2016-17 Maryland Native Plant Society Teacher Research Grants

2016-17 Maryland Native Plant Society Teacher Research Grants

Background and Scope

· The Maryland Native Plant Society (www.mdflora.org) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote awareness, appreciation, and conservation of Maryland's native plants and their habitats through education, research, advocacy, and service.

· As an ongoing initiative, the MNPS has allocated funds to support a small number of annual grants to support research that will further its mission.

· New this year, there will be grants awarded specifically for K-12 teachers, with funds to be awarded early in the 2016-2017 school year.

· A committee comprising local educators and scientists will review applications and administer the awards.

· The committee may choose to fund more than one grant; the maximum amount awarded will be $2000; applications for smaller amounts are encouraged.

· To ensure consideration, proposals should be submitted by 19 July 2016.

Eligibility Requirements for Applicants and Projects

Besides being overseen by a K-12 teacher or teachers at a Maryland school (public, parochial, private, or independent), the project to be funded must also meet the following criteria:

· The project must concern Maryland native plants (including non vascular plants but excluding algae and seaweeds), and/or the habitats of Maryland native plants.

· The project may also concern plants or habitats outside Maryland if:

o The applicant demonstrates that the results of the project will add to the body of knowledge about plants and habitats in Maryland

o An appreciable portion of the plant specimens or research sites come from or are located in Maryland

· The project may concern the effects of invasive non-native plants on Maryland native plants, but should not be solely about studying eradication methods without examining benefits of that eradication to native plants and habitats.

· The project should ideally involve students and teach them both about native plants and scientific research.

· The project should be a hypothesis-driven experiment or a controlled study with a clearly defined research question.

· In general the project should be grounded in some field of Biology, Ecology, or Environmental Science.

o Purely molecular or genetic-based projects should still clearly benefit Maryland native plants. For example resolving the taxonomy of a putatively rare species or subspecies is within the scope of the grants, but a phylogenetic study of a group that happens to include individuals from Maryland would not.

o Studies with an outreach or education action research component are encouraged, but any social science aspect of the work must be secondary to the primary goal of furthering knowledge about Maryland native plants.

Restrictions

· The MNPS research grant may be used to fund a part of a larger project. If this is the case, the proposal should describe the broad scope of the entire project and its budget (briefly), the portion of the budget for which MNPS award money will be spent, and why the additional grant funds are necessary.

· It is assumed that teachers will be applying for funding beyond what is provided by their departmental budgets. If the majority of funds are being requested for standard science classroom supplies, e.g., disposable gloves or paper, a brief explanation of why a grant is needed would be helpful.

· Grant funds are for supplies, equipment, and lab analyses/services; under most circumstances, the funds are not for mileage or travel; finally, they may not be used for living expenses, stipends, per diems, etc.

Evaluation Criteria

• Significance: Does the project address a research problem relevant to Maryland Native Plants? Will the project raise awareness of the problem?

• Appropriateness of budget: Is there clear justification and rationale for the expenditure of the award monies? Conversely, can the proposed work be accomplished with the funds requested or is there evidence that additional expenses will be covered by other sources of funding?

• Research approach: The conceptual framework, design, methods, and planned analyses must be logical, sound, and appropriate. It would be ideal to incorporate some aspects of student design, especially at higher levels.

• Educational merit: The project should be a hands-on learning experience for students. Other teaching best practices or educational benefits can be pointed out. It is, however, to the advantage of both applicant and evaluator to keep best-practice educational jargon to a minimum.

• Audience: The proposal should be clear, understandable, and communicable to a wide audience and have implications for all members of MNPS (e.g., academics, professionals, officials, private citizens).

• Realistic timeframe and venue: Can the project can be completed and the funds used within two years of award date? Will the project take place on school property or an area that is readily accessible by the teacher and students working on it?

• Administrative approval: Does the project have all the appropriate approvals or would they be reasonable obtained?

Expectations of Award Recipients

• All grant award recipients will be required to deliver a written progress report to the MNPS within one month of the proposed end date of their projects.

• A written report of the findings of the project is required within one year of completing it. The format of the report will vary based on the type of project and will be mutually agreed upon by the awardee and grants committee.

• Awardees should be aware that a synopsis of their research might be placed on the MNPS Web site or in the MNPS newsletter, Marilandica.

• It is strongly encouraged that the results of the research be presented at the annual MNPS meeting. This would be an excellent experience in professional meetings for students. Assistance to teacher and students is possible upon request.

To Apply:

· To ensure consideration, proposals should be submitted by 19 July 2016.

· Copy this document and delete this and the preceding pages.

· Follow the instructions in the proposal template that follows, making sure to fill in all fields in brackets. Use 12 pt. font with 1-inch margins.

o In addition, the applicant’s last name(s), an abbreviated title, and page number should be provided as a running header.

o Remove the instructions in parentheses before submission.

· Also include a current CV or resume for the primary applicant(s).

· Email the proposal as a single document attachment to .

o . pdf format preferred; if possible, combine all documents into one pdf.

o .doc, or .docx will also work; again, please merge application with resume.

· The filename of your document should contain the last name of the primary applicant and 1-4 keywords about the project, e.g. “Miller_WicoCntyStreamStudy”.

· For additional information, questions may be addressed to .

· We cannot offer detailed critiques of applications before they are submitted for review, but we are happy to advise teachers on whether application ideas are within the scope of the grants.

· General Advice:

o Read over the eligibility requirements and ensure your project meets them.

o Small project grants for less than the maximum dollar amount are welcome and encouraged. This grant could be for extra money to fund a special lab you have always wanted to try.

o Although this application form is elaborate, your application need not be. The detail in this document is intended to make the scope of the grants clear, not to intimidate applicants. The committee wants to see evidence of a well-planned project, but that does not mean it needs to be a higher-ed level academic research project or be overly long. The committee is largely made of educators and neither expects a lengthy application nor wants to put a teacher on summer vacation through the ordeal of writing one.

o Try to make it as clear as possible what your procedure will entail, even if the procedure still needs development. If there are some methods that will need to be worked out after the project starts, acknowledge that explicitly.

[Applicant Surname] [Abbreviated Title] 6 of 7

(Instructions: Throughout the form, parentheses ( ) enclose general instructions; brackets [ ] enclose areas where material should be inserted plus any guidelines or special instructions. You may, and should, delete the parenthetical and bracketed instructions as well as the parentheses and brackets themselves before finishing your application.

Our hope is for this application to not be onerous. You should keep your application limited to four or fewer single-spaced pages, including the title page but excluding resumes/CVs or large images.—Conciseness is appreciated by the committee and encouraged for your own sake.

A template running header has been provided for you to fill in; if it is lost when you begin your application, move the following information items to the header and make sure the header repeats.

[Applicant Surname] [Abbrev. Title] [page #] )

[Insert Project Title]

Names of Grant Applicant(s):

[First Name Last Name in Bold]

Names of Primary Contact (if other than above):

[First Name Last Name in Bold]

Mailing Address:

[Street Address]

[Town State Zip]

Email Address: [username@domain]

Telephone: [###-###-####]

Abstract:

[Summarize the proposal for a general audience in approximately 50 words or less]

(The following should start a new page. Fill out each section in 12-pt font, 1” margins, single-spaced. Keep your answers as succinct and to the point as possible; bullet points or sentences will suffice for many of them. The proposal should be clear, free from jargon, and communicable to a wide audience and have implications for all members of MNPS e.g.: academics, professionals, officials, private citizens.)

Project Details

Project Goals and Objectives:

[List project goals, objectives, and/or hypotheses.]

Methods:

[Make the design of the project as clear as possible. Provide a diagram if necessary.]

Significance:

[Does the project address an important problem relevant to Maryland Native Plants? Will the project advance knowledge and practice in its discipline? See Eligibility Requirements.]

Educational Merit:

[With a minimum of jargon, explain the educational goals of the project and how it will benefit students as well as further the goals of the Society. See Educational Merit under Evaluation Criteria.]

Budget Detail:

[Include an itemized list of materials that matches the methods described above and lists reasonable estimates of costs. Include information if there is matching funding or existing facilities. Total amount awarded should not exceed $2000. Applications for smaller amounts are welcome. Limit request to supplies, equipment, and lab services. Mileage for individuals will not be awarded, but travel expenses unique to the project, such as bus or boat charters, may be considered and should be explained in the Budget Justification below. Money will not be awarded for living expenses.]

Budget Justification:

[Provide clear justification and rationale for the expenditure of the award monies—even if the justification seems self-evident. For example, if the funds requested are for gloves and shovels, explain that there were none or that they would be used to long for it to be possible to borrow them from facilities/physical plant. If this grant will not completely fund the project, provide evidence that additional expenses will be covered by other sources of funding.]

Project Affiliation and/or Approval:

[Describe and name any required coordination with other individuals, institutions or organizations. —For most teachers, this will simply be a declaration that all applicants are employees in good standing at your school and are cleared to work with school children. Also make it clear that the appropriate authorities or administrators will approve the completion of this project, if necessary.]

Context:

[Is this project a stand-alone endeavor, a stage in an on-going project, or part of a larger project? Will it be part of a course taught at your school? Is it part of a STE(A)M, outdoor education, or environmental initiative or program at your school or in your school system?]

Research approach:

[Briefly explain how you will attempt to meet your experimental goals listed above. The conceptual framework, design, methods, and planned analyses must be logical, sound, and appropriate.]

Project timeline & schedule:

Proposed Date work will begin: [If exact date is not known, provide month and year]

Proposed Date work will end: [Note that MNPS will require a brief progress report one month after this date, and a formal report one year from the date.]

[Explain the timeframe for the project: Can the project can be completed and the funds used within 2 years of award date? Provide a short timeline description of the project, especially focusing on the stages of the project that will funded by the grant.]

Agreement

I/We [full name of applicant(s)] avow that the information provided in this proposal is accurate to the best of my/our knowledge.

(All applicants listed on the grant should attach a CV or resume at the end of the application.)

(Email the proposal as a single pdf or Word document attachment to . The filename of your document should contain the last name of the primary applicant and 1-4 keywords about the project, e.g. “Miller_WicoCntyStreamStudy”.)