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SDSU Grants for Established RSCA Programs (Formerly Rapid Response)

Program Overview: In order to further the Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (RSCA) of our faculty, the Division of Research and Innovation is pleased to announce the SDSU Grants for Established RSCA Programs for the 2023-2024 academic year. This program will provide expanded opportunities for RSCA funding and will replace the SDSU Rapid Reponse Grant Program.

The primary purpose of this program is to provide support for more significantly developed RSCA projects for which a faculty member is seeking extramural funding. These typically would be projects where a faculty member has already established a solid record of publications, or juried exhibitions/performances, or smaller funded internal/external grant support, etc. focused on their specific area of RSCA specialization. This program can also support faculty who are resubmitting a previously reviewed grant proposal that received encouraging reviewer feedback. This funding is not intended to seed new or exploratory RSCA projects. Faculty looking for funding support or new or exploratory ideas should apply to the SDSU Seed Grant Program. 

Faculty who receive this funding are required to identify a targeted funding opportunity as well as submit a proposal for extramural funding (e.g., federal, state, local, foundation, etc.). Grant submission must be made within 6 months of the close of the award period. Awards can range from six to twelve months, depending o project needs. For this program, faculty can apply to several levels of funding that are connected to the amount of extramural funding sought (please see below). We strongly encourage interdisciplinary and multi-institution collaborations; however, non-SDSU collaborators are not eligible to receive grant funds. Please note: for a future multi-institutional grant application, SDSU must serve as the prime and not as a sub-contractor on the proposal. 

Eligibility: Tenured or tenure-track faculty at all academic ranks. All Unit 3 faculty can serve as Co-Principal Investigator or Co-Project Director for this funding. Faculty can only receive funding from this program once during an academic year.

Award Specifics: Applicants can request $10k-$20k in funding depending on the amount of extramural funding sought in a future proposal. DRI expects to fund four to five applications for the 23/24 academic year.

Target RFP/RFA Budget1

Funding Request

$75k - $200k

Up to $10k

$201k - $500k

Up to $15k

Over $500k

Up to $20k

1Total grant funding, including direct and indirect costs 

Applications will be taken on a rolling basis until funds for the academic year are spent.

Application Details: 

Application Form: Applications will be accepted via the InfoReady online competitions portal. Please click HERE to start the application process (look for "SDSU Grants for Established RSCA) and carefully follow the instructions within the competition. 

Application Narrative and Description: This section of the application should be single-spaced, 12-point font, with minimum 0.5 inch margins (4-pages maximum). The narrative and description should be written in a style that is accessible for reviewers outside of the applicant’s area(s) of expertise and should address the following:

  • The importance of the problem or need being addressed by this project. How will this project advance your discipline(s) or field(s) of work? What is the contribution to your discipline(s) or field(s) of work?
  • Describe any of your previous work (publications, presentations, juried exhibitions/performances, books, internal/external funding) directly related to this project. How will the proposed project extend and amplify the work you have already conducted in this area of inquiry?
  • Describe the scope of the project, including the methodology for this work.
  • For projects with multiple investigators or institutions, describe how these collaborations will strengthen the proposed project.
  • How does the project fit within the identified funding mechanism or request for proposals or applications?
  • Provide a project timeline that includes important milestones and the submission date for the targeted extramural funding opportunity. 

Team and Institutional Roles: For projects with multiple team members, please provide the name of each team member as well as the team member’s department/school. Briefly describe the role of each team member and their contributions to the project. If your project includes other institution(s), provide a brief description of how that institution will contribute to the project (1-page maximum). 

Evidence of Scholarship: Please summarize evidence of discipline-specific research, scholarship, or creative activities for the applicant (Principle Investigator/Project Director) and other key collaborators (up to two) that is relevant to the project. Be sure to include any previously funded grants for the past 3 years in this summary (9-pages maximum). 

Budget and Budget Justification: Please provide a budget and associated budget justification/description based upon the funding level for your project. Expenses should be directly related to your project. The following allowable/non-allowable lists are representative, not exhaustive. If you have a specific question about allowable expenses or whether your project is appropriate for this funding mechanism, please contact [email protected].

The following are allowable budget expenses:

  1. Salary for non-faculty staff and students.
  2. External grant writers or reviewers.
  3. Funds to collect pilot data.
  4. Purchase of small equipment for data collection or research purposes.
  5. Data transcription or translation services.
  6. Travel for data collection or research purposes.
  7. Supplies related to data collection (e.g. Biology, Chemistry, computer supplies, etc.).
  8. Participant incentives.
  9. Consultant fees.

The following are non-allowable budget expenses:

  1. Faculty salary.
  2. Conference-related travel expenses.
  3. Assigned time for faculty.
  4. General office or printer supplies.
  5. Publication fees.
  6. Rent or space costs.
  7. Tuition.

Bibliography/References (2-page maximum).

Targeted RFP or Grant Funding Announcement(s): Please include a PDF copy of the targeted RFP(s) or grant announcement(s) in your application packet. If you are resubmitting a grant proposal, please include the grant review summary statement in the application packet.

Letter of Support from College Dean: Please obtain a letter of support from the PI/PD’s College Dean. 

***Please upload and submit a single PDF file that includes your application narrative and description, bibliography/references, team and institutional roles, evidence of scholarship, budget/budget justification, targeted RFP/grant announcement(s), and College Dean letter of support.***

Application Review: The Research Review Committee of the University Research Council will review these applications on a rolling basis. Applications will be scored using the following criteria: 1) 20%-Clarity of Proposal; 2) 30%-Current Research/ scholarship success of applicant and team (if applicable); 3) 25%-Extent to which the project will contribute signifcantly to discipline or field of work; and 4) 30%-Potential of the project to lead to grant funding.

Reporting: Applicants are expected to submit a grant proposal for extramural funding within six months of the close of the award period. At the end of the project period, DRI will send awardees a report template to complete. Reports are due six-months after the funding period has ended. Reports will include the final submitted proposal. DRI will send report reminders to awardees before the report is due.

Established RSCA Awards 22_23 AY