Sponsored Projects Adminstration | Ball State University

September 27, 2016

Call for Proposals: Cohen Peace Fellowship

The call to submit proposals for the Benjamin V. Cohen Peace Fellowship is open! The Fellowship provides support to conduct basic or applied research on topics related to peace. 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 an assistantship stipend, supplies, expenses, and/or travel and may also include tuition remission during the academic time period of the fellowship.

Applicants must consult with the staff of Sponsored Projects Administration by October 1, 2016 to receive assistance in the development of their proposals, including the narrative and budget. Failure to do this will render an application ineligible for further consideration.

Completed applications and all required materials are due to the SPA by 5:00 PM on October 31, 2016. SPA will route the completed applications to the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies. The Cohen Proposal Evaluation Committee will then review the proposals.

Projects that focus on aspects of structural violence, direct violence, and/or social justice are permissible. You must clearly and concretely connect your focus with the mission of the Cohen Fund. How will your project expand knowledge and/or solve practical problems associated with issues affecting world peace to improve the human condition?

Some examples of projects include sexism, hydrology, criminality, racism, homelessness, human rights, suicide prevention, health disparities, sports for development, land use and ecosystems among others.

Projects that involve peace building, peace making, or peace keeping are consistent with the mission of the Cohen Fund.

For more information on how to apply for the fellowship, visit the link below or contact the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, 285-1622.

http://cms.bsu.edu/academics/centersandinstitutes/peace/academicopps/cohen-peace-fellowship

September 22, 2016

SPA Colloquium - Faculty Success Stories: Pathways to Funding Success (Session 2)

One thing is clear about the journey towards achieving funding success to support your research agenda: Every path is different and faculty success stories come in all shapes and sizes.

Sponsored Projects Administration is excited to continue the inaugural year of SPA Colloquia, a series of faculty learning sessions addressing various topics related to grant seeking and the external funding enterprise on campus.

Susan McDowell, Professor of Biology, and Pamela Harwood, Professor of Architecture, shared their testimonies on Wednesday about achieving funding success at Ball State University. Their individual processes to receive funding were vastly different, but both agree that achieving funding advanced their academia.

"Collaboration was absolutely essential to get funding," Harwood said. "My students helped write the grants and the community was a great partner. Those one-on-one opportunities exist and they should be taken advantage of."

Left to right: Pamela Harwood, Professor of Architecture, and Susan McDowell, Professor of Biology,
discuss the ways in which they achieved funding success to support their research and teaching agendas.

Harwood expounded on the importance of taking advantage of several smaller grants in the search for funding.

"We were funded by a series of smaller grants that were both internal and external of the university," she said. "That might have been challenging for SPA, but the process went very smoothly. Any time I had a question they helped look for the answer."

McDowell highlighted some challenges in the search for funding, but maintained that it is always a learning experience.

"There is a lot that goes into grant writing," she said. "Going to SPA for help completely restructured my thinking."

Several themes surfaced during Wednesday's discussion:

Collaborating with students and surrounding communities is integral in the search for funding

Every path towards funding success is different

Combining several smaller grants can be beneficial

Sponsored Projects Administration is a great resource when the search for funding seems daunting (We are here to help!)

September 20, 2016

Aspire Internal Grants Information Session

Sponsored Projects Administration will be holding an information session to introduce and expound on the different internal funding opportunities available to faculty throughout their career at Ball State.

This will include a discussion of many of the available Aspire competitions, including the new CREATE award.

Go to our website to view the specific opportunities available to faculty and students for project development support, travel support and more:

http://cms.bsu.edu/about/administrativeoffices/sponsored-projects-administration/aspire

Learn how Ball State can help fund your research or creative endeavor activities through the many Aspire Programs.

No advance registration required but seating is limited; please come see us at Bracken Library BL 104 Friday September 23rd from 2:00-3:00.

SPA hosts first session in Colloquia Series

Sponsored Projects Administration kicked off September with the inaugural year of SPA Colloquia, a series of faculty learning sessions addressing various topics related to grant seeking and the external funding enterprise on campus.

The one-hour session in Bracken Library on Friday, "Faculty Success Stories: Pathways to Funding Success," featured faculty panelists and SPA personnel within a moderated Q&A format.

Faculty members Paul Gestwicki (Computer Science), Janay Sander (Educational Psychology), and Stephanie Simon-Dack (Psychological Science) discussed how they achieved funding success to support their projects.

Faculty members Paul Gestwicki (Computer Science), Janay Sander (Educational Psychology), and Stephanie

Simon-Dack (Psychological Science) discuss how they achieved funding success to support their projects on Friday in Bracken Library.

Simon-Dack discussed how she was able to receive federal funding for the Department of Psychological Science at Ball State after a resourceful and collaborative experience with SPA.

"I attached myself to Sponsored Projects Administration like a leech," Simon-Dack said. "It was about networking and allowing myself to be guided by people who knew how to do it."

Some attendees of the session asked panelists how they were able to effectively manage their time between grant seeking, teaching, and research throughout the academic year.

"I relied heavily on faculty mentors and you will realize that people in your department and others on campus want to help each other," Sander said. "You have to keep your scholarly work as your focus and keep your mind on the bigger picture."

Gestwicki discussed how he was able to authentically combine immersive learning with the funding he received in the Department of Computer Science.

"I had these ideas of things I wanted to do and I knew I couldn't do them the way I imagined them without external funding," he said. "The fact that my personal joy comes from doing immersive learning and I can get funding to do so is a great combination."

Campus Liason Stanley Geidel introduces faculty members Paul Gestwicki (Computer Science), Janay Sander (Educational Psychology), and Stephanie Simon-Dack (Psychological Science) to attendees of the session on Friday in Bracken Library.

Attendees of the session took away several major themes related to the grant seeking enterprise:

Start small - Don't expect to get big funding right away

Grant seeking is an iterative process and a learning experience
Collaborate with SPA, other faculty, and students on campus

Time is everything - plan ahead and plan strategically

If it does not tie to your work, it is probably not fund worthy

Stay focused on your scholarly work while effectively managing your time

SPA will be holding several SPA Colloquia throughout the academic year. The next session, Faculty Success Stories: Pathways to Funding Success, Session 2, will be held in the Atrium Dining Room on Wednesday, September 21 at 12 p.m. Faculty members Pam Harwood (Architecture) and Sue McDowell (Biology) will discuss how they achieved funding success to support their projects.

September 14, 2016

Identifying Sources for Funding and Research - Graduate Student Edition

University Libraries and the Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) are combining forces to help you find funding sources for your research and creative work.

Jessie Roark, Outreach and Education Coordinator, will give a tutorial on COS Pivot, the largest funding opportunity and researcher expertise database, as well as other resources SPA has to offer.

Brenda Yates Habich, Information Services Librarian, will share strategies for using Web of Science, a powerful database helpful in crafting necessary research in preparing literature reviews for grant proposals.

Please RSVP (Registration required for this event)

Date: Monday, September 19, 2016
Time: 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Location: BL 225

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