The following elements are required for proposals to receive consideration:

• Non-technical Abstract
  • The abstract is limited to 300 words and should use plain language understandable to a reader outside your field.
• Proposal Narrative
  • The Proposal Narrative is limited to 2,000 words. The narrative should include the following sections:
    • Project Background
      • Include previous work with this community (how long, in what capacity), results, challenges, and type of projects completed.
      • Include any previous funding, how it was used, and how this project connects with that. If the proposed project is not connected, explain why.
      • Include any relevant information on how you approach engagement with this community (did you have to go through an internal review panel, what types of honoraria or other payments do you provide, etc.).
    • Project Objectives
      • Provide specific details about timelines, goals, and activities you will undertake during the grant period.
      • Include a discussion of the role of the proposed project in the existing partnership more broadly.

• References Cited
  • No more than 800 words.
• Focused CV
  • No more than three (3) pages.
  • Highlight applicant’s experience with community engaged research.
  • Attached as a separate Word document or PDF.
• Budget and Budget Justification
  • See Budget Preparation below.
• Letters of Support
  • Letter of support from your chair or director.
  • Tier Three proposals must also include a letter of support from a representative of the community with whom the applicant is partnering.
  • Attached as separate Word documents or PDFs.

Contact your unit’s financial/budget manager to facilitate budget preparation. The budget form will need to be initialed by the certified grant budget administrator in your area/unit. A full list of grant administrators is available here: https://myresearch.wsu.edu/Grants/DepartmentContacts.aspx, click on department contacts.  There is no F&A required for this competition. 

This program will support expenditures that directly contribute to the successful completion of a project. All budget items must be reasonable, allowable and necessary for project completion.

Please prepare your budget using this form, which will be submitted as part of your application.

Budget Categories

Salaries

Faculty buyout with approved release time, partial graduate student support and postdoctoral appointments are allowable. Clearly state all base salaries, time committed to the project and amount of salary applied to the project.

Though not typically granted, under extraordinary circumstances a strongly presented justification of why up to two months summer salary for the PI are required to complete the proposed project can be included. Additionally, a strong justification will be required for any graduate students that will be fully supported by this funding. Fully supported, 20 hour per week, graduate students must be integral to the project’s success and must work 100% on this project while being paid from these funds.

Wages

Wages are permitted. Clearly state wages broken down by positions, include hourly payment rate.

Goods and Services

Include all supplies and services required to complete the project, itemize by major items and be specific. Contact the responsible personnel for cost estimates of services, if included.

Travel

Domestic and/or international field work, data collection, training, educational purposes, presentations or conferences directly related to the proposed work. Be sure to follow WSU travel policies when calculating travel costs. Check with a university approved travel agent or website for the most cost-effective travel to the destination.

Equipment

The PI’s chair or director must certify that the equipment to be purchased is not already available for use on this project. Major equipment items ($5,000 or more) are not typically supported but can be included with a very strongly presented justification and the required certification. Personal computers may be purchased for field data collection or other special applications other than general office use.

Benefits

The usual benefits covered by Central Finance should not be included in the budget. For all proposals there are some benefits that are never covered by central (time-slip benefits, QTR) please work with your financial/budget manager to account for these.

Other

Provide a detailed description of other budget categories that will be requested.  It is highly recommended that you contact the program coordinator(s) to confirm cost allowability.

This program does not support the following:

• Civil service staff salaries
• Journal subscriptions
• Supplemental awards to existing projects
• Student led projects or senior thesis projects
• Commercial licenses
• Membership dues
• Facility renovations
• Purchase of vehicles or other modes of transportation 

Budget Justification

Appropriateness of the budget is a significant factor in the selection process. All requested budget items must be accompanied with a justification of how they will contribute to successful completion of the project. Please be aware that the review panel will consider your budget justification very carefully in an effort to maximize the number of beneficiaries to this program. Summer salary and full-time graduate student requests in particular must be strongly justified. Any items that appear non-critical will be at risk for reduced funding during the review process. An additional page may be attached for the budget justification for a total of two pages. If a proposal is awarded at less than the amount original requested, a revised budget and scope of work is required to be submitted to the program coordinator(s). Funds will not be released until these documents have been received.