Kwantlen Research Grants - Katalyst
PROGRAM INFORMATION & APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
AWARD AMOUNTS:
Katalyst Grant up to $40,000 over two years
TERMS OF REFERENCE
Kwantlen Polytechnic University has committed funds to the enhancement of the environment for, and visibility of, scholarly and research activity.
OBJECTIVES
Katalyst Grants are designed to fund highly meritorious research or scholarly activity that is short-term and that forms a new direction in the research career of the investigator(s). The grant especially encourages research that is interdisciplinary or that offers other theoretical, methodological, or empirical innovation. The grant also encourages applications from new scholars seeking to establish their initial research programs. Collaborative and interdisciplinary projects, including those that integrate the Humanities and Social Sciences with the Natural, Applied, or Health Sciences, will be considered.
Grants for the Creative and Performing Arts will also be awarded to support innovative, integrative and/or critically grounded production, reinterpretation or performances of creative works. This might include the development or completion of existing original works for performances, exhibition or publication with particular emphasis on new approaches to presentation or representation.
Katalyst Grants are not intended to replace those already available from the Natural Science and Engineering Council (NSERC), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), other external granting sources or from other internal funding competitions. Katalyst Grants are not to be used as supplementary funding for already funded research projects. The grants are meant for research projects that will enable the investigator(s) to establish a research record in a new area, enabling future external funding possibilities. Thus, proposals should detail how the Katalyst funded project will form the basis for future applications to provincial, national, and international funding agencies.
Participation by undergraduate students in the proposed research is strongly encouraged, but their research responsibilities should be clearly explained.
ELIGIBILITY
1. Katalyst Grants: All faculty and administrative staff.
2. No researcher may apply for new Katalyst or HSS/S&T grant funding until after the completion of any previously funded Katalyst or HSS/S&T project and the submission of the Final Report.
3. No researcher may hold OR apply for either as Principle Investigator or Co-investigator, more than one Katalyst or HSS/S&T grant at a time.
4. Applications will not be accepted for Katalyst or HSS/S&T grant consideration that are essentially the same, in whole or in part, as a proposal submitted simultaneously or under review by NSERC, SSHRC or any other external agencies. If the applicants are currently supported by NSERC, SSHRC or other external agencies, the Katalyst or HSS/S&T grant proposal must clearly differentiate between the funding already obtained and that being requested from the Katalyst or HSS/S&T grant. While NSERC, SSHRC and other grants may be held concurrently, it is important that there should be no direct project overlap. The abstract/summary page for any funding already obtained or currently being requested from other sources should be attached to the application. If this is not available, applicants should include a short descriptive paragraph for each of the research projects currently held or applied for whose status is not yet known.
REVIEW AND ADJUDICATION
The Katalyst Grant applications are adjudicated by a committee of your peers on the faculty of Kwantlen. Members come from Humanities, Social Sciences, Science and Horticulture, the Library, Community and Health Studies and ACA. While the committee members are researchers in their own fields and with varied areas of expertise, no applicant can rely on the committee being knowledgeable in her/his specialized area of research. Thus, applicants are strongly encouraged to write about the proposed research in non-technical language understandable to researchers in other fields. In establishing the Katalyst Grant, the intent is to provide funding to enhance researchers’ competitive position when applying for external funding, and not to replace external funding. Thus, proposals that involve the development of new areas of research for the applicant or which prepare them to demonstrate a research competence when applying for external funding are favored by the Adjudication Committee over those which continue existing research endeavors.
Applicants whose research programs are very well funded already are encouraged to be especially diligent in explaining why the additional funding from Katalyst is necessary. Such funding will likely only be available when the Adjudication Committee is convinced that the proposed project involves the applicant(s) in a new field of research, or when there is a compelling innovative focus.
GUIDELINES
1. Grants are awarded for projects that have clearly defined objectives and methods meeting the criteria established for the Katalyst Fund.
2. Awards are for a maximum period of two years.
3. Individual awards have a project minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $40,000. Interdisciplinary collaborative projects are especially encouraged. However, it is emphasized that the Katalyst and HSS/S&T Grants do not cover ANY research expenses of research collaborators from institutions other than Kwantlen nor does it cover research expenses (including travel and accommodation) incurred by community partners. Katalyst and HSS/S&T Grant funds cannot be transferred to other institutions or community partners.
- When collaborative projects are being proposed, applicants are advised to clearly indicate in their project descriptions, the extent to which their proposed project is collaborative in both intellectual content and research roles, and to identify the roles and contributions of each member of the research team.
- While interdisciplinary projects are especially encouraged, the actual nature of that interdisciplinary contribution must be clearly articulated. Applicants are advised to clearly indicate the manner and extent to which the project is interdisciplinary and the contribution that each ‘discipline’ will make to the research orientation and research tasks of the projects.
4. The Katalyst Grant award permits a maximum of two sections of Release Time, with a value of $12,500 for each. No Release Time is permitted for the HSS Grant.
Other allowable expenses are detailed in the document entitled ‘Use of Grant Funds’, located at http://www.kwantlen.ca/research/Frequently_Asked_Questions.html. This document is not intended to be all-inclusive and eligibility questions should be directed to the ORS for clarification.
5. A Progress Report indicating what has been accomplished with the funding must be submitted to ORS within six months of the end of the term of the grant. This form is available on the ORS site http://www.kwantlen.bc.ca/research/forms_resources.html
DEADLINE
Completed applications must be submitted via the Romeo Researcher Portal by 4:00 pm PDT on June 3, 2013. The on-line application will be available on May 3, 2013. If this date falls on a weekend or a statuary holiday the deadline will be extended to the next working day.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Jason Dyer, Chair, Associate Vice President, Research, Office of Research and Scholarship
Faith Auton-Cuff, Educational Studies
Chris Burns, Library
Duncan Greenlaw, English
Amandah Hoogbruin, Nursing
Kyle Matsuba, Psychology
Paul Richard, Environmental Protection Technology
