Internal funds are available from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications to support research, scholarship and creative activities through biannual competitions.
These funds will provide seed money for projects that will enhance the grantee’s ability to obtain external funding to support prominent scholarly work or creative activity. Priority will be given to eligible faculty who propose projects of high promise and who make a compelling case that this funding is critical to their success. The College of Journalism and Mass Communications will award these grants based upon the merits of the project and the availability of funds. All full-time faculty (professors, lecturers, and professors of practice), regardless of rank, are eligible to apply for a seed grant.
Program Objective
The seed grant program is designed to enable faculty to begin or extend projects that are likely to:
Lead to peer-reviewed publication
Lead to national or international presentation or exhibition
Lead to measurable enhanced student learning outcomes or curriculum innovation
Lead to grant funding or in-kind support from outside CoJMC
Limitations
Funding is limited. Applications are limited to a maximum request of $5,000. However, applications less than $2,000 are more likely to be funded. Projects that are well thought out, reasonable in their size and scope, provide a detailed budget, provide a detailed plan to pursue external funding, and are likely to result in peer-reviewed publications or national/international presentations or exhibitions or enhanced curricular innovation are more likely to be supported.
Funds will be awarded based on the deadlines below. Faculty members are limited to two applications per academic year and faculty may not apply for a second seed grant, while still having unspent funds from a prior seed grant. Awards will be limited by available funding and applications may not be funded or may only be partially funded. Not all applications will be funded. Funds will not be awarded for work already completed.
Allowable and Unallowable Costs
All projects must comply with all University of Nebraska-Lincoln research policies, including policies related to human and animal subjects. Questions related to UNL’s research policies should be directed to the Office of Research Responsibility.
The College of Journalism and Mass Communications will abide by all UNL purchasing and expenditure policies. All purchases must be pre-approved according to the established college process.
Funds cannot be used to support, replace or supplement faculty salaries or faculty course buyouts.
Award Criteria
The following will be considered when making funding selections:
Significance of the project or program proposed
Relationship of the project to the college’s strategic priorities
Number of awards or other college allocations previously received by the applicant, including prior seed grants
Expected and measurable outcomes of peer-reviewed publication, national or international presentation or exhibition, enhanced student learning, or curriculum innovation
Complete justification of all expenses
Other sources of funding
Preference will be given to:
Applications that have a detailed plan to pursue external funding
Applicants who do not have other college funding allocations, including endowed professorships
Application Process
Funding Proposals should include:
250-word abstract
Proposal Document: (3 page maximum). Please include sufficient detail to convince reviewers of the projects scholarly merit and relevance
Introduction
Clear Project Aim (research question or planned outcome)
Situate the project in existing literature (significance of project)
Short term-objectives and description of how the project fits into the applicant’s long- term plan for scholarship, pedagogy or promotion
Explanation of how the project fits with the applicant’s previous/other research.
Proposal Plan:
Describe data/information sources, method of analysis, and expectations regarding outcomes.
Clearly identify specific activities to be conducted, and how these activities will enhance the applicant’s future research and scholarship.
Describe what the funds will accomplish that cannot be achieved through other means.
Timeline: What is the timeline for project?
Identify potential external funding opportunities (program and funding agency), submission deadlines and submission timeline, if applicable.
List of Key Personnel: Include a 250-word biographical summary for all faculty not in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Current & Pending Support: List all funded and pending internal (university) or external grants for PI, including title, award amount, funding period and fund agency. Include a summary of all previous funding from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications in the last five years.
Include a budget (1 page maximum) and budget justification (1 page maximum).
Include a current copy of the applicant’s CV/resume
Awards
The college’s executive committee will consider applications. Those applications that are funded will receive a cost object for their project or program. All expenses associated with the project should be charged to the given cost object. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure expended funds do not exceed the awarded amount.
Report
Applicants who receive funding are required to submit a report (1 page maximum ) and deliver a public presentation on the results or status of their project within 90 days of the funding end date. The report should detail how well the project met the stated goals and objects.