Center Proposal Application Requirements
The Office of the Provost supports two classes of center. Interdisciplinary Research & Scholarship Centers are defined by knowledge creation, intellectual merit, and interdisciplinarity. Engagement & Impact Centers are defined by translating knowledge and University resources into community, economic, and cultural outcomes.
All applicants must consult with the Vice Provost for Research, Scholarly Inquiry and Creative Activity prior to, and during preparation of an application. An application consists of the components below. Most requirements are common to both classes; where expectations differ, the specific guidance for each class is noted.
On the cover sheet, applicants must identify the class of center for which they are applying. This determines the review criteria against which the proposal is evaluated.
Required Components
- Title Page / Cover Sheet. Title of the Center; the class of center (Research & Scholarship or Engagement & Impact); name, address, and contact information for the primary Center faculty or leadership; inclusive dates of the proposed project and the submission date; and the total budget request.
- Abstract. Typically 250–500 words, in non-technical language. Briefly review the need or opportunity, the objectives, the plan of work, and the evaluation and dissemination approach. Stress the end products of the proposed work.
- Statement of Need / Central Question. Establish significance, relevance, timeliness, and the benefits of the proposed work. This is best addressed in roughly one page.
Research & Scholarship Centers: Highlight the intellectual merit of the proposed work and the broader impacts if it succeeds. Answer the defining question: what will Center faculty do together that will not and cannot be done without this funding?
Engagement & Impact Centers: Establish the community, economic, campus or cultural need and the opportunity to address it. Describe the intended impact, the populations or communities to be served — with particular attention to those who do not typically have access to comparable programs — and why the University is well positioned to deliver it. - Objectives, Aims, and Expected Outcomes. A numbered list framed in operational language with specific near-term and longer-term endpoints (approximately one page).
Research & Scholarship Centers: topics, questions, or area of research, scholarship, or creative work to be addressed.
Engagement & Impact Centers: measurable outcomes such as ventures or businesses supported, populations reached, and programs delivered, each with defined targets. - Introduction / Background. Describe the mission or focus of the Center, relevant prior work, and any previous collaboration among the Center faculty or partners.
- Plan of Work. Present the detailed plan to carry out the proposed work, along with the qualifications of those who will do it and the proposed operational guidelines for the Center.
Research & Scholarship Centers: methods, activities, and operating plans for how the topics will be addressed, the questions answered, or the intellectual community built and sustained; qualifications of the faculty who will conduct the work.
Engagement & Impact Centers: the programs and activities to be delivered (for example, community business support, a faculty accelerator, and campus programming); the delivery model and partners; and the qualifications of the leadership and staff who will run them. - Evaluation / Assessment, Sustainability, and Dissemination. Present the criteria by which success will be judged and describe how the results of the evaluation will be reported and used.
Research & Scholarship Centers: metrics of scholarly accomplishment and plans for dissemination.
Engagement & Impact Centers: metrics of impact, reach, and service to the mission, together with a credible plan for sustainability beyond Provost’s Office funding. - Curriculum Vitae / Leadership Biographies. A two-page CV for each primary (core) Center faculty member or leader, to a maximum of eight.
- Resources. A description of the resources required to accomplish the Center’s goals. Where a needed resource does not yet exist, provide a plan for how it will be acquired or accessed.
- Budget. A detailed budget presented year by year with cumulative totals. All Centers must include a plan for an administrative core. As applicable, the budget covers faculty, staff, students, supplies, equipment, and space, and may include director and staff salary support, summer stipends, visiting fellows, fellowships, release time, seed or mini-grant programs, and similar items. Budgets must comply with academic-year salary and additional-compensation policies posted on the ORSP website. Describe any resources anticipated beyond Provost-provided funding (service fees, University budget, endowment, indirect costs).
- Letters of Support / Collaboration / Partnership. Where the Center’s plans overlap with the functions of departments or schools, or rely on in-kind support from them, include a letter from the collaborator detailing the collaboration and support. Engagement & Impact Centers should likewise include letters from community or external partners central to the plan, if relevant.
- Submission. Please submit to the Vice Provost for Research, Scholarly Inquiry and Creative Activity.