Part I Application Package – Fall 2016 Call for Proposals

MEIF@USMNorth Atlantic Initiative Proposal Cover Page

APPLICANT INFORMATION
Name / Title / Phone
Email / Campus / Department
PROPOSAL INFORMATION
Proposal Title:
Proposal Team:
Amount Requested from MEIF@USM:
Start Date / End Date
Period of Performance:
Technology Target area(s):
(Check all that apply) / Aquaculture and MarineInformation Technology
Forestry and AgriculturePrecision Manufacturing
BiotechnologyComposite Materials
EnvironmentalAll of the Above
MEIF External Community
(Describe the community whose needs will be addressed by the project)
Project Outcomes
(List the outcomes)
Economic Development Impacts
(List the indicators)
Number of Participants (cumulative) / Faculty / Staff / Undergraduates / Graduates / K-12 Students / K-12 Teachers
Names of external partners in the project:
  • Domestic

  • International

Complete this section if International Travel is included in the Project
Destination(s)
Who will you be meeting with
Names of faculty and/or staff traveling: / Faculty / Professional Staff
Travel Dates (estimate): / Departure Date / Return Date
Signature of the Director of the Office of International Programs
Complete this section if New Strategic Hires are included in the Project
Research Faculty / Professional Staff
Proposed Title / Department/Unit / Proposed Title / Department/Unit
Signature of Authorized HR Representative

MEIF@USM Proposal Form

Project Narrative

(5-page limit, single space, Times New Roman, minimum size 10 font)

Please remove the instructions under each section before entering your information into that section prior to submission.

Project Title:

Name of Principal Investigator:

1.Abstract (limit to 200 words):

With the general public as the audience, explain the community need to be addressed, the strategy to be employed, the target area(s), workforce development outcomes, and economic development impacts. Your summary should be an example of how USM is a key player in creating a thriving economy in Maine. This abstract will likely be used for public dissemination.

2.Statement of MEIF External Community Need

Briefly describe the documented MEIF External Community need(s) this proposal will address. Explain how your proposal will address this need. If your proposal includes travel to Iceland, explain how the travel is relevant to addressing the community’s need. Explain how the project will advance USM’s North Atlantic Region Strategic Framework.

3.Project Logic Model

Provide a logic model table (see example below) that summarizes the community needs, strategy, input, activities, outputs, outcomes (including workforce development outcomes, and related long-term economic development impacts) you intend to achieve by the end of the funding period. A logic model is a systematic and visual way to present and share your understanding of the relationships among the resources you have to operate your program, the activities you plan, and the changes or results you hope to achieve. A good resource on logic models is the W.K. Kellogg Foundation at .

Your activities must logically map to the outcomes. Outcomes are changes in behavior or condition that reflect a positive impact to the target community. They must be specific, measurable within the project’s timeframe, practical, timely, and meaningful to fulfilling the purpose and achieving long-term impact. Outcomes are not activities or processes. An activity can map to one or more outcomes .In the last column list the appropriate economic development impacts/indicators from the Maine Development Foundation’s 2016 Measures of Growth that map to one or more of your outcomes. Impacts inherently take longer to measure when compared to outcomes, and are likely measurable 2-4 years after the end of your project. Some impacts are measurable during the life of a project. Just as an activity can map to one or more outcomes, an outcome can map to several economic development impacts/indicators.Collectively, both outcomes and impacts should be indicative of USM’s role in creating a thriving economy in Maine.

YOU MAY USE THE TABLE BELOW AND EXPAND IT, AS NEEDED.

Community Needs / Strategies/Activities / Outputs / Outcomes / Economic Development Impacts
List needs / List strategies/activities / List outputs / List outcomes / List macro-indicators

5.Implementation Plan

Provide a clear description of the activities and associated timelines you propose to undertake in order to achieve the project’s outcomes. The activities are the same as those provided in the logic model, but described in more detail.

6.Partners and Collaborators

Briefly describe your partners and collaborators in this project and their roles and responsibilities. These include both within USM and external to USM. Please attach letters of commitment from external partners confirming their roles and responsibilities in the project.

7.Project Management

Briefly discuss the roles and responsibilities of key personnel who will be involved in the implementation of the project.

8.Sustainability

Discuss your strategy for sustaining the project beyond MEIF seed support. Please be as specific as possible including, where applicable, opportunities for seeking external support from federal and state agencies, foundations, corporations, fee for services, and Advancement.

MEIF@USM Budget Narrative Form

Name of PI: [Enter your name]

Project Title: [Enter name of project]

Period of Performance: [Enter start and end of budget year]

General Instructions

The purpose of the budget narrative is to describe to reviewers how the budget is related to the proposed activities. Each of the expenses identified in the project narrative and included in the final budget must appear in some form in the budget narrative. The most important thing to remember about budget narratives is that you must justify any expense that is not immediately obvious even to the unskilled reviewer. It is helpful to state explicitly the calculations or assumptions used to arrive at specific figures.

  • For each major expense item, enter the total amount requested that you entered in the budget form.
  • If your project is longer than one year, enter the total amount of expense items for the entire project and be sure to justify the amount requested in each year.
  • The Budget Narrative is limited to three pages.
  • Please remove all instructions and examples under each section before entering your information into that section prior to submission.

A.PERSONNEL[Enter total from budget form]

For each person listed in the budget form, please include the following information for clarity.

  1. Role, position, and suitability to project. Enter relevant work or accomplishment here, which shows suitability to project.
  2. List specific role in project, e.g., directing the project, contributing a specific expertise, showing how this is the best person to lead the project.
  3. Commitment of effort to project by year, if your project is longer than one year, whether or not their time is charged to MEIF@USM. If their time is not charged include a statement of how much in-kind they will contribute.

Examples

Principal Investigator, [name]$44,480.00

Two months of summer salary for the PI is requested for each year of the proposal @$22,240 per year. The PI will be directly involved in… [i.e., the training of students in the operation of the (process or equipment), in the analysis of data, other aspects of the work as applicable, or can note overall responsibility for the project]. Salary rate is based on PI’s current appointed Academic Year (AY) salary rate. A 2% annual cost-of-living increase is also included in each of years 2 and 3.

Project Coordinator (1.0 FTE)[name, if identified]$35,000.00

The full-time project coordinator will be responsible for outreach and overseeing internships, including…

Graduate Research Assistant[name if identified]$9,000.00

Twelve-month stipend support is requested for a graduate student who will be conducting XXX research on this project. The graduate student will be involved in the preparation of (type of analysis) and will be using these determinations as part of (this project, their thesis research...). Stipend rates are based on USM’s established stipend rates for graduate research assistantships.

Fringe Benefits[Enter total from budget form]

No explanation is required.

Total Compensation[Enter total from budget form]

List total compensation by budget year, if applicable.

B.EXPENSES[Enter total from budget form]

  1. Graduate Tuition[Enter amount]

Separate out tuition waiver for each student. Indicate number of hours per week the student will be working and for how many months.

  1. Independent Personal Services[Enter amount]

List amount requested each year, with breakdown of services and related expenses. Justify each expense.

  1. Professional Services[Enter amount]

Please make sure that consultants are well justified and that you have also included a letter of intent for all consultants, with a scope of work. All consultants must be external to USM. Neither USM faculty nor staff can serve as a consultant on the proposed project. For each consultant named in the proposal, include a letter of commitment on the consultant’s letterhead that specifies the scope of work, budget, and budget justification.

Example

The PI will employ an outside source to provide evaluation and input into the impact of integrating mathematics and computer science for college and pre-college students. The evaluator will devote 5 hours per year to the project. The rate is $200 per hour, for a yearly budget of $1,000.

  1. Catering Services[Enter amount]

List amount requested each year, with breakdown of expenses.Justify each expense.

  1. Fees & Memberships[Enter amount]

List amount requested each year, with breakdown of expenses.Justify each expense.

  1. Postage, Advertising and Printing[Enter amount]

List amount requested each year, with breakdown of expenses.

  1. Supplies and Materials[Enter amount]

Expenditures budgeted for this proposal are costs that can be identified specifically with this particular sponsored project and are required in the direct performance of the research.

  1. Lab supplies[Enter amount]

List amount requested each year, with breakdown of expenses.Justify each expense.

  1. Travel[Enter amount]

List total amount requested in first year, with breakdown of expenses, e.g., airfare, hotel, per diem, and mileage reimbursement. If you know which conferences you will be attending, providing this detail will be helpfulsince this is one gauge of the breadth of work you will be doing through presenting results and participating in academic exchange. Please specify domestic or international travel and include reasonable amounts.

Example:

The total estimated amount of $5,000 is budgeted for travel expenses to attend relevant conferences and workshops and present findings. This includes $2,000 for Drs. Smith and Doe to travel to the National Science Foundation as required to present research results. The amount covers airfare, hotel, and per diem. Dr. Smith also requests $3,000 total per year to attend other conferences with her graduate student to present research results and to network. Domestic travel is budgeted to cover RT airfare, hotel, and per diem. Total requested for all four years is $15,000. Possible conferences include the ACM Symposium on Mathematical Instruction Research, Bellairs Winter Workshop on Impact of Math in STEM for Girls, and the Canadian Conference on Computational Mathematics.

  1. Equipment[Enter amount]

List each equipment costing <$5,000 and ≥$5,000 and provide breakdown of each purchase including model number, associated set-up costs, including delivery, insurance, warranties, etc. Justify each expense.

  1. Telephone and computer services[Enter amount]

List amount requested each year, with breakdown of expenses.

TOTAL EXPENSES[Enter total from budget form]

List total expenses by budget year, if applicable

TOTAL BUDGET[Enter total from budget form]

List total budget by budget year, if applicable

Final instructions

  1. Triple check your data entry
  2. Be sure the figures in the budget narrative match the entries in the budget form.
  3. Contact the MEIF@USM program if you have questions or problems with the budget narrative.
  4. Follow instructions on the North Atlantic Call for Proposals for final submission.

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