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Research Leadership in Action

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is the Research Leadership in Action Program?

The Research Leadership in Action program is an internal grant competition sponsored by the Vice Provost for Research to support faculty interested in showcasing leadership in their field of research and scholarly activity.

Grants will support highly visible, results oriented campus events, such as conferences, symposia and professional meetings that bring together researchers, industry, government and the public with goals of:

  • Enhancing the faculty's ability to develop sponsored activities;
  • Building tangible, working ties with external funding sources that expand collaborative opportunities and expand the knowledge base of the discipline;
  • Raising the campus' profile as an institution that drives the directions of research and scholarly activity on a national and international level.

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How will the program serve the campus?

The Leadership program will give Departments and Schools an important element in their strategic plans to identify and foster professional contacts which will ultimately result in increasing sponsored activity by:

  • Solidifying on-going research program relationships;
  • Identifying, diversifying and securing new and important research based funding;
  • Creating and promoting the UMass Amherst brand by maintaining high visibility for the PIs, departments, schools and the campus as leaders in their fields, not only within the national and International communities but at the regional and legislative as well;
  • Influencing the flow of information and direction of their fields;
  • Providing an enhancement to our students' educational experience, internship potential and employment opportunities.
  • Enhancing faculty recruitment and the ability to retain world-class faculty.

The program will also serve the campus by:

  • Encouraging interdisciplinary collaborations;
  • Assigning equal accessibility and significance to the north and south sides of campus;
  • Serving as leverage to bring additional funds to campus.

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Who is eligible to apply for a grant?

All full-time tenure-track and research faculty are eligible to apply for a Research Leadership in Action grant.

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What are the eligibility requirements?

  • The event will be required to take place on the Amherst campus.
  • The event must take place within one year of the grant being awarded.
  • There is a 1:1 match requirement on funds provided by the program. Matches from external sources are prefered, though internal matches may be accepted with the approval of the recipient's dean/department head. Only monetary matches will be accepted unless otherwise negotiated with the Vice Provost.
  • All awards are contingent on securing sponsors by the designated deadlines.
  • Successful applicants will be required to attend a workshop given by the Vice Provost of Research which will address the factors that maximize the successful implementation of professional meetings for research development.
  • A final report reflecting on whether on not the funded activity achieved its goals and led to results is required.

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What are qualifying activities?

Qualifying Activities and Expected Outcomes include but are not limited to:

  • Conferences which bring in external collaborators and funders with the purpose identifying, diversifying and/or securing new research based funding;
  • Congresses and symposia which leverage the campus' leadership position and focus on influencing the flow of information and direction in the faculty's field of expertise;
  • Workshops that may result in white papers and bring together potential funding groups in support of new or on-going activities that would lead to multi-institutional projects;
  • Performances that highlight our talent but have expected outcomes regarding expanding programs;
  • Other professional gatherings including plays, art showings, readings, cultural gatherings;
  • Formation of external advisory boards that lead to the development of such things as mini-conferences or industry/university programs;
  • Technology days designed to increase awareness of the campus' applied research and to find markets for the transfer of UMass Amherst technologies.

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What are the award criteria?

Awards will be made on the basis of the following criteria (not listed in order of importance):

  • The potential to increase research revenues by increasing: sponsored activities; technology revenues; gifts for sponsored research, etc.
  • The collaborative nature of the proposed activity as judged by campus unit participation;
  • The national/international scope of the activity;
  • The ability of the proposed activity to build upon existing campus strengths;
  • The nature and scope of outside participants/entities;
  • Private sector/government agency matching monies;
  • Involvement of alumni or staff from external liaison offices such as RLD, CVIP or Development, in order to leverage existing external relationships to support the objective of the activity;
  • Technical detail of the proposal (e.g. strength of rationale, specificity of agenda, Advisory Board identification, marketing plan).

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What are the expected research outcomes?

Events should be designed with concrete research outcomes in mind. Expected research outcomes include: proposal submissions; collaborative grants; gifts for research; publications; national and international committee assignments; web-site content, marketing materials, etc.

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What's the evaluation process for proposals?

The awards will be distributed on a competitive basis. The Research Leadership in Action program Awards Committee evaluates the proposals and make recommendations to the Vice Provost for Research (VPR). The VPR will make the final decision on awards. The Advisory Board will be comprised of representatives from faculty, development offices, and VPR staff

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How do I apply for a grant?

To apply for a grant, you must fill out and submit a Research Leadership in Action grant application, which is based on the current RFP. Both can be found on the Research Leadership in Action website (www.umass.edu/research/rla/) or from the Vice Provost for Research office (413) 545-5270.

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When are grants awarded?

There are two award cycles, fall and spring. Check the current RLA RFP for specific deadlines.

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How much money can I request?

Awards will be made up to $25,000.

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What are the match requirements?

  • A 1:1 match is required.
  • Preferably, the match should come from external sources (industry, government, individuals) in order to help build partnerships with external funders.  Internal match from a recipient's school/college department may be accepted with dean/department head approval and approval of the Vice Provost for Research, but will not be weighed as heavily in the evaluation process.
  • Recipients have approx. three months from receipt of their RLA award letter to secure confirmation of the match. Check the latest RLA RFP for specific deadlines.

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What is considered confirmation of a match?

Match confirmation can be a letter of confirmation from a funder, a copy of check, or a fund account transfer confirmation if the match is internal. Match confirmation must be sent to the RLA program administrator by the match deadline.

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Do I have to have my match money in hand to apply for the grant or to get my award money?

  • No. Although it is desireable to have confirmation of your match at the time of your grant application, it is not mandatory.
  • You must have CONFIRMATION of your match to recieve RLA grant funds, however recipients have until the day of the event to receive the actual match funds.

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How do I get my grant money?

RLA funds will be released to the grant recipient once confirmation of the match has been sent to the RLA program administrator.

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Who gets to retain revenues from Leadership funded events?

Recipients will be allowed to retain all revenues from their events.

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I don't know much about getting sponsors to fulfill my match requirement. Who can help?

The campus offices listed below can assist you in getting sponsors. See also the Vice Provost's Guide for Getting Sponsors .

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Offices on Campus that can assist with sponsorships

•  Office of Research Liaison and Development (545-2706)—for connections to research units of national and regional companies; regional and state economic development associations; state science and technology associations.

•  Office of Corporate Relations (577-4016)—for connections to philanthropic and community outreach units of national and regional companies.

•  Office of Foundation Relations (545-5867)—for private foundation sources.

•  Your School/College development officers —for alumni and individual friends of the campus.

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Should I use Conference Services for my event?

The use of University Conference Services (UCS) is highly recommended for RLA-sponsored events. Using conference services eases the burden of event logistics for the PI and can help ensure a quality event. Using UCS also provides an efficient means of RLA grant fund administration.

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The grant requires I provide photos of my event. Why and how do I do this?

Print-quality photos (300 dpi+) of your event must be provided to the RLA program administrator for marketing purposes. You may factor professional photography expenses into your budget. Though the University does not have photographers on staff, Creative Services can recommend area freelancers and provide general price estimates. If you do not choose to use a professional photographer, please contact the RLA program administrator for guidelines on photography.

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Who do I contact if I have a question that is not addressed in the FAQ?

For all other questions regarding the Research Leadership in Action grant program, contact:

Karen J. Hayes, Program Administrator

(413) 545-9586 or khayes@research.umass.edu

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