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URCA Instructions

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH/CREATIVE PROJECTS AWARD(URCA)

Award Dates: 

Round 1 (FY27): July 1, 2026 – June 15, 2027

Round 2 (FY27): December 1, 2026 – December 31, 2027

 

DUE:

Round 1 (FY27) April 3, 2026 by 5:00 PM

Round 2 (FY27) October 2, 2026 by 5:00 PM

PURPOSE: 

URCA awards are to retool or reestablish productive research/creative projects agenda. In areas where external funding is available, the URCA may be used as seed money to develop pilot data.

GENERAL:  

    • Grants may be awarded up to $4,500 in two separate competitions: New - tenure-eligible faculty in their first or second year of probation to initiate research/creative projects and Established - tenured faculty or probationary faculty in their 3rd (or more) year of probation.
    • Areas where access to external sources is limited may receive special consideration.
    • Proposals are reviewed by the Senate Faculty Support Committee.
    • Applicants MUST follow all instructions and should prepare their application using plain language. Remember reviewers may not be experts in your subject area.
    • Proposers MUST work with the Office of Research prior to submission. Please contact proposals@wichita.edu to request assistance.  

 ELIGIBILITY: 

    • Full time current tenured or tenure-track faculty members of WSU are eligible.
    • Distinguished and endowed professors, as well as temporary and visiting faculty, are ineligible.
    • A faculty member may only participate on one application in any round of funding.
    • A faculty member may receive only one of the following in a fiscal year: an URCA, an Award for Research/Creative Projects in Summer (ARCS), or a Multidisciplinary Research Project Award (MURPA).
    • Faculty receiving URCA awards are ineligible in this competition for 3 years from the start date of the award.
    • Co-PIs are unallowable.

SUBMISSION

    • You MUST work with a member of the Pre-Award Team prior to submission to ensure that the proposal is complete. Please contact proposals@wichita.edu at least two weeks prior to the submission deadline to receive proper support.
    • Fully completed applications must be returned to the Office of Research either as one PDF to proposals@wichita.edu, or as one single-sided document to Campus Box 7 no later than 5:00 p.m. on the due date.
    • Incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed.

Failure to follow ALL application instructions will result in your application not being reviewed/considered for funding.

ALLOWABLE COSTS: 

    • Costs up to $4,500 for salary and fringes of WSU student/technical assistants, supplies, travel for research/creative activity, equipment, publication costs and duplication.
    • Fees for health services provided to subjects involved in medical research.
    • Professional development/training directly related to the research/creative activity proposed.
    • Costs not allowed include salary and fringes of WSU faculty members, materials readily available from the department; travel to present findings; course development; textbook writing, typing, page review, and reprint charges; dissertation preparation; food/catering service; gift certificates/cards (restriction does not include participant incentives paid via Greenphire) and indirect costs.

      Please note:

    • A detailed budget with justification must be provided for all items.
    • The roles of student or technical assistants must be clearly defined.
    • Expenses must be incurred and processed during the grant period.
    • Faculty having access to their “start-up funds” should clearly explain why the startup funds cannot be used for budgeted items in this proposal.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION:

Merit of the proposed project is the primary criterion. Factors such as excellence in scholarship and creative activities, potential impact on institution and individual, inaccessibility of funding available to junior faculty or certain fields, challenges in moving into new research directions, etc. are also considered.

Proposals that the Faculty Support Committee find difficult to read or have excessive technical language may be rated low. The Faculty Support Committee has members from different units on campus who are not necessarily experts in your specific area of study so proposals should be written for a general audience.

  1. The faculty support committee will use the following major criteria in evaluating individual project applications:
  • Soundness and significance of the proposed research/creative project;
    1. What is the novelty of the project to the applicant’s discipline?
    2. Is the proposed project innovative, convergent, creative, and/or scholarly?
    3. What is the importance of the project to the applicant’s research (e.g., if applicant is a junior faculty or a tenured faculty with shifting research fields or specialties, mastery of new techniques, or change of appointment, seed funding may accelerate his/her research)?
  • Validity of approach or methodology;
    1. Does the proposal plan address the research/creative objectives?
    2. Does the proposal sufficiently demonstrate knowledge of related literature?
    3. Does the proposal adequately describe the research/creative methods?
    4. Is it likely that the project will be successfully completed within the time, budget and available facilities as proposed?
  • Qualifications of applicant;
    1. Is the applicant qualified to successfully complete the proposed project?
    2. Has the applicant demonstrated scholarly capability and productivity?
    3. If applicant has previously received URCA / MURPA / ARCS support, have they produced scholarly/creative results?
  • Adequacy of resources; and
  • Adherence to allowable costs.
  • Evidence of External Submission Activity
    1. Will this award increase the likelihood that the applicant be successful in obtaining external funding or receiving prestigious awards?
    2. If external funding is available in the applicant’s area of research or creative activity, is there evidence that the applicant previously attempted to obtain such funding?

Applicants that are unable to demonstrate a prior record of scholarly productivity or record of external funding applications may be rated unfavorably by reviewers.  While the Faculty Support Committee recognizes that certain disciplines may have limited opportunities for external funding, all applicants are encouraged to explore external funding opportunities and apply whenever possible.  Applicants should contact the Office of Research at funding@wichita.edu if assistance identifying external funding sources is needed.  Applicants who have previously received an URCA / MURPA / ARCS are required to state the results of the three most recently funded projects.

B. Additional Review Criteria

Other factors that are given consideration during the review process are as follows:

    • Applicant is a junior faculty, or a tenured faculty with shifting research fields or specialties, mastery of new techniques, or change of appointment.

URCA / MURPA / ARCS awards are highly competitive and are relatively modest considering the award amount and volume of applications received during each funding cycle. Therefore, priority may be given to faculty in the early years of professional development who have received limited support, or tenured faculty with shifting research fields or specialties, mastery of new techniques, or change of appointment.

    • Projects that can transition into larger scale/multi-disciplinary/convergent science projects will be regarded favorably.

URCA / MURPA / ARCS MATERIALS, PRODUCTS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

A.      Property

Title to materials, equipment, supplies, microfilm, computer files, books, tapes, documents, etc. purchased with URCA / MURPA / ARCS funding will vest in Wichita State University.  If purchased materials, equipment, etc. are no longer needed for the project, applicant should release such items to their department, college or to the University Library so they can be utilized by WSU faculty, staff, and students. 

B.      Acknowledgements

Publications, presentations, or performances supported in whole or in part by this award should include the following acknowledgment: "This project was supported by the Wichita State University Research/Creative Projects Award Uxxxx." 

AWARDS: 

  • Awards are made by the Executive Vice President for Research and Industry & Defense Programs based on recommendations of the Faculty Support Committee and are subject to availability of funds.
  • Awards will be announced in May or November depending on the funding round.
  • All work must be completed within the award period.
  • Expenses must be submitted to the Office of Research for reimbursement within 60 days of the project end date.
  • Due to the nature of the funds, NO extensions will be allowed.

FINAL REPORT:  

  • A final report with all data/manuscript(s)/product(s) generated is due to the Office of Research within 90 days of the project end date.
  • The filing of the report is a precondition to any future award.
  • Please reference your grant number when submitting and send electronically to proposals@wichita.edu.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

 Applications should use the section headings below in the order listed and be assembled as a single document.  You MUST work with a member of the Pre-Award Team prior to submission.  Please contact proposals@wichita.edu at least 2 weeks PRIOR to the deadline for assistance. 

Incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed.

PROJECT APPLICATION FORM

  • Complete and return the Project Application form as part of your submission. Please note that this form includes required signatures from the Chair and Dean. It is the responsibility of the PI to collect signatures and ensure an on-time submission. Make sure to allow sufficient time to collect Chair and Dean signatures.

 PROJECT DESCRIPTION

  • The text needs to include enough detail about the project so that reviewers can assess the quality, feasibility and significance of the project. Proposals should also be written in plain language. The project description is limited to 5 pages excluding Any page(s) exceeding the limitation will be removed before circulation to the reviewers.
  • Abstract. Provide a brief narrative in non-technical language describing the project, overall goals and specific objectives, and the approach/methodology to be employed. Note: If selected for award, this abstract will be uploaded to the Office of Research website.
  • Background. Present the project to be addressed and the importance of the proposed project.
  • Methodology/approach.
    • Provide both a description of and a justification for the project.

For research projects, this might include design, sample size, measurement techniques, instrumentation, and data analysis.

For creative projects, this might include an outline of the project, a sample of the material, a description of the plot e.g., slides, audio or videotape, written description.  

    • Include a timetable for accomplishing specific tasks.
    • If student assistance is requested, clearly delineate the activities of the faculty investigator and student.
  • Significance.
    • For research projects, describe the expected outcomes and their impact on current understanding, knowledge or practice. For creative projects, describe the significance of the project both to a particular field and to the arts and humanities in general. For either project, describe how the project contributes to the applicant's professional development as a scholar, and describe how this award will increase success in competing for external funding and/or prestigious awards and/or recognition.
  • Adequacy of resources.
    • Describe relevant experience, and what space, facilities and equipment are available. Provide evidence for access to facilities elsewhere if necessary to carry out the proposed research.  
    • For artistic endeavors, include information on galleries, events, judges/juries, etc.
  • Planned proposal development. Indicate funding agencies identified for proposal submission upon completion of this project or concurrently and include a time schedule.

CURRICULUM VITAE• Limited to 2 pages. 

  • Include date and institution of terminal degree, publications, and/or creative projects for the past 10 years (in print or accepted).
  • The vitae must delineate the applicant’s role in multi-authored citations (e.g., primary author, secondary author, principal investigator, co-principal investigator, data collection, data analysis, director, choreographer, etc.). As there are different ways of interpreting authorship order across disciplines, you must indicate your role on all publications listed or state the significance of author order for your discipline. Failure to include this information will result in your application being deemed noncompliant.
  • Any page(s) exceeding the limitation will be removed before circulation to the reviewers.

BUDGET:  

  • Submit a detailed budget with an explanation justifying the amount requested under each category. See “Allowable Costs.”
  • Budget and justification of costs should be on a separate page from the Project Description and is not included in the page limit.
  • If Student/Technical Assistant salaries are budgeted, the appropriate Fringes must also be budgeted.
  • Please see the Rate Sheet on the Office of Research website when developing your budget. Applicants MUST work with the Pre-Award Team prior to submission.
  • PIs whose research/work generates radioactive/hazardous waste should ensure that funds are available for appropriate hazardous waste disposal (either grant funds or SRO funds).

OTHER DOCUMENTS

  • If you have previously received an URCA, MURPA or ARCS you are required to include a copy of your most recent final report, and you must list the publications/creative work and funding resulting from the funding that you have received.
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