Undergraduate Research in the Community Grants support projects that actively involve and meet the needs of community partners. Your ultimate aim will be to define and address a pressing community problem; do intellectual work that produces a public good; or conduct artistic, critical, or historical work that contributes to a community-identified issue. Awards will fund up to $2,000 for project expenses plus a $500 stipend. Funds will be awarded to offset research costs such as analyses, supplies, equipment, software, surveys, and travel. The stipend will be awarded upon successful completion of the project. If the project has multiple student investigators, the stipend will be divided among the participants.
Deadline: This year there are two independent grant review cycles per semester. The Spring 2013 deadlines are 5pm on February 28 and April 23.
Eligibility: Applicants must be admitted to UAA as undergraduate degree-seeking students. Your project must be a joint endeavor that includes a faculty member and one or more community members. Only projects actively involving a community organization or agency in defining the problem, hypothesis, and outcomes will be considered.
Application: Your proposal should consist of the items listed below. Please see the Undergraduate Research in the Community guidelines (available below for download) for more information. Please include page numbers.
- Application cover sheet - Include the project title, student's name, and student's signature. The faculty advisor's name and signature should be included, certifying that they have reviewed the proposal for content and that the student is capable of performing the research or creative endeavor, and that the faculty member agrees to mentor the student for the project. The cover sheet includes a Research Integrity and Compliance checklist, which must also be completed prior to submission. For more information on Research Integrity and Compliance at UAA, please visit www.uaa.alaska.edu/research/ric.
*Projects with more than one student investigator must complete the Application Cover Sheet for Group Projects. Projects with more than one student investigator should identify one student as the principal investigator who will take primary responsibility for overseeing the project.
- Project Description
- Project Budget - (allow one page for the budget and one page for budget justification) – Include the cost of personnel, supplies, equipment and travel, and a brief justification for each item. Please note the following:
-The student stipend should not be included in the project budget.
-Travel will be allowed only if it falls within the same academic year(s) as your research and there is a direct relationship between the research and the travel being proposed (e.g. for the purposes of conducting research, or to present results at a conference). Funding for travel to a conference will be granted only if the student(s) is accepted to present at that conference.
-Travel associated with the project should not normally be submitted under another OURS grant request. If travel is planned as part of the project, please submit the travel expenses under the budget in this proposal process.
-Expenses that will not be allowed include:
-Compensation for the student's time
-Tuition to get credit for the project
-Amounts for supplies or equipment that exceed reasonable and customary expenses
-Per Diem
-Equipment purchased with the grant will belong to UAA after the research is concluded.
-Proposed expenses must be in accordance with UA Policy and Regulation, and funds must be expended as specified in the proposal.
-For this reason, please be as accurate as possible in estimating your expenses. Do not over-inflate your budget; conversely, do not underestimate what your actual costs will be.
-If the project has funding from an external source outside of OURS include an appendix with information about the funding (e.g. grant proposal, contract, etc.), a short narrative that explains how the proposed project meshes with the external source, and a budget that shows what will be funded by the OURS grant and the external source. - References - (1-2 pages) – Use the standard convention of discipline including the author, title of article, journal title, volume, pages, and date.
- Project Timeline -
Outline the anticipated dates of completion of various stages of project. For example: When do you anticipate completing background research, fieldwork, lab work, budget expenditures, etc. Be sure to include in this timeline the following dates (for proposals submitted during fall semester 2011):
- Mid-April 2013 – Presentation at the Undergraduate Research and Discovery Symposium
- May 15, 2013 – Expenditure deadline
- May 30, 2013 – Final written report deadline
- Resume
Submission:
All applications must be submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship located in Rasmuson Hall 115 by the posted deadline. Unsigned applications will be considered incomplete.
Selection Criteria: Submission will be judged on:
- clarity of the proposal
- research methodology to be employed
- significance and impact of the project within the community
- evidence that the student(s) can carry out the project
Preference will be given to students who have not previously won this award.
Awards are contingent on approval by the Institutional Review Board, the Animal Rights Committee, or other committees as appropriate. For more information on the standards of research ethics at UAA, please visit the Research Integrity and Compliance website.
Responsibilities: Recipients will (1) work closely with the community partner to develop the research emphasis, methodology, timelines, and outcomes, (2)meet at least monthly with the community partner during the research project, (3) present their projects publicly to their community partner and UAA, (4)submit a final written project report to the Office of Undergraduate Research & Scholarship. Project abstracts will be published in the proceedings of the annual Undergraduate Research & Discovery Symposium.
Instructions for completing the cover sheet:
- Download the interactive .pdf file.
- Either (a) complete the form electronically and print or (b) print the form and complete by hand.
- Collect necessary signatures.
- Either (a) submit the completed, signed cover sheet and all other application materials to the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship in RH 115 or (b) scan the completed, signed cover sheet and email along with all application materials to uaa_research@uaa.alaska.edu.
Downloads:
Undergraduate Research in the Community Grants Cover Sheet for Individual Proposals
Undergraduate Research in the Community Grants Cover Sheet for Group Proposals
These forms may also be picked up from the Office of Undergraduate Research & Scholarship in RH 115.
Questions, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship at 907-786-1086 or uaa_research@uaa.alaska.edu.
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