Junior Faculty Fellowship Program

The program is restricted to tenure-track assistant professors who are in the first four years of their tenure-track position at the university. A faculty member receiving an award is expected to make at least a one-month commitment to research or creative activity. Faculty members who have not acquired a terminal degree by the deadline for application, are ABD, associate and full professors, ranked renewable term faculty, instructors, lecturers, adjunct faculty, and visiting faculty are not eligible for this program. Because of the limited number of available awards, faculty who have other sources of summer salary support will receive lower priority.

Each JFF award totals $7,000, and awards are announced in early April. Eligible individuals are limited to two (2) awards during their eligibility period. Eligible individuals may not receive an award from the JFF program and the Faculty Investment Program if the scope of the research is the same or similar. The award funds can be used for any legitimate purpose associated with the project if justified in the proposal.

This is a reimbursement program. If funded, the OVPRP will reimburse the principal investigator’s department for expenditures up to the award amount. The reimbursement will be made after the completion and approval of the Final Report.

Matching funds from colleges and departments are not required for the JFF.

All proposals submitted to JFF must include the following 8 components, clearly delineated in separate sections within the allocated page limits indicated below for each proposal component. Line spacing must not be smaller than 1.5 lines, font size must be at least 11 points, and 1” margins must be used.

1. Application Cover Sheet FY25 (PDF)
   Complete the application cover sheet and utilize the checklist on the cover sheet to ensure that all items have been completed.
2. Abstract (no more than 250 words)
3. Project Description (maximum 5 pages) The Project Description should describe the overall research plan for this project. Keep in mind that the Research Council is a multidisciplinary review panel and write your proposal so that a non-expert can understand the proposed work. Use basic English and avoid using technical jargon, acronyms, and technical minutia that can make a research narrative inaccessible to reviewers. Your narrative should include the following:
   • Address the intellectual significance of your proposed project. This should include a clear statement of the problem or issue your work will address, a sufficient background of the literature to establish context for the proposed activities, and a description of the specific knowledge gap your proposal will address.
   • List and describe the goal(s) of the project.
     
   • Define the methodology and/or activities within your proposed project, how they relate to your project goals, and how they will be carried out.
   • Provide a timeline for the proposed activities and describe how this relates to your request for funding.
     
   • Describe the anticipated outcome(s) of the research project to emphasize quality factors (e.g., a book contract, peer-reviewed publications, invited talk, etc.) that indicate the potential for external sponsorship of the research (e.g., planned proposals, sponsor engagements, increased visibility).
     
4. Career Impact Statement (maximum 1 page)
   Describe how the proposed research/creative activity will help advance your academic scholarship and help you achieve tenure.
5. References (no page limit)
   List references on a separate page(s). References do not count against the five-page limit for the project description.
6. Use of Research Council Funds (maximum 1 page)
   This section is required if you have received a previous JFF or Faculty Investment Program (FIP) award. Include a brief description of the previously-funded project and indicate the outcomes of the project. If the project is related to the current request, explain the connection.
7. Budget and Justification (maximum 2 pages)
   Prepare an itemized budget table with a descriptive narrative outlining how the requested funds will be spent and why they are needed. Directly link each budget item (e.g., funding for a student) with details from the project description (e.g., the collection and analysis of data by the student). As appropriate, provide supporting documentation such as quotes from vendors for equipment purchases and estimates for travel. If the project seeks funding for specific individuals, provide a description of duties and why the individual is essential to the project's success. A sample budget and justification are available HERE. Note: a description of how start-up funds have been or will be used must be included. If you do not have start-up funding or if your start-up has been expended, state this within the budget justification.
8. Supplementary Information (not counted as part of the page limits noted above) is required as follows:
   • Provide a current copy of your CV that you have submitted or will submit to your department as part of your annual evaluation. Within the CV, include a section that addresses your complete funding (both internal and external funding) history for the past five years, including successful and unsuccessful efforts to obtain external funding. If you have received support from the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships and/or Research Council within the past three years, especially any prior JFF awards received, include a short paragraph on each award, including the funding amount and the benefits of the funds to your research/creative activity program. In addition, if any of the funding you have received (internal or external) overlaps in scope with the proposed JFF application, provide detail regarding this overlap. This is particularly important if you have received a large externally funded grant; help reviewers understand the funding in relation to your request for additional funding through the JFF program.
   • Provide a letter of endorsement from your department chair/director. This letter must include what additional support services, i.e., clerical assistance, research assistant, laboratory equipment, supplies, etc. the department will provide in support of your project. The endorsement letter is an important part of the application and a thoughtful letter is weighed in equal measure with the other review criteria.
   •  If the proposal seeks funding for teaching release, you must include a signed teaching release form (see Resources section) with approvals from both the department chair/director and the college dean.
   • If the project will involve human subjects, laboratory animals, rDNA and/or radioactive materials or biohazards, you must describe your plans to obtain necessary approval letters or other relevant documents by the time a Research Council award is expected to be made. The appropriate committees are: Human Subjects-Institutional Review Board, Laboratory Animals-Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and Radioactive Materials-Radiation Safety Committee and the Biosafety Committee.

PROPOSALS SUBMITTED WITHOUT ALL OF THE REQUIRED MATERIALS OR THAT DO NOT FOLLOW THE REQUIRED FORMATTING WILL BE RETURNED WITHOUT REVIEW.

The Deadline for proposals is Monday, January 6, 2025

JFF WEB FORM

Criteria

The Research Council review of JFF proposals will consider the following aspects of the proposal in equal measure:

• Intellectual merit of the overall project
• Quality of the project goal(s)
• Credibility and clarity of the methods described in the proposal
• Preparedness of the investigator to do the proposed work
• Potential for impact on the investigator's scholarly program
• Appropriateness of budget and justification of resources requested
• Quality of the proposal writing.

Review Process

Approximately 45-60 proposals are submitted each year. Depending on the number of proposals, the Research Council chair will designate up to four subcommittees with each subcommittee evaluating approximately 10-15 proposals according to the review criteria. This evaluation takes place in January and February with final recommendations made during the February Research Council meeting. After reviewing each subcommittee's evaluations, the Research Council will forward its recommendations for funding to the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships. Award notifications will be emailed in early April of the application year.

At the end of the project or by the date outlined in the award letter, the principal investigator is required to submit a final report with required documentation to the OVPRP using the online submission form at this page. This report should describe the outcomes of the project and how the project impacted the field of study, the scholarly program of the investigator, and the university as a whole. It also should describe any deviations from the work originally proposed, include activities in progress (e.g., proposals, performances, manuscripts) that relate directly to the project, and provide a detailed accounting of funds with documentation. Once the final report has been received and approved, the funds will be reimbursed to the applicant's department up to the award amount.

An extension may be requested by emailing RC_VPRfunding@ou.edu. The extension must be requested prior to the deadline and should include a justification.

All written publications (digital and/or print) that have benefitted from Research Council funding must contain the following acknowledgment: "This research was supported (in part, if appropriate) by a grant from the Research Council of the University of Oklahoma Norman Campus."