College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Canr)

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES (CANR) RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP

FY 2002-03 PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

Proposal Deadline: November 1, 2002

Associate Dean for Research - CANR 116 Townsend Hall COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES (CANR) RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Origin and Purpose

The Delaware General Assembly established funding for the Delaware Research Partnership (DRP) on June 30, 1984, with an appropriation of $400,000. This fund and subsequent annual appropriations were designated for support of research at the University of Delaware on projects with the potential to foster economic development in Delaware. The aim was to enhance existing industry in the state and to attract new high- technology industry and research facilities to locate in Delaware.

DRP filled a need for each of the three partners. The State was able to use university research strengths as a resource in attracting new industry, thereby creating new jobs and a stronger economic base for Delaware. Industry benefited from the use of university expertise, facilities, and equipment. This was especially important for small start-up and spin-off businesses, which do not have major research facilities. The university benefited from the funding provided by the other two sectors to build a knowledge base and expertise and from the practical knowledge brought to research and education by interaction with industrial scientists and engineers.

Ultimately it was expected that the public profited from an improved economic climate where innovative activity stimulates expansion of the job base and reaps the rewards of research findings that may lead to new and better processes and products affecting virtually every area of life.

In June of 2001, funding for the DRP was cut from the state appropriation. The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) research partnership program is designed to bridge CANR principal investigators until such time as the DRP, or a similar program, is reinstated.

B. Responsibilities of CANR

It is the responsibility of the administration and faculty of the college to carry out research funded under the CANR research partnership with full accountability for the quality of the research, communicating the results, securing intellectual property assets, and for expending the monies within the time period specified in the research agreement.

The college administration is responsible for soliciting and receiving research proposals, for providing a selection process to identify and determine funding eligibility for the

proposals that best meet the plan of work objectives of the college, and for ensuring that

2 funds received are properly budgeted and accounted for and reported to the college on an annual basis.

II. CRITERIA FOR PROJECT SELECTION

A. Quality of science and engineering: Projects should include research at an advanced intellectual level and be novel. Preference may be given to proposals having potential to produce intellectual property that can be protected by patents or copyrights and/or those with a reasonable chance for positive results that can be applied commercially.

B. Relevance to Delaware agriculture and to the CANR plan of work: The primary purpose of the CANR research partnership is to encourage and enhance research relevant to the aims of the college plan of work and, accordingly, to agriculture and related industries within Delaware. The relevant portion of the Delaware plan of work must be clearly stated in the proposal. Interests of both the college and the industrial co-sponsor should be served. Industrial partners affirm that the research is relevant by sharing in the financial support of the research. The college has an obligation to offer proposals that benefit agriculture and agricultural industries within the state.

C. Funding level and project duration: The maximum in college funds per project is $50,000 per year and the minimum that can be requested is $10,000 per year. The maximum college funding per PI is $50,000 in any fiscal year. Projects can be proposed for up to a two-year period. At least $100,000 will be set aside from the CANR budget to support this program during the 2002-2003 fiscal year. The amount set aside each year will depend on overhead returned during the previous year, the success of the program, and the financial health of the college.

D. Matching funds: CANR research partnership funds shall be used to match only "new" money, i.e., they may not be allocated to a project already in progress. Renewal projects will be considered, but preference may be given to new projects.

III. PROCEDURES

A. Call for Proposals

The CANR Dean or, if authorized, the Associate Dean for Research will issue a call for proposals each year, with the deadline normally being November 1. Each proposal must be accompanied by a letter of intent to support the research from the prospective industrial partner.

B. Proposal Review

3 The proposals are distributed for review to a committee consisting of one representative from each of the academic departments and chaired by the Associate Dean for Research. Since all proposals must be submitted with evidence of intent to fund from an industrial partner and therefore have been scrutinized by potential industrial partners, the primary purpose of this committee is to ensure that the research falls within the scope of the Delaware plan of work. Promptly following review, researchers whose projects are approved are notified that their proposals may now be routed through the university system and a research agreement negotiated with the company and executed.

C. Project Initiation and Duration

Commitment by the sponsor to support the research must be in the form of a research agreement signed by the company and the university. Funding will be allocated to researchers on a first-come, first-served basis, which means that the first investigators who complete arrangements with their sponsors and have the agreements signed share the available funding.

Projects may cover a 24-month period and must be started within six months following approval by the review committee. During any fiscal year, an investigator is eligible to receive a maximum of $50,000 in college funding. College funds will not be released until a PI completes all outstanding CRIS reports.

D. Industrial Partner Requirements

To be eligible for participation in the CANR research partnership, sponsors must be for- profit, commercial business enterprises. Academic entities, foundations, and R & D institutes are not eligible. Companies may be privately or publicly held. Proposals will be accepted and reviewed from companies, large and small, local and global. It is important that the candidate’s industrial sponsors be aware that support is available only if they act before the available funds for any given year are exhausted.

E. Negotiation of the Research Agreement

After the review committee has approved the proposal, it is the responsibility of the principal investigator to enter it into the Grants Management System and submit it to OVPR with the university routing form (Blue Sheet) and to initiate and oversee the status of negotiations with the industrial partner.

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research will assist in the negotiation of the research agreement and will supply a model agreement at the request of the researcher. Research agreements that originate in the sponsoring company must include a statement that the work will be done with support from the CANR Research Partnership. Investigators are urged to maintain close contact with the Office of the Vice Provost for Research to be certain that requirements of the university are met.

4 F. Proposal Preparation and Budget Development

Eight (8) copies of the proposal should be submitted on three (3)-hole punched paper. Copies should be stapled together at the upper left-hand corner. Proposals may be submitted at any time but will be reviewed only once each year. For FY2002-2003 funding, the deadline date for proposals is November 1, 2002.

1. Proposals must include the following:

a. The CANR research partnership application form (attached). b. A letter of intent from the industrial sponsor, indicating the company's intent to support the research at a specified dollar amount and signed by a responsible officer of the organization. c. A two-part budget, with one column showing items that will be charged to industry and the other showing the charges to the college account. The college portion must be in even thousands. d. A copy of the technical proposal approved by the industrial sponsor.

2. Indirect costs are not charged to the college budget, but the industry budget must include the approved federal indirect cost rate.

3. The industry budget may exceed the college budget, but the college budget may not exceed the industry budget.

4. In-kind sponsor contributions of equipment and other items cannot be used to satisfy the required funding match.

5. The proposed starting date for the college funds must fall within six months of committee approval. In general, the college and industrial budgets must be concurrent. All college funds must be fully spent within 24 months after initiation of the project or they are returned to the college.

6. After the review committee has approved your project, a research agreement must be executed to govern the cooperative effort. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research will assist you and your industrial partner in the preparation of the agreement.

7. Unless otherwise specified in the research agreement, prior approval for re- budgeting industry or college funds is not required.

G. Project Reports

Written completion reports on CANR research partnership projects must be submitted to the CANR Associate Dean for Research within three months of the completion of the project.

5 Principal investigators who are delinquent in reporting on a prior CANR research partnership project, or who are delinquent in submitting CRIS reports for any of their projects, are not eligible for new CANR research partnership funding. It is critical that the impact of work carried out and its relevance to the CANR plan of work be outlined in the project report.

6 FY 2002-03 COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP APPLICATION

 Append the following to this form before submittal:  Letter of intent from sponsor  Project budget  Technical proposal approved by sponsor

1. Project title:

______

2. Principal investigator(s)and department(s):

______

3. Is this a new or continuing project? New Continuing

4. Industrial sponsor:

______

5. To which section of the Delaware Plan of Work is this proposal relevant?

______

6. Is the company located in Delaware? Yes No

7. Estimated budgetary level: College: ______Industry: ______

8. Benefit to industrial sponsor:

7 9. Benefit to Delaware agriculture:

10. If you have previously received Delaware Research Partnership (DRP) or CANR Research Partnership funding, what economic benefit to the state resulted?

11. Did you disclose any inventions or file patent applications on previous DRP or CANR research partnership projects? List title(s).

12. Description of proposed research in non-technical language: (maximum of 2 pages)

13. Departmental approval:

I confirm that the proposed project is consistent with departmental research priorities.

______Signature of Department Chair Date