The mission of the NSU/CCB Quality of Life (QOL) Council is a simple one: take the most serious problems affecting the quality of life in Broward County, bring the best minds of NSU's faculty, students, and community providers to bear, and the results will be a better quality of life for Broward County. Current Quality of Life priority issues based on CCB data and available to be addressed by the Council include:

This initiative promotes both NSU cross center and community collaboration in applied research activity and supports the NSU 2005 Strategic Plan Priority Enhancing Scholarship and Research through the continuing pursuit of Expansion of NSU's Quality of Life Program in Community Based Applied Research.

Through the efforts of the university president and its Trustees, and the Coordinating Council of Broward (CCB), funds have been targeted to support faculty scholarship in applied research to improve the Quality of Life in Broward County . In 2003, 2004 and 2005 NSU's president allocated $10,000 of the Faculty Research and Development fund and Children's Services Council funded an additional $10,000 promoting NSU Student Scholarship.

The university's and the CCB's commitment is to expand NSU's QOL programs in community based research. The funding philosophy of the NSU/CCB Quality of Life Faculty Community Based Applied Research Grant is to view this funding as seed money to be leveraged and not the sole source of funding for QOL projects.

Funding Priorities

Funding is prioritized for work that:

• Proposes a workable solution for addressing one or more of the identified CCB Quality of Life priority issues
• Utilizes an applied research strategy that relies on an established body of knowledge
• Focuses on Broward County
• Emphasizes defined outcomes that show how participants benefit from the applied research
• Is initiated by a faculty member and approved by his/her dean (students can also apply)
• Shows collaboration with community service organizations
• Shows collaboration with other NSU Centers
• Falls within university and college / center identity, goals and mission
• Contains a meaningful evaluative component proposed by the applicant
• Will expand the knowledge and understanding of the academic community
• Will be disseminated, through professional review, outside of the university
• Has the ability to leverage future grant dollars
• Involves an NSU graduate student
• Applies budget directly to the applied research

Funding will be prioritized for proposed work that facilitates faculty in conducting community based applied research projects, for significant educational and program development, and for activities that expand understanding and increase the body of knowledge associated with a given profession or professions. Special attention will be given to activities that include an interdisciplinary and community collaborative component while achieving the above stated objectives.

Eligibility

All full-time faculty members are eligible to apply. Students are eligible to write a proposal and serve as a co-investigator; however, the project must be sponsored by a full-time faculty member.

Faculty members who have received an award in past competitions are eligible to apply. Additionally, if a faculty member is serving as a reviewer for the competitions, he or she is also eligible to submit an application. However, principal investigators who have a current active award that has been extended beyond June 30, 2007 are not eligible to apply for the current competition.

Faculty members should not submit their application for funding to BOTH the NSU/CCB QOL Community-Based Applied Research Grant and the NSU President's Faculty Research & Development Grant, but should select the program that best fits the nature of their research. Information about the Annual President's Faculty Research & Development Grant Application and Review Procedures can be accessed at http://www.nova.edu/cwis/vpaa/facscholar/

Timeline – 2008

Application Procedures

Written proposal narratives should not exceed 15 double space pages of 12 pt font. One copy of the proposal must be submitted electronically to qol09@nsu.nova.edu and one paper copy must be received by March 24, 2008, at 5:00 p.m., in the NSU Office of Grants and C ntracts, located at University Park Plaza. All proposals should include the following:

Proposal Narrative (not to exceed 15 pages)

1. Title page (not part of the 15 pages; should include the names of all faculty and personnel participating in the project and their respective center/college.
2. Application Face Page (not part of the 15 pages)
3. An abstract or structured summary of the proposed work not to exceed 300 words, with emphasis on need/background, rationale, methodological design and data analysis, and significance of the study (not part of the 15 pages)
4. Statement of need / Importance for the proposed work / Quality of Life priority addressed and target population identified/Objectives
   
   
   1. Significance:
      1. Does this study address an important local problem?
      2. Is the study based on an established body of knowledge? (fully referenced?)
      3. If the aims of the proposal are achieved, how will this study benefit Broward County?
      4. What will be the effect of these studies on the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions that drive this field?
5. Program Design/Methodological design/Data analysis
   
   
   1. Innovation:
      1. Is the project original and innovative in your community? For example: Does the project challenge existing paradigms or clinical practice; address an innovative hypothesis or critical barrier to progress in the field?
      2. Does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools, or technologies for this area?
6. Statement regarding feasibility of implementation of the work including:
   
   
   1. Work start date
   2. Time line of activities (account for IRB process)
   3. Work completion date
   4. Statement regarding where work will be administratively placed; i.e., in what center, college, department, etc.
   5. Anticipated challenges and resolutions
   6. Have the Investigators addressed key feasibility issues? (Scope, timeframe, budget)
7. Description of how work is to be evaluated/How data and results will be interpreted
   
   
8. Written statement of the use of funds, including:
   
   
   1. A brief overall budget justification for proposed work (applications to the Children category must organize budget according to deliverables)
   2. Specification of how award funds will be used (i.e., equipment, instruments or materials, student or other employment, consultation, etc.)
9. Description of how findings, conclusions etc. of work will be disseminated
   
   
   1. What mechanism will be used to disseminate findings?
   2. How will the work be externally evaluated for the purpose of dissemination? (i.e. peer review board, panel experts, awards committee, etc.)
10. Potential for generation of external funds to maintain activities

Appendices

• Should be limited to essential information relevant to the proposed project)
• May include samples of assessment instruments you plan to use for measurement purposes; if the design is qualitative, then samples of questionnaires, surveys or forms to be used could also be included
• Could also include samples of curricular materials to be used

Curriculum Vitae

1. Investigators:
   
   
   1. Are the investigators appropriately trained and well suited to carry out this work?
   2. Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level of the principal investigator and other researchers?
   3. Does the investigative team bring complementary and integrated expertise to the project (if applicable)?
2. Environment:
   
   
   1. Does the environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success?
   2. Do the proposed studies benefit from unique features of the environment, or subject populations, or employ useful collaborative arrangements?
   3. Is there evidence of institutional support?

NSU/CCB Quality of Life Collaborative Projects

A project identified by the applicant as a NSU/CCB Quality of Life collaborative project must demonstrate a true collaboration, e.g. the narrative must include a description of the role of all collaborators on the project.

Letter(s) of Support from Community Service Organization(s)* which includes:

• Support for the proposed work
• Commitment of all other resources (e.g., space, equipment, etc.) necessary to successfully carry out the project

Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Health Professions Division (HPD) Research Committee Review

While IRB and HPD Research Committee review and approval is not required prior to notification of grant award, it is recommended that applicants review the IRB and HPD Research Committee policies and procedures that may aid in the development of their proposal. [Note: Information related to IRB policies and procedures may be accessed at www.nova.edu/cwis/ogc. Post Award Procedures to be followed may be found at www.nova.edu/cwis/vpaa/facscholar/.

Please Note: No funding will be released for your grant until you have secured all university approvals. After you have received IRB approval, you may contact your Center Representative or the Office of Grants and Contracts with any questions. Please note that you must notify the IRB office of any changes to the study before the changes are put into effect. In addition, if you request an extension to the grant next year you must also submit for an extension of IRB approval.

Proposal Review Process

Proposals will be reviewed and rated blindly by reviewers who are selected from the NSU/CCB Quality of Life Council and represent both NSU and the community. An additional subject expert reviewer may be consulted as needed. Reviewers will be selected that have no direct financial interest in the award. Reviewers will adhere to a strict time line for reading and evaluating the proposals. The schedule of deadlines will be published each year on the web site for the competition. All proposals will be rated by reviewers using the qualitative rubric found on the QOL website.

Proposal Evaluation Process

All proposal submissions will be pre-screened, using a pre-screening proposal checklist upon receipt to ensure that the proposals comply with the award guidelines. If the proposal is not in compliance, it will be returned to the applicant without review by March 28, 2008. Reviewers will evaluate proposals using the Proposal Rating Form. When all reviews are completed, the Office of Grants and Contracts will tabulate the Proposal Rating Forms and submit a completed report to the assistant to the QOL Research Liaison, who will present the highest ranked proposals to the president. The president will make the final selection of this year's award winners by May 1, 2008.

Notification letters will be mailed to all faculty participants by May 7, 2008. All applicants will be provided their final score in these letters. An awards ceremony is scheduled for May, 2008 and all funded projects can begin after all IRB (and/or other applicable approvals, e.g., School Board) approvals are secured and funding is released, beginning after June 1, 2008.

Activities Eligible for Funding through the NSU/CCB Quality of Life Faculty Community - Based Applied Research Grant

The following activities are examples viewed to be acceptable expenditures for the NSU/CCB Quality of Life Faculty Community-Based Applied Research Grant:

• Work Study assistance
• Other temporary employee assistance
• Equipment to be university property
• Instruments, including test materials or other specialized materials
• Incentive payment to human subjects involved in the research
• Special promotional activities (i.e., advertising for special clients or students participation, special seminars or conferences to promote activities, etc.)
• Focused faculty travels for specific consultations / collaborations
• Travel for formal presentation of scholarly work in professional venues
• Travel to collect data

The following activities will not be supported through the NSU/CCB Quality of Life Faculty Community-Based Applied Research Grant:

• Faculty development travel (i.e., attendance at professional meetings when not presenting)
• Faculty release time
• Payment of regular on-going employees
• Enhancement of faculty or other employee salary
• Computer equipment and software, except where need can be shown