Equipment and Infrastructure Support Award

• To participate in any of the ORED RISE programs, a PI must be in a tenure-track or research faculty position.
• The PI must meet the following requirements:
  • Having submitted all reports and requirements from previous ORED awards and all sponsored activities.
  • May not have been awarded ORED EIS funding in the last two years.
• EIS Awards are expected to range from $5,000 to $50,000. Total requests (including cost share) should not exceed $150,000.
• A minimum of $1 cost share for every $1 requested is required. It is preferable to have a 2:1 cost share by contributions from a combination of departments and/or colleges. Allowable cost share is considered U of I funds paying for at least 50% of the total project (i.e., operating expense, capital outlay). Federal funds, in-kind and third- party funds, and contributed time are not allowable.
• Awards will be made for a period of 12 months, with an anticipated start date of December 1, 2019; however, if the proposed project will involve regulated activities (e.g., Human Subjects, Animals, Biohazards, Drones), the project state date will be the date the PI provides a copy of the assurances or December 1, 2019, whichever is later. We anticipate notifying applicants of their review outcome by Nov. 16.

Fully signed proposals are due to the Office of Research and Economic Development by 5 p.m. PT on October 21, 2019. Proposals must be submitted through the U of I’s Vandal Electronic Research Administration System (VERAS) at veras.uidaho.edu, which enables electronic routing and signatures of your proposal. The entire application package should be loaded into VERAS as a single PDF. Because this is an internal grant program, ORED’s Fiscal Operations and Research and Faculty Development units will be involved in the approval of the proposal submission. All signatures must be obtained through VERAS by the 5 p.m. PT deadline in order for the proposal to be considered complete and on time. Please note that your college may have an internal deadline for proposal submission and routing to ensure adequate time for departmental and college level review and approval.

Use single spacing, one‐inch margins, and a font size of 12 pt. Do not include extra materials. Proposals that do not follow these guidelines will be returned without review.

1. Cover Sheet (1 page): Complete the cover sheet available on the EIS website.
2. In VERAS, the title must begin with “ORED Fall 2019 EIS:” to assist with tracking the proposal. For Sponsor, select “UI Office of Research and Economic Development.” Signatures of PI(s), departmental administrator(s) and College Dean will be processed electronically via VERAS. All signatures must be obtained through VERAS by the 5 p.m. PT deadline in order for the proposal to be considered complete and on time. Please note that your college may have an internal deadline for proposal submission and routing to ensure adequate time for departmental and college level review and approval.
3. Abstract (1 page, 500 characters): Provide a brief non‐technical description of the research or creative activity supported by the equipment or infrastructure improvement and expected outcome(s) of the acquisition. Complete the abstract form available on the EIS website.
4. Narrative (3 page maximum): Please address the following points:
   • Describe the research or creative activity performed by the PI(s).
   • Describe the requested equipment, equipment upgrades/repairs or infrastructure improvements, and how that will support the research or creative activity.
   • Provide a timeline for implementation of the acquisition or improvement.
   • Describe the number of U of I faculty, staff and/or students or projects that will be affected.
   • Describe the expected outcomes and the deliverables that will result from the equipment or infrastructure improvement.
5. Letters of cost share commitment: A letter of commitment is required for each funding source (i.e., department, college, center) identifying the item(s) to be cost shared and the amount and funding source (index number).
6. Budget template: Complete the budget template available on the EIS website. The budget must describe the costs of the equipment acquisition, upgrades or repairs, or other infrastructure improvements. Funds may not be used for salary, travel, student support, renovations/remodeling, or operating expenses.
7. Equipment quote: If applicable.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to write for a non-technical audience. Proposals will be reviewed by a committee of U of I faculty members, administrators, and/or staff, as dictated by the subject matter discussed in each proposal. The VP for Research and Economic Development will make the final funding decisions, taking into account review comments, ranking from the Deans, and strategic expansion of the ORED funding portfolio. Proposals will be reviewed against the following six criteria:

• Merit of the request, and significance of research or creative activity
• Justification of need for acquisition, or improvement
• Number of faculty, staff and/or students who will benefit
• Breadth of use across departments or colleges
• Potential for increasing research and scholarly achievement and/or extramural funding
• Cost‐share commitment: at least 1:1 cost share is required; 2:1 is preferable

The Vice President for Research and Economic Development will make final funding decisions, and may require modifications in the budget as a condition of funding.

• Awards are made for a period of 12 months. ORED’s Fiscal Operations unit will notify the PI(s) and their departmental grant administrators when their award index has been set up. Index notifications are expected to be made on/before Dec. 1, 2019. Funds must be spent in accordance with the proposed budget. Deviations from the proposed budget or scope of work must be requested via email to ored-fiscalops@uidaho.edu with clear justification. Funds remaining at the end of the twelve (12) month award period will be returned to ORED.
• All purchases, upgrades, repairs or improvements must be made within the award period.
• All equipment purchases, upgrades, repairs or improvements vest with the University of Idaho.
• Ownership of any and all intellectual property created through the use of these funds shall be determined as defined in U of I Faculty Staff Handbook 5300.
• If the proposed project will involve regulated activities (e.g., Human Subjects, Animals, Biohazards, Drones), the PI will need to produce the appropriate assurances before a grant is awarded.

Two reports are required following the end of the award period:

• A project close-out report, describing any publications, presentations, grant submissions, and student involvement that were enabled by the award, which is due within 30 days after the funding ends.
• A final outcomes report detailing further publications, presentations, proposal submissions, and other research and/or creative activities enabled by the award, which is due twelve (12) months following the close-out of the award.

The close-out report template and the final report template are available on the EIS website: uidaho.edu/eisawards.