Application Guidelines & Procedures

NSU Students: Provide the name, highest earned degree, College/Center, and email address of NSU students that will be involved in the project.  Please verify accuracy, as information will be used for award/recognition purposes, if the project is funded. 

1. Abstract/Executive Summary (2,500 characters with spaces)
2. Background and Significance (12,015 characters with spaces): Describe the need for the project/how the study addresses an important local problem and importance for the proposed work.
3. Objectives (4,005 characters with spaces) –Describe objectives of the project.
4. Project/Research Design (12,015 characters with spaces) — Describe the study participants (and participant selection if appropriate), the measurement instruments (a brief description of all assessment instruments is required; if qualitative methods are used, please include samples of interviews and/or questions to be asked; if needed, please include copies of the instruments in the Appendix section), and the procedures to be followed (describe the various steps the study will take to accomplish the proposed objectives; if an intervention is used, e.g., training, describe the intervention in as much detail as possible).
5. Roles (4,005 characters with spaces) — Describe the role of the principal investigator, collaborators and community partner in completing the project. Central to this section is a description of the community partner’s role in the study (i.e., a detailed description of the collaborative relationship). Applicants are encouraged to work with NSU student(s) interested in the area of the project to provide them with a learning experience as well as access to a research environment. Describe student involvement in the project.  Applicants who include NSU student(s) in author-level participation in their research project will receive five additional points.
6. Feasibility Statement regarding implementation of the work including:
   1. Implementation plan and time line of activities (account for time required for IRB review), including anticipated completion date (4,005 characters with spaces)
   2. Describe the NSU Research Facilities and Community Partner locations where the research will be conducted (4,005 characters with spaces)
   3. Describe anticipated challenges and resolutions (4,005 characters with spaces)
7. Data Analysis (4,005 characters with spaces) — Describe how data will be analyzed and interpreted; if the project addresses the evaluation of an existing program, this section should also address expected outcomes along with assessment strategies of these outcomes. 
8. Budget (4,005 characters with spaces) – include a budget narrative of how award funds will be used (this should correspond to your line-item budget form). 
   
   

   Note:  Purchases made with QOL grant funds are subject to NSU policies and procedures and all materials purchased with grant funds (i.e., office supplies, computer equipment, etc.) are considered property of NSU. Materials and equipment shall not be donated, given away, etc. without the express permission of the QOL Council Chair and University Budget Office.

   If travel expenses are greater than 25% of the total award amount and are crucial to the successful implementation of the project, a justification must be provided and prior approval must be secured by the QOL Council Research Liaison and Chair prior to submission.
9. Dissemination(2,003 characters with spaces) —Describe how findings of work will be disseminated, to include:
   1. What mechanism will be used to disseminate findings (i.e. publications, etc.)?
   2. How will the work be externally evaluated for the purpose of dissemination? (i.e., peer review board, panel experts, awards committee, etc.)
10. Community Impact (4,005 characters with spaces) — Describe how the project intends to impact a community where the NSU campus is located.
    1. External Funding/Sustainability of the Project(2,003 characters with spaces)— discuss the potential of your project to generate external funds to maintain activities in the future or to develop new projects.
       1. ATTACHMENTS (uploaded within the portal) References– This section should be limited to bibliographical citations for the resources mentioned in the proposal narrative.
       2. Curriculum Vitae– The principal investigator's CV is required. However, the co-principal investigator(s) may include their CV if desired. Each CV is limited to 2 pages.
       3. Letter of Support– Applications must include a letter of support for the proposed research from the identified community partner(s). In addition, at least one community partner must be located where an NSU campus is housed). Applications which do not include a community partner letter of support with the submission will not be accepted.
       4. Deans’ approval – include a letter or other document confirming Dean’s approval of the PI and other investigators’ effort on the project.
       5. Other Appendices – This section should be limited to essential information relevant to the proposed project. Note: Information required in the narrative should not be included in the appendices.

Proposals are scored by reviewers using the following rubric: QOL Scoring Rubric (PDF).

Important Tips for Using the Web-Based Portal

• Complete each section of the application by clicking into the section from the left hand navigation menu.  You can move between sections at any time by clicking the section name on the left.

• Save your information using the “Save” button at the top of the application. Once the application has been saved, you may go back and edit the application.  Save your information frequently. Your information will be lost if you close or exit the application window before saving it.

• Applicants may develop their responses using a word processing software, and cutting and pasting into the web application.  However, please note that some formatting in the word processing software may not carry over when text is copied into text fields.
• When you hit the “Submit” button, any errors within your application that will prevent submission (i.e., missing required fields, missing attachments, fields over character limits, etc.) will be highlighted in red so they can be readily identified and addressed.
  
  
• All errors will need to be resolved before the proposal can be submitted.  Please allow sufficient time to resolve any errors to ensure timely receipt of your proposal before the 5:00 p.m. deadline.
  
  
• For additional information, please visit http://www.nova.edu/pfrdg.