reports and proposals, and then bring their projects to Washington, DC for judging by a panel of experts convened by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Judging takes place at the annual National Sustainable Design Expo on the National Mall.

Scores from the reports, proposals and the presentations on the Mall are combined into a final overall score for each P3 team. Based on these scores, the AAAS judges recommend to EPA which teams should receive the EPA P3 Award and the opportunity for Phase II funding - a $90,000 grant for real world application.

Applications will be accepted through Dec. 22, 2011.

For more information and guidelines, please visit the P3 website or contact your SPO Proposal Manager. 

Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute Opportunities

The new Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute — an independent, nonprofit, non-governmental institute funded by the Affordable Care Act of 2010 — is committed to a rigorous, stakeholder-driven process that emphasizes patient engagement.

There are two ways to become involved immediately:

Apply for PCORI Pilot Project Grants, which have a threefold purpose:

• First, to assist PCORI with ongoing development of national research priorities for patient-centered outcomes research. Applicants will be expected to establish the significance of the proposed research and build a case for why it should be considered a guiding question for research agenda setting strategies that can be used in future comparative effectiveness research. 
• Second, the program will support the collection of preliminary data that can be used to advance the field of patient-centered outcomes research. 
• And third, PCORI seeks methodologies that can be used to advance patient-centered outcomes research and identify gaps where methodological research needs further development.

Letters of intent are required by November 1, 2011 and invited proposals are due by December 1, 2011.

Become a reviewer for the PCORI Pilot Project Grant Program. PCORI executive director Joe Selby says “the program is looking for patients, scientists, and other stakeholders who are not usually represented in scientific review groups to serve as reviewers of the pilot projects grants applications.” The institute is particularly interested in individuals who have interest in or experience with one or more of the eight areas of interest outlined in the pilot projects grants program announcement. Reviewer applications are due by October 26, 2011.

Contact your department or unit's Proposal Manager for more information.

Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry now accepting Fellowship applications

The Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry enables faculty and students to

• Explore the connections among the arts, humanities, sciences and technology 
• Create a product to illustrate their collaborative research and interdisciplinary study, and 
• Present their product to the community in a public forum. 

Each year, four Ball State University faculty members are selected (through an open competition) to teach an interdisciplinary seminar to fifteen students—similar to a capstone experience for majors or an honors colloquium.

All applications are due Friday, January 20, 2012 at the Virginia Ball Center (at Kitselman) by 4:00 p.m.

 Click here to download an application (PDF) to apply for a fellowship.

View the 2011-2012 Academic Year Press Release to read about the upcoming seminars.

The VBC will host a Forum for potential fellowship applicants on Tuesday, October 25th, from 4:00-5:30 p.m. at Kitselman. Director Joe Trimmer, and former and current Fellows will be available to answer questions. Joe is currently scheduling individual conferences with faculty who wish to plan, draft, and revise applications.

Application forms for 2012-2013 Fellowships are available. Please see your Dean or Department Chair about these forms, call Donna Ferguson 287-0117 to request a copy or print a copy of the form from the Center's website at http://www.bsu.edu/vbc (see Documents.) 

All new... SPO Facebook!

The Sponsored Programs Office is pleased to unveil our all new Facebook page! "LIKE" the Sponsored Programs Office at Ball State University page to stay up to date with news, proposal development articles, workshop information, tips and tricks to finding funding, office news, and so much more!

What are you waiting for? 

Need more SPO social media? Follow us on Twitter!

@BSU_SPO

From {Centered}: Proposal rejected? Don't despair.

Even experienced grantseekers get turned down more often than they'd like. But how you handle those disappointments will affect how successful you are in the long run. Rebecca Shawver offers good advice on dealing with grant rejection in "It's Time to Remember that 'No' Doesn't Always Mean 'Never'" (CharityChannel, August 17, 2011). It's crucial, says Shawver, to speak with the funder after your request has been denied to learn the reasons for their decision. Different reasons require different remedies. For instance:

The funder liked your project, but they didn't have enough money.

• Begin planning earlier next time.
• Find out whether collaborating with other groups might increase your chances of success in the future.
• Adopt any recommendations the grantmaker may make in your post-rejection conversation.

The funder doesn't know you very well.

• Meet with them personally.
• Invite them to visit your offices and program sites.

You didn't demonstrate community support in your request.

• Before reapplying gather more letters of support and go after more matching funds and in-kind support.

Your program--or your description of it--needs to be better developed.

• Refine your proposal to include components that describe your program more effectively.
• Make sure your program reflects the latest trends and incorporates the best practices in the field.

The funder's "No" really did mean "Never."

• Look to other sources of funding, there are other fish in the sea!  

Article from The Grantsmanship Center {Centered} October 2011 issue.

From IAC ArtsEye: The Individual Artist Program Grant from a Past Recipient's Point of View

In light of the Individual Artist Program (IAP) grant opening on November 1st, we thought it'd be a good idea to catch up with one of our past IAP recipients. This month, we're speaking with Daren Pitts Redman, a fiber artist from Brown County and a FY11 IAP grant recipient in crafts.

Daren used her grant to create a body of work using fabric manipulated with the arashi shibori technique. The fabric was then used to create a 3D interactive art installation at Wonderlab in Bloomington, Indiana. Viewers are able to touch and reshape the installation to create their own artistic composition.

Indiana Arts Commission (IAC): Tell us a little bit about your work as an artist.

Daren Pitts Redman (DPR): I hand dye cottons in solid colors and by using the traditional Japanese tie and die technique, shibori. I use my photographs as inspiration for abstract quilted wall hangings.

IAC: Why did you apply for a grant in FY2011?

DPR: This is a way to challenge myself to create a new body of work. It gets finished and viewed by the public. The process allows me to design and create my art while coordinating an exhibit with curators and gallery directors that might not be possible without the IAP grant.

IAC: You have received more than one IAP grant, what made you apply often?

DPR: I enjoyed the process and creative time so much when I made the 3 large quilts series based on what I saw at the Eiteljorg Museum. Two summers ago, I took a 3D textile class through the Split Rock Arts Program at the University of Minnesota and wanted to use my new skills to make an installation. This was a way for me to present an exhibit in my community.