Research on Ethics in Public Life

Seed grants: $5,000 - $15,000
Deadline: May 16, 2008
Sponsors: Office of the Vice President for Research & Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies
in partnership with the President's Ethics in Public Life Initiative

Purpose: The University of Michigan has initiated a multi-faceted program to focus on issues related to Ethics in Public Life. Information on this initiative may be found at www.umich.edu/pres/ethics/.

In partnership with the President's Ethics in Public Life Initiative, the Office of the Vice President for Research and Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies will provide seed funding of $5,000-$15,000 to promote innovative, collaborative, and high-quality research in the broad field of ethics in public life. Criteria for funding will include importance and relevance of the proposed research to advancing knowledge about ethics in public life, with particular interest in proposals that will result in on-going programs of research or secure sponsor support for the continuation or elaboration of the initial scholarship supported by this program. Up to six awards are expected to be made this year.

We construe public ethics very broadly, to include individual behavior, personal and professional; institutional behaviors, policies, and practices, whether at the University or in business, government, religion, the military, and so on; social structures and institutions, including issues of social justice, equity, and other topics typically covered by social theory in various forms; and issues of national and international scope, such as world health, human rights, etc.

It is preferred that the academic unit(s) of the investigators associated with the proposed project will contribute approximately one-third of the resources to ensure the success of the project.

Eligibility: Persons with continuing minimum 50% appointments who are classified as Instructional Faculty, Research Faculty, Research Scientists, Librarians, Curators, and Archivists may apply.

Application instructions: Please use the pdf version of the OVPR Faculty Grants and Awards Program application form, which can be found at: http://ftp.research.umich.edu/ethics-in-public-life-application.doc
Application form: Ethics in Public Life Funding Application [.doc]

Notification: Notification of funding decisions is made within six weeks of the deadline date. Applicants can facilitate expeditious review by providing complete information, all required signatures, and by suggesting qualified, independent reviewers.

Review Procedures, Award Terms, And Other Information:

Required Signatures
Proposals require the signatures of the department or unit heads and the dean or director of the units. In schools and colleges with research associate deans, they may sign in this space. Please route the proposal application to the appropriate office for signatures well in advance of any deadlines. Research associate deans and deans are responsible for any internal process that may exist when applying to the Research Program in Ethics in Public Life. Contact those offices for clarification. Applications will not be processed unless all appropriate signatures are obtained.

Matching or Sharing Funds
Securing matching funds or cost sharing from the department or unit, school and college, or outside sources is viewed as an important sign of commitment to and support of the application. In general, we expect approximately one-third of projected costs to be supported by other sources. Please specify any matching or sharing funds on the OVPR Faculty Grants and Awards Program application form (page 2) and describe the sources of these funds in the budget justification section of the application. Also indicate if other funding is pending or confirmed.

Budget
A budget should be included for the total cost of the project, not just the amount being requested from the Research Program in Ethics in Public Life. Provide detail for the basis of cost estimates. Unallowable expenses by OVPR (below) are also considered unallowable for cost sharing support. Applications will not be processed unless the budget information is complete.

Reviews
Applications will be reviewed by peer faculty and representatives from the Ethics in Public Life Steering Committee.

Key review factors include:

peer judgment of scholarly merit
research potential of project and likelihood of establishing an ongoing research program or collaboration
ikely impact of this work on the field of ethics in public life and projects with potential to enhance the scholarly distinction of the University
appropriateness of the budget to the project proposed
extent of unit support as indicated by partial funding of project
preference will be given to junior investigators, as well as senior investigators who are moving into a new area of investigation

Administration of Awards
Regular university policies and procedures are applicable to the expenditure of funds, and the recipient is responsible for working with the appropriate staff in the academic unit to arrange for good stewardship of the funds. Award amounts are final. Overruns and disallowances are the responsibility of the individual recipient and academic unit. Each award stipulates an expiration date, after which any balance remaining is returned. Investigators may not retain the award if they leave the University of Michigan. A short report will be required within 3 months of the end of the project.

Any changes in budget items or project period must first be approved by OVPR.

Contact avery@umich.edu or mgparnes@umich.edu for assistance.

Funding Restrictions
OVPR support is NOT available for:

Travel to present at conferences
Regular salary of investigator or summer salary
Computer/hardware /software for routine use
Office equipment-telephone installations, photocopy machines
Equipment maintenance costs
U-M Tuition support (tuition to attend an external workshop may be possible and will be reviewed on an ad hoc basis)
Requests for small amounts more appropriately handled at the unit level
Projects that are primarily instructional
Funds covering reduced external awards
Retroactive funding, costs overruns or disallowances
Faculty recruitment and start-up packages

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