Internal Grants
The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs offers many funding opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty/staff.
- Funding opportunities for undergraduate students.
- Funding opportunities for graduate students
- Funding opportunities for Faculty+Staff
Proposals
Proposals must be written in terms that educated non-experts can readily understand. It is important that committee reviewers outside of the discipline can understand the abstract, budget, and narrative of the proposal. The abstract should describe the key points of the entire proposal, rather than being a repetition of the project’s objectives. Specific elements of internal grant proposals can be found on the individual grant applications.
Eligibility
Typically, faculty and staff with .5FTE or greater appointments and students who are at least half-time. Specific eligibility requirements are provided on each grant program page.
Expenditures
All expenditures must be made in accordance with University policies and should be based on principles of economy. Consult the following units/websites for information and assistance:
- Accounts Payable: Includes policies and reimbursement forms for services and supplies, etc.
- First Source Travel: Includes guidelines, resources, reimbursement forms for travel.
- Human Resources: Includes forms for faculty/academic staff and students/payroll.
- Purchasing: Includes information on procurement credit cards and purchase orders.
The faculty/academic staff mentor should consult with their Academic Department about completing the Student Payroll Eligibility Form and approving bi-weekly time-sheets through the online payroll system.
Collect an invoice and W9 from the consultant that includes the consultant's tax ID or Social Security Number and submit a Direct Pay eForm.
Consult the Travel page for additional assistance. Generally, keep all receipts for purchases and documentation regarding events/conferences.
ORSP funds are not available for standard computer purchases.
Funds should be spent as indicated in the original approved proposal. If you are considering a change in this plan, contact the Director of ORSP.
Equipment, books, and materials purchased with grant funds remain the property of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
- Graduate students may apply for funding for services and supplies and/or travel funds in support of their research through the GradRSCA program.
- Graduate students may also apply for funding to present their research at scholarly conferences through the Student Travel for the Presentation of Research Results program.
- On a limited basis, graduate students may be included for stipend funding in student-faculty research projects (summer or academic year), where, along with the faculty mentor, they act as secondary research mentors to undergraduate students.
Prizes, Awards, and Gifts (Participant Incentives)
Prizes, awards, and gifts to research participants are not allowable costs for state funding, per UW System policy. Please review Accounts Payable’s webpage on Gifts, Awards, Prizes, and Giveaways and the University's Policy on Research Participant Incentives and consult with Accounts Payable prior to expending funds to ensure that the many restrictions and requirements related to participant payments are correctly followed.
Research Misconduct Policy and Procedures
Misconduct in research is defined as fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or other practices that seriously deviate from those that are commonly accepted within the scientific community for proposing, conducting, reviewing, or reporting research. Misconduct in research is prohibited and could result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. UW-Eau Claire’s Policies and Procedures on Research Misconduct document indicates how the University will respond to allegations of research misconduct.
Property Rights
UW System policies relating to inventions and apply to these grant programs; see UW System Policy 1315 “Patents and Inventions.” Questions regarding patents should be directed to WiSys.
Questions regarding copyrights for the publication of books, laboratory manuals, etc. resulting from projects funded with UW-Eau Claire funds should be addressed before the proposal is submitted for review. Contact the copyright officer, director of the McIntyre Library, in L3005, 715-836-4827.
Human Subjects
Funded projects involving human subjects in research must be approved by the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects (IRB) before they the projects are implemented. Any research project, either funded or unfunded, originated at or supported by the university, that involves human subjects, must be reviewed and approved by the IRB.
Animal Care and Use
Funded projects involving vertebrate animals used in research must be approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) before the projects are implemented. Any research project, either funded or unfunded, originated at or supported by the university, that involves vertebrate animals, must be reviewed and approved by IACUC.
Proposal Review
Grant programs have different review processes and criteria. Processing a proposal typically takes 3 to 6 weeks. Please refer to the specific program's guidelines or contact ORSP at orsp@uwec.edu or 715-836-3405 with questions.
Publications
Publications or presentations resulting from work funded by UW-Eau Claire grant programs should acknowledge that funds came from the program under which funds were awarded. Please refer to the wording provided in the award document. It is particularly important to identify projects supported by students through the Blugold Commitment Differential Tuition Program.
Final Reports
A final report, if required, must be submitted to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs within 60 days of project completion. No awards will be made to investigators who have not complied with all requirements of previous UW-Eau Claire internal or external grant awards or who have outstanding reports due to ORSP or external funding agencies. The following ORSP programs require a formal final report:
- Extramural Grant Development
- University Research and Creative Activity
- Sabbatical Leave Program for Instructional Faculty
- Blugold Commitment-Funded Faculty/Student Research Collaboration and Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates
The final report for funded student research projects is a presentation of results at UW-Eau Claire's Celebration of Excellence in Research and Creative Activity (CERCA) or the UW System Symposium.