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Funding Opportunities

CCAS Internal Grant Report
Link:  CCAS Internal Grant Report
Submission Window: August 1, 2018 - August, 31, 2018
Description: If you received internal funding from CCAS during last year (July 2017- June 2018), including CCFF, DICE, and Dean's Research Chair, please submit your report on this webform.  Please submit your report. Notice that the reports for enhanced travel and Nick-of-Time awards are not required.  Also, if you choose to include a file, you may upload to the webform. If you have any question, please contact us at ccasres@gwu.edu.

2019 Sloan Research Fellowships
Link: https://sloan.org/fellowships
Application Deadline: September 17, 2018
Description: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is now accepting applications for its Sloan Research Fellowships, which seek to stimulate fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise. The $70,000 fellowship is awarded yearly to 126 researchers in recognition of distinguished performance and unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field.  Candidates must hold a tenure track (or equivalent) position, which must include a yearly teaching requirement. Candidates must hold a PhD (or equivalent) in chemistry, computational or evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, ocean sciences, physics, or a related field. Candidates' most recent PhD must have been awarded on or after September 1, 2012. GW is able to put forward no more than three candidates per department for this submission. More details can be found at https://sloan.org/fellowships 

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Systems for Action program RFP
Proposal Deadline: October 10, 2018 at 3:00pm
Description: RWJF is accepting applications that will focus on solutions to high-priority systems alignment problems that involve medical, social, and public health services; test the effectiveness of these solutions using rigorous scientific methods; and engage stakeholders from medical, social, and public health systems in the design and conduct of the research, so that findings can be readily used in practice. Up to six successful grantees will be awarded $250,000 each.
https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/funding-opportunities/2018/systems-for-action--systems-and-services-research-to-build-a-cul.html

Events

DARPA DSO Proposers Day
Date/Time: July 31, 2018 from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Location: Executive Conference Center (4075 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 350, Arlington, VA 22203)
Description: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is sponsoring a Proposers Day to provide information to potential proposers on the objectives of an anticipated Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Space Environment Exploitation (SEE) program. The event will be webcast for those who would like to participate remotely. Advance registration is required both for attending the Proposers Day in person and for viewing the webcast. Additional information regarding this SN can be found at https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/DARPA-SN-18-67/listing.htmlFor specific questions regarding this SN, please send email to SEE@darpa.mil

Event Reminder:
Imaging Initiative Workshop - Full details in our July 3 Research Update
Date/Time: Wednesday, July 25, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Location:  Science and Engineering Hall, Room 2000B
Contact: Professors Can Korman (korman@gwu.edu Opens in a new window) and Murray Loew (loew@gwu.edu Opens in a new window)

Welcome New Staff

Alice Kungu is joining our research team as our newest School Research Administrator. Alice  has over six years of academic research grants management experience. She started her career in research at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital at the Division of Women’s Health helping investigate gender and race based differences in health outcomes. She went on to administer an NIH P20 Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston, funded by the National Institute on Minority Health Disparities, with the aims of increasing minority representation throughout the research pipeline from investigators to human subjects. She studied political science at Seattle University and strongly believes in using research based science to make public policy. On a personal note, Alice is deeply idealistic and looks forward to supporting research that makes the world a better place! She loves all New England teams and winners in general. Alice can be reached at alice@gwu.edu Please join us in welcoming Alice!

Funding Opportunities

RFP for Cures Within Reach - CureAccelerator Live! Mid-Atlantic Repurposing Research Event
Application Deadline Extended:  July 23, 2018
Cures Within Reach is excited to be bringing our CureAccelerator Live! event to the Mid-Atlantic region, and we hope to see some submissions from George Washington University in response to the Request for Proposals.

Highlights from the RFP include:

  • Up to $50,000 for Mid Atlantic-based repurposing research in any unsolved disease.
  • Selected finalists will pitch their projects in front of an audience of repurposing stakeholders on Oct. 16, 2018 in the Washington, DC area; CureAccelerator Live! is held in conjunction with ExL Events at the Collaborations Addressing Vulnerable Populations Forum
  • CureAccelerator Live! finalists are eligible for a 20% discount.
  • Proposal submissions are due July 23, 2018 (previously July 9, 2018) on CureAccelerator

See attached:  RFP, additional application instructions and some background information about the CureAccelerator Live! event.

IRIS 2019 Researcher Awards Call for Proposals
Application Deadline:  October 1, 2018
Website:  http://iris.isr.umich.edu/research-data/grants/
Description: This is the second round of awards to fund researchers who will use the IRIS data to address questions about the social and economic returns to investments in research. Up to $15,000 for dissertation awards and up to $30,000 for early career and established researcher awards are available. Proposals submitted must emphasize the use of IRIS data in projects that address open issues in the study of science and technology and in science policy. Awarded researchers will receive access to the current IRIS research data release files, which are further described here: http://iris.isr.umich.edu/research-data/  Our colleague Dr. Jonathon Mote has just received such an award.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention 2018-19 research grants programs
Two grant mechanisms: Innovation Grants, and Focus Grants. (Recently awarded $5.3 million in grants for the 2017-18 grants cycle.)

More information can be found at https://afsp.org/our-work/research/grant-information. Should you have any questions, please contact AFSP Research Grants Manager Carl Niedzielski phone: 212.363.3500 ext. 2015; email: cniedzielski@afsp.org

Events

Imaging Initiative Workshop
Date/Time: Wednesday, July 25, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Location:  Science and Engineering Hall, Room 2000B
Description: This is a workshop on imaging organized by our colleagues in SEAS. It will be held in SEH and will be moderated by Dr. Joseph Mait, recently retired Chief Scientist of the US Army Research Laboratory.  Dr. Mait is proposing to organize a strategic effort for George Washington University in imaging.  The goal of this workshop is to identify fundamental research issues in imaging within the University community which, if approached multi-disciplinarily, will have broad application.  Dr. Mait is exceptionally qualified to lead the discussion, given his experience in strategic research planning and his expertise in imaging. One simple goal of the workshop is to initiate a dialogue among University researchers working in the imaging arena.  A broader goal is to identify and address fundamental barriers to imaging capabilities that can have application across disciplines.  Such applications include materials metrology, biology, medicine, astronomy, autonomous navigation, remote sensing, and the interface between human and autonomous machines.
Contact: Professors Can Korman (korman@gwu.edu) and Murray Loew (loew@gwu.edu)

Tentative Agenda:

  • Introductions (2 hours)
    • Dr. Mait
    • Faculty:
      • Who
      • Short description of research
      • Single most significant research result
      • Single most significant unsolved problem
  • Presentation on imaging and its potential (Dr. Mait, 1 hour includes Q&A)
  • Lunch (1 hour)
  • Identify Applications Clusters (1 hour)
  • Break (15 min)
  • Identify Fundamental Research Questions (1 hour)

Welcome New Staff

Jessica Harb is joining the CCAS research administration team after working in OVPR for 2 1/2 years, specializing in pre-award guidance and support.  Her start date is next Monday, July 9. Prior to coming to GW, Jessica was at the California State University at Monterey Bay and the University of Tennessee, bringing an additional 4 years of experience in research and sponsored project administration.  When not providing guidance for proposal development, Jessica enjoys a motley of outdoor activities as well as spending time with her husband and 2 cats.  She is very excited to bring her experience and background to the CCAS team.

Kristin Furio has just joined the CCAS team on June 25 as the new senior administrative assistant for CCAS; her duties will include department operations at the front desk of Phillips 212 (Tyler's job) in addition to support Dean Evie Downie and me (YR).  Kristin has studied and worked in leadership development and education for over a decade. As a Community Connections member during college at Sacred Heart University, Kristin furthered the service-learning experience she had in a high school Community Relations course focusing on social justice issues. She has taken courses in Event Management at The George Washington University and previously worked in GW's Graduate School of Education and Human Development managing graduate programs, supporting faculty and recruiting for degrees focusing on Organizational Leadership and Human Resource Development. Kristin's involvement in the GW community has included being a member of the GW sustainability outreach group, Green Leaders; a member of the GW human resources outreach group, Colonial Community Ambassadors; and a Safety Warden for GSEHD, leading colleagues in navigating through emergency situations. Prior to coming to GW, Kristin served as an AmeriCorps VISTA at Ashoka's Youth Venture in the roll of Fellowship Associate connecting young leaders and changemakers from around the world. In her free time, she enjoys building community among DC residents by connecting   young professionals through DC Fray's intramural sports, charity fundraisers, and lifestyle events.

RFP Attachments:

CAL RFP - instructions for PIs-2hbgh5c CureAccelerator Live - Mid Atlantic 2018 RFP-166oaeg

CureAccelerator Live expansion 1pager v3-191g1fj

AFSP_2018_Innovation_Grants_Flyer-1dyk580

AFSP_2018_Focus_Grants_Flyer-14f56ys

Imaging Initiative Workshop

Location: SEH, Room TBD

Date/Time:  To be selected from July 23, 24, or 25, 10am - 4pm.

Doodle Poll: https://doodle.com/poll/u2sn9ybuvmxt724w (please enter your availability, if you wish to attend)

Description: This is a workshop on imaging organized by our colleagues in SEAS. It will be held in SEH and will be moderated by Dr. Joseph Mait, recently retired Chief Scientist of the US Army Research Laboratory.  Dr. Mait is proposing to organize a strategic effort for George Washington University in imaging.  The goal of this workshop is to identify fundamental research issues in imaging within the University community which, if approached multi-disciplinarily, will have broad application.  Dr. Mait is exceptionally qualified to lead the discussion, given his experience in strategic research planning and his expertise in imaging. One simple goal of the workshop is to initiate a dialogue among University researchers working in the imaging arena.  A broader goal is to identify and address fundamental barriers to imaging capabilities that can have application across disciplines.  Such applications include materials metrology, biology, medicine, astronomy, autonomous navigation, remote sensing, and the interface between human and autonomous machines.

Contact: Professors Can Korman (korman@gwu.edu) and Murray Loew (loew@gwu.edu)

Tentative Agenda

  • Introductions (2 hours)
    • Dr. Mait
    • Faculty:
      - Who
      - Short description of research
      - Single most significant research result
      - Single most significant unsolved problem
  • Presentation on imaging and its potential (Dr. Mait, 1 hour includes Q&A)
  • Lunch (1 hour)
  • Identify Applications Clusters (1 hour)
  • Break (15 min)
  • Identify Fundamental Research Questions (1 hour)

Reminder: Limited Proposal Opportunities (for Humanities Faculty)

NEH Summer Stipends program (internal deadline July 2, 2018)
As indicated in our Research Update on June 4, 2018, we are accepting pre-proposals to be considered for the NEH Summer Stipends competition. Each internal pre-proposal should consist of a project narrative (1 page) and a CV (no more than 2 pages). Please combine these two documents in one pdf file and then submit in email to ccasres@gwu.edu by Monday, July 2, 2018.

Expense Report Related Issues

Over the last several weeks, a number of our colleagues have seen their expense reports returned, often along with a request for more information.  After communicating with the relevant offices, including OVPR and Central Finance Office, we would like to provide the following clarification on the expectations on those reports. We should make it clear that this is not meant to be a comprehensive guideline. Rather, it is a just-in-time response to some of the concerns from our colleagues.

Q: Is there a new policy on the required documents for expense reports?

A: The GWTravel, Entertainment and Business Expense Manual  (updated May 2018), is the official guideline for reimbursement policy for travel and other business expenses. Expenses to be charged to a sponsored research project are subject to additional requirements including Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance (2 CFR §200)Federal Acquisition Regulations (FARs), GW policies and sponsor-specific terms and conditions.

In order to keep up with the latest regulations from the government and sponsors, GW updates its policies regularly as needed. When that occurs, we will inform you promptly.

Q: What are the common issues that have come up recently?

A:
The most common issue is the lack of information in the "Business Purpose" field.  As we explained in ourResearch Update on 8/25/2017 (see below for full details), a well-written business purpose should provide information on who, what, when, where, and why.

Q: The "Business Purpose" field in Concur only allows 64 characters; how can I fit all the information as needed?

A: If your description is too long to fit in the Business Purpose field, you can use the Comment section to enter more info, but please include a brief description in the Business Purpose field.  This field is included when the expense is recorded in EAS for both General Ledger and Grants Module reporting so it is more helpful to have the brief description than a generic statement such as “see comments”.

Q: My expense report for my recent conference travel was returned to me along with a request for conference agenda.  Is that a new requirement?

A: There is no such specific requirement. However, a conference agenda can be a way to provide appropriate documentation to justify the travel and its relevance to the project.  Other alternatives, such as a conference weblink or email invitation from the conference organizers, may be acceptable as well.

Q: Are there particular requirements for expense reports charged to a sponsored project?

A: When submitting an expense report for a sponsored project, the PI needs to provide sufficient documentation that can show the allowability of the cost on the project and how the specific cost benefits the overall projects objectives. This can be explained in the "Business Purpose" / "Comments" fields (it is advised to also include a conference agenda to the conference fee or the largest expense on the expense report).

Q: If I do include my conference agenda, where in Concur should I upload to? Do I need to upload it to each item of the same expense report?  What if my conference agenda is very long with over 100 pages?

A: If you include a conference agenda or other documentation such as pdf file of an invitation, or a contract, or a list of attendees, you can upload those under "Receipt" as a single grouping of documents.  Once one item is attached, any other documents can be attached to the same expense by either choosing replace or append the new document to a receipt.

You do not need to upload the same document multiple times.  In most cases, it shouldn't be difficult for an approver to locate the document. If you have such a concern because your expense report is exceedingly long, you can add a comment such as "conference agenda is with the receipt for dinner on May 30."

For a 100+ page agenda, you can select the 1-2 pages with the most relevant information, e.g. name/place/dates of conference, or your talk if applicable.

Q: Whom should I select as the approver(s) for my expense report? 

A: For sponsored project related expense reports, you should select the first two levels of approvals (no need for SRA for other reports)

  1. Your supervisor (usually your department chair)
  2. Your SRA (Add SRAs by going to Details->Approval Flow, then clicking on the plus sign to the right of the Manager Approval box to add a User-Added Approver).

After those two approvals, the report will either go to OVPR, followed by the central finance approval, or it will go to the central finance approval directly, depending on the specific expenditure items in your report.

Q: GW policy requires a 60 day deadline for expense report submission.When does the clock begin and end?

A: The start date is the transaction date, or completion of travel. The end date is the date when the expense report is submitted by the employee. In particular, you should not be penalized for the additional days taken by the approvals, as long as you submitted the report within 60 days.  Transactions sent back to the employee for additional information may also trigger email alerts, and you should resubmit those expenses with the appropriate additional information as soon as possible, but your PCard will not be suspended for delinquent reporting if the expenses were originally submitted in a timely manner.

Q: Is anything else being planned to ensure everyone is on the same page for expense report expectations?

A: Our SRA team and the CCAS Finance Team (led by Cindy Allen) are working with OVPR and GW Procurement to arrange a training session for expense report approvals (SRAs, CCAS Finance team, and Department administrative staff) so we are fully aware of the expectation from the central offices.

In addition, if there is enough interest from our faculty, we can consider a roundtable conversation with faculty and the relevant offices (OVPR, Procurement, etc.) so that our faculty can hear directly from those offices and vice versa. If you have such an interest, please let us know via our webform  Feedback on Advancing Research 

======  From CCAS Research Update 8/25/2017 ========

It has come to our attention that there is a need for more information regarding the business purpose(s) for expenses on sponsored projects. Please remember that, according to federal regulations, a well-written business purpose should provide information on whowhatwhenwhere, and why, unless already provided through other supporting documentation. Some examples of insufficient and sufficient business purpose descriptions are below. For more information, check the GW Travel, Entertainment and Business Expense Manual  (updated 8/22/2017), and refer to Appendix C.

Also, if your description is too long to fit the Business Purpose field in Concur (which is character-limited), you can use the Comment section to enter more info.

Note added 6/15/2018, the Travel, Entertainment and Business Expense Manual (updated May 2018) now contains a new list of Business Purpose with shorter descriptions with less than 64 characters ]

Expense Type Insufficient Business Purpose Description Sufficient Business Purpose Description
Meals Business meal Personal meal for Raleigh trip to attend student demonstration of research findings and visit collaborators 8/16-19/16
Conference Registration Fee 5/25/16 International Chinese Statistical Association conference registration fee for award PI, Dr. Smith
Travel Baggage Fee Baggage fees for Dr. Smith’s travel to and from Boston, MA for the PPTOX conference 12/10/16
Supplies Research Supplies Clay for Ranhom project to mold body parts for research5/5/16

- From Juliana Smith and Yongwu Rong, with input from the SRAs

 Limited Proposal Opportunities (for Humanities Faculty)

NEH Summer Stipends program (internal deadline July 2, 2018)

Once again, we are pleased to inform you an opportunity to compete for a submission to the NEH Summer Stipends program for support in Summer 2019. This NEH program supports individual researchers for scholarly work that is of value to humanities scholars and general audiences. Funded products include articles, monographs, books, digital materials, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, and other scholarly resources. You could receive support for continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months.
NEH Summer Stipends are awarded only to individual scholars who are nominated by the institution at which they are teaching full-time. We are limited to two nominees. We will select these two nominations based on your "pre-proposal" submitted internally to ccasres@gwu.edu by Monday, July 2, 2018. Each internal pre-proposal should consist of a project narrative (1 page) and a CV (no more than 2 pages).  An internal evaluation committee will be formed to evaluate those internal submissions. We will inform our decisions to the applicants by Monday, July 16, 2018. After that, the two selected applicants will submit their applications to NEH by the deadline of September 26, 2018. We will try to provide some mentoring for our selected applicants as in the past.
Further information about the NEH Summer Stipends program and the application process can be found in the email below and at https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/summer-stipends. You are also welcome to contact us at ccasres@gwu.edu with any questions you may have about the process at GW for making our nominations.

Integrated Research Information Software (iRIS)

As indicated in the OVPR Research Update on May 8, 2018, OVPR has led a process to identify and acquire an electronic system with the goal of streamlining research compliance operations. The Integrated ResearchInformation Software (iRIS) will automate processes that currently require printed forms, manage workflows, and allow investigators to track the status of their applications and training requirements. The web-based modules will support human subjects research, animal research, research with biological agents, and conflict of interest disclosure and management. For more information about the software and target launch dates, please visit the GW iRIS project website. The project website will be updated with important news andupdates.

Here is the latest on accessing / form submissions / orientation:

The human subjects module of GW iRIS, the university’s new electronic compliance system, is now open for submissions. All applications (including applications associated with current or pending studies) must be submitted via GW iRIS. The Office of Human Research (OHR) is no longer accepting paper forms or email submissions.

Logging into GW iRIS
GW faculty/staff/students can log into GW iRIS by visiting https://gwu-iris.imedris.net and entering their NetID and password.
All other users should consult the Reference Guide: Logging In for the First Time (PDF) that is located on the GW iRIS tool website.

Submitting Forms
Instructions for submitting forms via GW iRIS have been updated on the OHR website. Please see the Forms & Tools section for more details.
All other reference guides (including how to start/complete an application, etc.) are available within GW iRIS by clicking "Help" in the upper right corner of the screen.

Orientation Sessions
OHR has planned two GW iRIS orientation sessions:

  • Wednesday, June 6, 2018; 11:00 am

  • Tuesday, June 12, 2018; 2:00 pm

To attend one of these sessions, please RSVP via our online form. OHR will share WebEx details via email prior to the session.

Support: Contact ohrirb@gwu.edu with any questions or concerns about GW iRIS.

Funding Opportunities

The NEH Summer Stipends Program
In order to help you to plan ahead for this competition, we would like to give you this heads up for the the NEH Summer Stipends which provides support for continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months. Applicants with college or university affiliations must be nominated by their institutions and GW is limited to two nominees. Full information for this year's competition is not yet available but will be posted at https://www.neh.gov/grants/research/summer-stipends.  Please note that the full proposals must be received by NEH by September 26, 2018.  Once NEH posts full information, we will provide a guideline for the internal competition based on that information, including a deadline for the pre-proposals. In previous years, each internal pre-proposal consisted of a project narrative (1 page) and a CV (up to 2 pages).  Once we identify the selected nominees, we will match them with an experienced colleague who will act as a mentor.  Special thanks to Dr. Denver Brunsman who has served in this role recently.

In the last five competitions the Summer Stipends program received an average of 860 applications per year. The program made an average of 78 awards per year, for a funding ratio of 9 percent. I am pleased to tell you that our last year's nominee, Dr. Phillip Troutman, has now received this award.

Events

Getting Started with SoTL: How to Build Research on Teaching 

Date/Time: June 4, 12-1:30 pm (feel free to bring your lunch!)
Location: Gelman Library, Room 219
Website: https://library.gwu.edu/news-events/events/getting-started-sotl-how-build-research-teaching

Description This session will focus on how to conduct your first SoTL project: how to try something new in the classroom and collect information to determine if it improved students' learning. We will briefly review the five steps of a SoTL project--generating a research question, designing a study, collecting data, analyzing data and presenting your project--hear tips from faculty who have done SoTL projects, and receive feedback on ideas for our own SoTL research. For more information, contact Katherine Miscavige at kmiscavige@gwu.edu or Maria de la Fuente at mjfuente@gwu.edu.

Reminders for Summer Travel

Fly America Act
This is a follow up for our Research Update last week to include more explanation. Please note that it only applies to travels funded by the US government, exceptions are possible, and such requests must be submitted prior to travel being ticketed.
The “Fly America Act,” which applies to all GW employees traveling on federal funds, requires that U.S. flag air carriers be used to the maximum extent possible when commercial air transportation is the means of travel between the U.S. and a foreign country or between foreign countries.
For more details, check OVPR website at https://research.gwu.edu/travel or GW Procurement website https://ibuy.gwu.edu/international-travel Additional questions can also be addressed to Travel Leaders at 855-771-9109.
Exceptions: There are a number of exceptions to the Fly America Act that are outlined in the Fly America Act Exception (pdf). Included in these exceptions are the four bilateral/multilateral “Open Skies Agreements” established by the federal government. In order to be granted an exception, this document must be completed, signed by the traveler and sent to the GW Travel Office at travel@gwu.edu prior to travel being ticketed.  Be sure to include all supporting documentation that justifies the exception request.  Once approved, the form should be submitted with the traveler’s expense reconciliation receipts in iBuy+ Expense Reporting.

Feedback on Research Support

Summer is a busy time for your grant related activities.  As so we would like to hear your comments and thoughts on the research support from CCAS SRA team or from other GW offices.  Please feel free to share your thoughts by emailing us, or talking to us directly, or entering your comments on our webform. Comments on issues related to expense reports are particularly appreciated at this time.

Feedback on Research Support

- Juliana Smith and Yongwu R.

Updates from Our Team

Kelly Victor-French, who has been providing administrative support for Dean Evie Downie and myself (YR) since December 2016, will be interning this summer at the Naval Research Lab. This is a great opportunity that will provide valuable experience relevant to her interests in astrophysics. Congratulations Kelly!

Reminders / Tips for Summer Travel

Reminder for Fly America Act
As we are planning for summer research related travels, we would like to remind you of the “Fly America Act” which requires that U.S. flag air carriers be used to the maximum extent possible when commercial air transportation is the means of travel between the U.S. and a foreign country or between foreign countries. For more details, check OVPR website at https://research.gwu.edu/travel  Additional questions can also be addressed to Travel Leaders at  855-771-9109

 
Tips for Two Step Authentication
Many of us will be on international or domestic travels to conduct research during the summer. In order to access your GW email, you will need to have access to a mobile device to complete your two step authentication. If you will have access to a mobile device during your time abroad, you can contact GW IT Support to assist with changing the number tied to your account, or to help you install the Microsoft Authenticator app (which doesn't require a data connection).
If you will be traveling to a remote area without access to a phone, you can ask GW IT Support to turn off your two step authentication before your travel.
GW IT Support can be reached at 202-994-4948, or ithelp@gwu.edu. Please include your GWID number, NetID, and a copy of a government-issued ID for fastest resolution.