Funding-Kentucky Water
Resources Research Institute 2017-2018 RFP; September 30, 2016
The request for proposals for 2017-2018 student research enhancement projects is attached. The deadline for proposals is September 30. Please share the RFP with any potentially interested colleagues and co-workers.
Thanks.
Jim
James A. Kipp, Associate
Director
Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute
TO: Faculty
and Students Working in Water Resources
FROM: James A. Kipp,
Associate Director
Kentucky Water Resources Research
Institute (KWRRI)
SUBJECT: Request for Proposals
The Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute announces a request for
research proposals for its 2017-2018 104B program. This program, funded through
the U.S. Geological Survey, will be targeted toward supporting water-related
research efforts conducted by students at universities in Kentucky.
KWRRI hopes to award several (5-10) student research enhancement grants
of up to $5,000 in the general area of water resources. KWRRI will also consider funding 1 or 2
additional proposals for up to
$10,000 for
projects directly collaborating with investigators at the USGS Kentucky Water
Science Center on current relevant issues. Proposals
are due in the KWRRI office by no later than 5:00 p.m. on September 30, 2016. Please
note that federal funding is contingent upon support provided by Congress
through the USGS for the Institutes program. Delays in announcing or
implementing awards past the usual March 1 project start date are possible.
·
Applications proposing to support students at any
university in Kentucky doing water resources- related research applicable to
conditions in Kentucky are eligible and encouraged. This program can support
either ongoing studies or new research projects.
·
New faculty members are especially encouraged as well as new lines of
research for more established faculty members. Applicants from regional
universities receive special consideration during the selection process. The
selection process will also consider diversity as a factor.
·
The intent of this competitive grants program is to strengthen student
research and education programs related to water resources. The program
provides an opportunity for students to assist in preparing, submitting, and
implementing a competitive grant. Student support will be provided only once (students
funded through previous proposals cannot receive additional support, but
previously funded faculty
members may apply to support
a different student
in 2017-2018).
·
Proposed research can deal with a wide range of topics, but must be
directly related to water resources (focusing primarily on quantity and
quality) such as conservation and management of water resources, surface water,
groundwater, wastewater, storm water, irrigation, drinking water, watersheds,
water policy, water marketing, geographic information systems, computer
modeling, aquatic ecosystems and biological effects on water quantity and
quality, environmental flow needs, and riparian issues. Proposals on all
water-related concerns in the Commonwealth can be considered (as long as the
primary focus is on water quantity or quality). However, research on health
effects involving human subjects is excluded.
·
Proposals should strengthen the research efforts of a student (either
undergraduate or graduate) attending a Kentucky university. It is suggested
that federal funds be utilized for student summer research support in order to
expend the resources in a timely manner.
·
Proposals should be developed by the faculty member seeking support
through this grant program in collaboration with their student(s) if possible.
Faculty applicants will be considered the Principal Investigator and should
insure that the specifications listed in this RFP are met. Proposals not
meeting the specifications will not be reviewed or selected.
·
A maximum of $5,000 may be requested ($10,000 if direct collaboration
with USGS is proposed). Grant funds may be used for student salary, travel,
equipment, lab materials, supplies, analytical devices, services, or other
items that improve the quality of the student's research experience. Funds
may not be requested for student tuition
and fees or for major equipment purchases.
·
Grants require a 2:1 match with non-federal funds ($2 of non-federal
funds to match each $1 of federal funds provided through KWRRI). A letter of
commitment signed by an official authorized to commit matching funds for
institutions other than the University of Kentucky must be provided with each
proposal from other campuses. All external commitments for matching should be
received by the Institute within 2 weeks after the proposal due date. Projects
selected from the University of Kentucky will be required to complete the
electronic Internal Approval Form process to verify contribution of the
required level of matching when KWRRI’s application is submitted to the USGS (do not complete
the eIAF until informed that your UK project has been selected).
·
Indirect costs may not be charged to federal funds, but since they must
be waived by the student's institution, they can be used to help meet the 2:1
matching requirement.
·
In addition to waived institutional indirect costs, the 2:1 match can
include salaries, wages, and fringe benefits of faculty advisors and students;
other direct funding provided by non-federal sources; lab expenses; supplies
furnished by the student's department; and research assistantships provided by
non-federal sources through the university in support of the specified project activities.
·
Deliverables: Projects will be required to submit a brief mid-year
progress report (September 2017 assuming projects start on time). A final
project report is also required. All students will be expected to present their
results at the annual water resources symposium (March 2018). Copies of any
student thesis or dissertation resulting from the project and any manuscripts
submitted for publication as journal articles must also be provided to the
Institute as deliverables.
·
When submitting proposals, please provide the telephone number, postal
address, and email address of all project participants (both student and
faculty advisor).
·
Projects submitting a signed letter of support from their university
regarding matching funds approval may submit it by fax at 859-323-1049 or by
email followed by the original signed copy by regular mail. The University of
Kentucky projects that are selected will be required to complete the electronic
Internal Approval Form and Conflict of Interest process (with the faculty
member as a co- PI on KWRRI’s application to USGS that will be submitted in
mid-January 2017), but should wait until notified by the electronic approval
system. Proposals must be submitted following
the specified format via email (Word document
attachment only) to Jim Kipp at jim.kipp@uky.edu.
·
Failure to follow all instructions will result in the proposal being
eliminated from consideration for funding.
If you have
any questions about this RFP, please contact: Jim
Kipp, Associate Director
Voice: (859) 257-1832
Fax: (859) 323-1049
Proposal Format Instructions: 2017-2018 104b Student Research Enhancement
Project
1.
Title of
Proposal:
2.
Focus Categories (to be completed by
Institute personnel):
3.
Keywords: (3 or 4 descriptive words not
included in the title - selected by the
PI)
4.
Duration (March 2017 - February 2018
pending availability of funding)
5.
Federal Funds Requested (should not be
more than $5,000 [or $10,000 for collaborative
efforts with the USGS Kentucky Water Science Center], but may be less):
6.
Non-federal Matching Funds (at least two
times the federal funds requested):
7.
Names and Contact Information (mailing
address, phone number and email address)
Principal Investigator (faculty advisor) and
Co-principal
Investigator (student)
8.
Congressional District (federal district
where research will be conducted):
9.
Statement
of Critical Water Problem (no more than ¼ page):
10.
Nature, Scope, and Objective of the
Research (including a timeline of activities)
11.
Methods, Procedures, Facilities
12.
Related Research (include a discussion of
literature and communication citations for similar completed or on-going work
on the topic - should include your own work and related investigations by
others). Proposals for collaboration
with the USGS should describe the nature of the project and the
responsibilities and activities of all investigators involved.
13.
Results
Expected (no more than ¼ page, but should include plans for information transfer)
14.
Training Potential (the number of students
supported by or anticipated to be involved in working on the project, level
(graduate or undergraduate), and student discipline area for each individual)
15.
Budget Table (see form for organizing
budget request)
16.
Budget Justification Narrative (should be detailed and specific – see budget justification instructions). Proposals lacking adequate detail
in the budget justification will be eliminated from consideration. USGS employees may not receive compensation
for participation in the project.
17.
Investigator qualifications (1-Page vita
for each faculty mentor and student)
The main body of the proposal (Sections 9
– 14) should be brief (no more than three or four pages of text: 12-point font,
1-inch margins). A list of citations and relevant references is encouraged, but
need not be included within this page limit. A 1-page budget table (Section 15)
and a detailed budget justification narrative (Section 16) must also be
submitted and should include full documentation of matching. An example budget
table and instructions for the budget justification are provided.
A. Salaries and wages. Identify
each participant and provide rate of pay and number of hours (or percentage of
faculty appointment and annual salary) to be worked on the project. USGS
employees who collaborate may not receive compensation through the project budget.
B. Fringe Benefits.
Give fringe benefit rate for each person funded through the proposal (with federal funds or matching). Use the appropriate student and faculty
fringe benefit rates.
C. Supplies. List
all supplies to be purchased in the conduct and dissemination of research; for
example, computer software, lab glassware, fuel for research vehicles, computer
expendables, reagents, chemical supplies, supplies for poster sessions, etc. Be
as explicit as possible (provide unit
costs and number of units in addition to total costs for each item).
D. Equipment. Furnish
a detailed description of any minor equipment purchased or utilized as match and why it is required for this
research. Equipment purchase should not be a major percentage of the requested
federal funds or match.
E. Travel. List
destination, purpose of trip, mode of transport, and approximate cost for each
trip (rate/mile and number of miles for ground transportation), per diem rates
and any other relevant information related to travel expenses.
1. Publication costs. Funds
to cover costs of printing of technical reports, page charges for reprints of papers in refereed journals published
as a result of research conducted under this
grant.
2. Other costs. Analytical
services, long-distance telephone charges, data processing costs, other cost not included in specified categories
Indirect costs. Please furnish the indirect cost rate and
base from which it is computed for facilities and administration costs approved
for your institution. This information
can be obtained from the Sponsored Research Office or Office of Contracts and
Grants on your campus. Indirect costs cannot be requested from the sponsor, but
may be counted toward the required 2:1 match.
Matching funds typically contain waived indirect costs
and contributed non-federal salaries/benefits and other direct costs. The
applicant’s negotiated indirect cost rate (NICR) may be applied to both 1)
qualifying federal and 2) non-federal direct costs, and the results used to
satisfy part of the matching requirement under the non-federal share. The NICR
shall not be applied to tuition or equipment costs.
Principal
Investigators:
|
Cost
Category |
Federal |
Non-Federal |
Total |
|
1. Salaries and wages |
|
|
|
|
2. Fringe benefits |
|
|
|
|
3. Supplies |
|
|
|
|
4. Equipment |
|
|
|
|
5. Services and consultants |
|
|
|
|
6. Travel |
|
|
|
|
7. Other direct costs |
|
|
|
|
8. Total direct costs |
|
|
|
|
9. Indirect costs on Federal Request |
XXXXXXXXX |
* |
|
|
10. Indirect costs on Non-Federal Match |
XXXXXXXXX |
* |
|
|
11. Total estimated costs |
|
** |
|
This form is provided
for general format only. Use additional sheets to incorporate the requested
supporting information for justification. Be specific and provide as much
detail as possible. Federal funds may not be requested for indirect costs.
*Matching funds may contain waived
indirect costs and other non-federal funds. The applicant’s negotiated indirect
cost rate (NICR) may be applied to both qualifying federal and non-federal
direct costs, and the result used to satisfy part of the matching requirement
under the non-federal share. The NICR shall not be applied to tuition and
equipment costs.
**Total Non-Federal
match must be at least two times the requested Total Federal Funds.