FY 2025 Request for Proposals

Fall deadline: September 27, 2024       Decision: November 8, 2024        Award start: December 15, 2024
Spring deadline: February 14, 2025      Decision: April 4, 2025                    Award start: May 15, 2025

The Scholarship & Creativity Grant (S&C) program supports scholarship and creative activity in the humanities, arts, and social sciences (HASS).  Full-time tenure-track faculty at Montana State University who have earned terminal degrees are eligible to apply. S&C funds are intended to support (i) individual HASS faculty research and creative activities, (ii) research teams seeking to pursue a larger grant, or (iii) HASS faculty building collaborations with Tribal or other underserved/underrepresented communities.  

Criteria:

A committee of HASS faculty will evaluate proposals according to the following criteria:

  • The intellectual significance or artistic merit of the project’s purpose and goals (for Tribal or other underserved/underrepresented community collaborative building proposals, describe the level of current engagement and scholarly path you hope to take with the community)
  • The appropriateness of the project’s tasks to achieve the project’s purpose and goals
  • The project’s potential impact and contribution to MSU (Strategic Plan and/or Grand Challenges), the field, and/or society
  • The qualifications and expertise of the artist or scholar (and team, if applicable) in relation to the project purpose and goals
  • The potential for success and feasibility of completion within the projected timeframe
  • The appropriateness of the budget

Please address each criterion in your proposal and write in a way that is accessible to your MSU colleagues who may not be in your discipline. The Associate Vice President for Research Development (AVPRD) and the S&C Executive Review Committee will review your proposal with 2-3 MSU HASS reviews to make a decision.

Each applicant/team may submit only one application to the S&C program over a 24-month period, unless invited to resubmit. Preference will be given to projects that have not been previously funded; please explain if this proposal is related to another on-going project and, if you have collaborators, how they are involved.

Within three months of completion of the project, successful applicants shall provide a written report of grant activities and outcomes to the AVPRD. The submission of this final project report is required as a criterion for future S&C proposal consideration.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the AVPRD Liz Shanahan (shanahan@montana.edu) with questions about program requirements, expectations, and electronic submission via InfoReady (https://montana.infoready4.com/). Applicants are also strongly encouraged to request proposal and budget assistance from the Office of Research Development (https://www.montana.edu/research/ord/request_form.html). Information sessions will be posted on the Office of Research Development site under “Events”  (https://www.montana.edu/research/ord/).

Budget:

Applicants may request funds for supplies, an approved course buy-out, travel (e.g., archival work, travel to tribal communities), maximum of one month summer salary, and other expenses (e.g., students) necessary to complete the proposed project. Award amounts will vary, with a minimum of $4,000 and a maximum of $20,000. These funds will expire and revert to the Research and Economic Development Office after 12 months from award activation.

Budget requests should be itemized and also contain a detailed budget narrative that explains the need and the amount of the budget expenditures.

  • If a course buy-out is requested, the application must include a letter of support from the department head or school director that includes the cost of the course buy-out (best to check with your College’s budget administrator). Explain in the budget narrative the need for a course buy-out.
  • For travel expenses, explain projected travel expenses in the budget narrative, being as specific and realistic as possible about the cost of transportation, lodging and other expenses. When budgeting for travel, please follow State approved In-State, Out-of-State and International rates regarding per diem, mileage, and lodging.
  • For summer salary requests (salary + benefits), please indicate what month and how you will use this time.
  • Budgets must include the 6 percent admin fee that will be assessed to your award by the Vice President for Finance and Administration Office.
  • The following items are unlikely to be funded unless specifically justified: computers; equipment, unless it has a direct and clearly explained relation to the proposed project; post-production costs of books, articles or other creative activities; travel to professional conferences regularly attended by the applicant.

Submission:

Please submit your proposal electronically to InfoReady (https://montana.infoready4.com/).

  • Click "Log in" in the top right-hand corner of the InfoReady homepage and log in with your MSU NetID and password.
  • From this page, find the Table that lists funding opportunities.
  • Click the down arrow under the column labeled “Category” and select “Internal Opportunity.”
  • From there, select “Scholarship and Creativity” in the “Title” column and click “Apply."
  • Proceed to complete the required fields and upload the necessary documents. An application may be saved as a draft before submission. You will receive a system notification when your application has been received. Decisions will be announced via InfoReady. New InfoReady users may contact ord@montana.edu for assistance.

Applicants should submit their S&C proposal as a single PDF document, which will be distributed to external reviewers and S&C Executive Review Committee members. The proposal should include all of the following:

  • Cover Page (fields in InfoReady)
    • Project title
    • Abstract (300 words): A brief description of the purpose, goals, and activities of the proposed project
    • Total amount requested
  • A Project Description of no more than five single-spaced pages, minimum of 12 point font, minimum one-inch margins
    • Describe the project purpose and goals
    • Identify specific tasks to be undertaken during the granting period (the scope of work)
    • If you are applying for funds to support building relationships with a Tribal community, you must also have a letter of support from the Community Engagement Core
    • Provide a timetable for completion of the project
    • If your project will require Institutional Review Board review, please describe what level of review will be required and include on your timetable
    • If your project is about building relationships with a tribal community, please describe the work you have completed with the Community Engagement Core
    • Give an itemized budget and include the 6% admin fee
    • Provide a detailed budget narrative
    • Address the 6-7 review criteria in the above proposal sections
  • A maximum two-page bio sketch (abbreviated CV) of each Principal Investigator
  • If requesting a course buy-out, attach a letter from your Department Chair/Head indicating approval and confirmingthe cost proposed in the budget
  • If you have received S&C, REF and/or HASS grant(s) in the last three years, also attach your final report(s).

Review Process:

Once an S&C proposal is submitted, the chair of the S&C Executive Review Committee (ERC), Dr. Shanahan, will identify at least two MSU HASS reviewers for the proposal, with at least one reviewer being from a different department/college. After the independent reviews are submitted to InfoReady, the S&C ERC will review comments and your proposal and make a recommendation to the VP-RED. Applicants can expect to receive a decision and access the reviews in InfoReady approximately 6-7 weeks after submission. Potential outcomes of the review are 1) highly meritorious and fund immediately, 2) invitation to resubmit based on specific criteria identified by the S&C ERC, or 3) not competitive and do not fund.

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