New Faculty Research Development Award

The Office of Research endeavors to assist KU-Lawrence and Edwards campus faculty and faculty equivalent unclassified academic staff (UAS) in their efforts to secure funding for their individual or group research programs. The New Faculty Research Development (NFRD) Award is designed to help accelerate individual scholarship and aid in building a sustainable research program. It is our hope that our new colleagues will view this program as an excellent opportunity to kick-start their research efforts soon after their arrival on campus.

Full details of the NFRD program are outlined below. A crucial aspect to the success of this program is mentoring. Applicants should work with their center director, department chair or dean to select a faculty mentor. Mentors will guide applicants in developing their research program and assist in planning and preparing their proposal. Ideally, mentors will be faculty in a related research area with experience and success in obtaining external funding and support.

Awards are managed by the KU Office of Research. The NFRD program is an internal award, rather than a corporate/federal grant and, as such, expenditures must follow state guidelines. Funds may be used for supplies, equipment, travel and salary for graduate and undergraduate student assistants (PhD students whose salary is funded by an NFRD award may be eligible for KU tuition assistance). It is not necessary to apply for the maximum award size; make a case for what you need. Expenditures must also comply with all university and state purchasing and travel rules and procedures.

Contact

Proposal deadlines

  • Oct. 1 + March 1

All internal funding opportunities

Information

Option 1:  October 1 + March 1

Option 2:  October 1 + March 1

Applications must be received within two years of the applicant’s appointment date. Applicants are encouraged to revise the proposal based on reviewer comments and resubmit. Two application attempts are allowed per applicant.

Send completed application packets to nfrd@ku.edu. If you feel that there is a barrier to submitting a proposal, please contact the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at nfrd@ku.edu or 785-864-3567. The NFRD exists for your benefit, and it is hoped that all new faculty and new faculty equivalent unclassified academic staff (UAS) choose to participate.

Awardees must spend the funds within 24 months of award notification. Any funds not spent during the fiscal year when awarded will require a request for carry-forward to be submitted to the KU Office of Research. At the end of the award period, awardees must submit a report (.pdf) to the KU Office of Research describing implementation of the project and the influence it had on his/her research program. Option 2 awardees should include a copy of the application for external support that was developed from the NFRD award with their final report.

To be eligible, individuals must be in their first 24 months on the Lawrence or Edwards campus as either an untenured, tenure-track faculty member or as a faculty equivalent unclassified academic staff (UAS). In addition, only unclassified academic staff with at least 40% FTE job duties dedicated to research are eligible. Requests for exceptions to these requirements should be submitted to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research in writing by the applicant’s center director, department chair or dean. It is recommended that exceptions be discussed before a complete application is submitted.

Note: Eligible faculty and faculty equivalent unclassified academic staff (UAS) can only receive the NFRD award once.

Qualifications + procedures

Maximum award size: $8,000

This option is designed to begin building a sustainable program of scholarship, creative activity, and/or research. The proposal may indicate a specific external funding opportunity or possible sponsors in the future.

Application procedures

Applicants submit the NFRD webform with the following required documents to the KU Office of Research (please use provided templates where applicable):

  • Half-page abstract of the project to be completed with the NFRD award and how these funds will be used to build a program of scholarship and research. If appropriate, indicate how external funds will be leveraged with this award.
  • Budget page and justification detailing proposed expenditures for the NFRD award. Spending may be split over two fiscal years.
  • One-page research plan (description of the background and methods to be followed in the project). Explain how the NFRD award enables research beyond other funding the PI has, including startup funding.
  • Compliance form and necessary approvals.
  • Curriculum vitae for the principal investigator and faculty mentor.
  • Letter of support from applicant's faculty mentor outlining their commitment to and endorsement of the applicant's project and research goals (this will be requested from the faculty mentor via email upon submission of the webform).
  • Copy of proposals already submitted or discussion of the prospects and potential sponsors for external funding.

Maximum award size: $20,000.

A goal of the University of Kansas is to significantly increase the volume of external funding. To this end, new faculty or new faculty equivalent unclassified academic staff (UAS) may apply for increased funding as part of the NFRD program if an opportunity to win a significant grant or award (greater than $200,000) exists as a result of the proposed NFRD award. More competitive than Option 1, this option is also focused on assisting new colleagues in their efforts to build a sustainable research program. 

Application procedures

Applicants submit the NFRD webform with the following required documents to the KU Office of Research (please use provided templates where applicable):

  • Cover page containing names of the principal investigator and faculty mentor.
  • Half-page abstract of the project that will be completed with the NFRD award and how these funds will be used as leverage for identified external research funding.
  • Budget page and justification detailing proposed expenditures for the NFRD award. Spending may be split over two fiscal years.
  • Description of applicant's plan to build a research program and how this award will be used to secure external research funding. The focus should be on the overall research plan and the leveraging of external funding with only a brief explanation of research details. Explain how the award enables research beyond other funding the PI has, including startup funding. This description may be up to 5 pages in length, not including references.
  • Compliance form and necessary approvals.
  • Curriculum vitae for the principal investigator and faculty mentor.
  • Letter of support from applicant's faculty mentor outlining their commitment to and endorsement of the applicant's project and research goals (this will be requested from the faculty mentor via email upon submission of the webform).
  • Mentoring plan (see accordion menu below).
  • Copy of proposals already submitted or discussion of the prospects and potential sponsors for external funding.

Submit an application

Ready to submit your completed NFRD application? Complete the webform below by Oct. 1 or March 1.
Submit application Submit application

Submitting NFRD final report

Please submit your NFRD final report (.pdf) within 30 days of the project end date. Please submit the report as a PDF to nfrd@ku.edu. 

The NFRD final report should consist of this cover sheet and the following sections:

  1. A one-paragraph summary of the project activities. Any necessary deviations from the activities proposed should be noted in a separate paragraph.
  2. A list of the outcomes of the project (e.g., publications, presentations, juried exhibits, professionally produced CDs, scholarly awards, external grants awarded, etc.), with full citations.
  3. Abstracts of all project-related publications and grants.
  4. Name of the funding agency or foundation, length of the award, and amount of the award for any grants received related to the project.
  5. Suggestions for improving the NFRD award program.
  6. A current CV.

Option 2 NFRD recipients should also include:

  1. A copy of the application for external support that was developed from the award.
  2. Information on the status of that application. 

Sample mentoring plan

The mentoring outline should cover the following items:

Who:

  • List the mentor designated to guide the mentee and their contact information.

What:

  • Highlight goals and outcomes.
  • Describe how the mentor will help the mentee reach these goals.

When:

  • Create a timeline detailing the frequency and format of how the mentee will receive feedback from the mentor.

    • Examples:

      • List the frequency, location, and method (phone/email/face to face) of the mentor-mentee meeting.
      • Will meetings be formal or informal interactions?
      • Are the meetings one-on-one or a group activity with other mentees?
      • List the specific grant-related items on which the mentor will assist or train the mentee and method of training provided (e.g., drafting a study survey, conducting data analysis).
      • How will the mentee’s performance be evaluated by their mentor?