Frequently Asked Questions About the Research Council Awards

The Rutgers Research Council was established in 1943 as a faculty committee to advise the president on matters relating to research. The Research Council is comprised of approximately 30 faculty members representing all disciplines and chancellor-led units. Learn more about our history.

Appointment to the council is made by the co-chairs of the council for a term of five (3) years, renewable once. If you would like to express your interest in serving the Rutgers community by joining the Research Council in the future, please contact the co-chairs.  Appointment to the council is made by the co-chairs of the council for a term of three (3) years, renewable once. .

By means of small grants, the Research Council supports studies leading to significant outside funding and publication in all fields of learning represented across the university, as well as for creative work in the arts. View our recent awardees.

How does the proposal evaluation/review process work?

The proposal review process has two phases. Applications close on November 4, and the first review phase begins. The top scored applications are determined and selected to move to round two (February). Phase two is completed by end of April by the Research Council Advisory Committee, who make the final determinations on awardees.

How does the Research Council ensure that reviewers are appropriately matched to projects?

The Research Council Co-Chairs select qualified reviewers and match them by expertise to appropriate project proposals. All reviewers are Rutgers faculty at one of the four Chancellor-led units of the University with expertise in the areas of scholarship funded by the programs. The review process incorporates an electronic form asking a reviewer to confirm that an assigned project proposal is appropriate for them to review or whether it falls outside of their expertise. If a proposal falls outside of a reviewer’s area of expertise, the Co-Chairs re-assign it to another reviewer.

How does the Research Council ensure that reviewers are free from bias in evaluating proposals?

In addition to the videos, we issue written guidance to reviewers via email before they begin their annual assignments. Our written guidance incorporates a statement reminding reviewers that all forms of bias are inappropriate in reviews. The guidance defines what bias includes and provides some examples of what explicit and implicit bias might look like in reviewer comments. We also include written guidance in the InfoReady portal, where reviewers access proposals. This page includes a button requiring reviewers to acknowledge that they have read the guidance on bias in reviews.

All reviewers also receive rubrics to be used for all reviews. These rubrics standardize reviews across projects and clearly identify the criteria to be used in evaluating proposals. The RC Co-Chairs review all scores and reviewer comments in preparation for the RC Advisory Committee, where all final funding decisions are made. In cases where reviewers are widely divergent in scores or in comments, or in cases where inappropriate bias is identified, the Co-Chairs seek a third review. 

We train members of the RC to be reviewers in several ways. We will host a site on Canvas for reviewers to access instructional and informational videos on the RC review process with specific resources on the topic of bias and how to avoid it in all forms in their reviews.

Who is eligible to apply?

Only full-time faculty members of Rutgers University at the time of application may apply. This designation includes non-tenure track, tenure-track, and tenured faculty at any career stage. Faculty members must hold a terminal degree or equivalent (e.g., Ph.D., M.F.A., J.D.).

The following are not eligible to apply: coadjutant appointees, teaching and research assistants, postdoctoral research associates, post-doctoral fellows, visiting faculty members, and full-time administrators. 

Is a postdoctoral associate eligible to apply?

A postdoctoral associate is not eligible for Research Council Awards. The awards are for permanent or potentially permanent faculty, whether tenure track or non-tenure track. Full-time tenure track or non-tenure track faculty are eligible. 

Can I submit more than one application to be considered for a Research Council Award or be a Co-PI on another project?

No, faculty can serve as a PI or Co-PI on at most one application to the Research Council in a given cycle, regardless of the program the application is under.

I received funding from the Research Council last year, am I eligible to apply?

If you received seed funding from the Research Council in 2022, 2023, or 2024, you are not eligible to apply.

This restriction does not include faculty who have received a Subvention award because faculty members do not receive direct funding for those awards. Therefore, Rutgers faculty members who receive a Subventions Award are eligible for future Research Council Awards and need not wait three years to apply for a future award.

Can I apply to both the Research Council Award program and another internal funding opportunity?

Individuals who have applied for or received concurrent internal grant funding (e.g.,
Busch Biomedical Grant, Rutgers Global Grants) for the same project in the past 12 months are ineligible to apply.

How many collaborators are required for a Collaborative Multidisciplinary award?

The Collaborative Multidisciplinary award program requires a minimum of three collaborators. Each team member should be listed as a Co-Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator in the narrative. Collaborators must be full-time Rutgers faculty members.

Can the funds be used as incentive – i.e., to pay research participants?

Yes, research project funds can be used to pay an incentive to research participants.

Can funds be used to provide collaborators with an honorarium?

No, funds cannot be used to provide collaborators with an honorarium.

Is travel allowed?

Yes, to travel to conduct research or creative initiative and to travel to present findings from the research project specifically funded by the Research Council at professional conferences. Please note: travel to conferences or annual meetings for professional societies for other purposes is not eligible for funding.

Can I request to purchase equipment?

Yes, you may request to purchase equipment with Research Council funds; it must be accompanied by a letter from your Dean, Chairperson, or Director stating that the equipment is not already available for use. Please note: for the purpose of Research Council Awards, equipment is defined as tangible personal property with a useful life greater than one year and a unit cost greater than $600, including shipping, installation, and training.

Can award funds be used for salary?

No, Research Council Awards may not be used for summer salary, salary supplement, or to pay any part of an award recipient’s salary.

Can award funds be used for journal publication fees?

No, Research Council Awards may not be used for publication fees charged by a journal.

Can funds be used to sponsor conferences?

No, funds cannot be used to sponsor conferences.

Can I have a co-principal investigator who is not affiliated with Rutgers on my proposal? 
You cannot have a co-principal investigator from another university on your proposal. The Research Council Awards are meant to fund proposals by faculty affiliated with Rutgers.

Could a Research Council Award be used for a project that currently has partial funding?

No, faculty cannot apply for funding to support a project that is already funded.

Is there any disadvantage to requesting the maximum amount of funding (provided it is fully justified)?

There is no disadvantage to asking for the maximum amount. However, it is possible that you will be awarded less than the amount that you are requesting, final funding depends on the amount of funding available and the number of applications received.

Do you provide a Gantt Chart template?

No, we do not have a downloadable Gantt Chart template. You can use any Gantt chart that you want to indicate the timeline of your research processes. There are many samples online.

Is there a funding priority?

Yes, priority is given to tenure-track faculty in their first or second three-year probationary appointment who have not yet been evaluated for tenure, to faculty at the Associate rank, to NTT faculty engaged in an active research and academic program, and to proposals from faculty who have not received an award in the past three (3) years.

Can the Co-Chairs provide me with feedback on my project before submission and/or make recommendations as to potential collaborators?

The Research Council Co-Chairs cannot provide feedback on an application prior to submission. They cannot recommend possible collaborators. If you seek a faculty collaborator from a different department/school, we recommend that you speak with your mentor, chair, or dean to assist you with making those connections.

If my project involves human subjects, do I need an IRB protocol number at the time of submission?

If you have an IRB protocol number at the time of submission, please provide it on your application. If you do not, you will need to provide it once awarded. You cannot receive Research Council funds until you have the IRB approval.

What is meant by work “at a variety of scales” for the Climate Action Awards Program?

A variety in geographical scales or scales of systemic complexity. For example, research which approaches the problem of climate crisis at the level of international collaboration, is one scale; while work which deals with local communities and coastlines is another scale, or institutions and cities.

When will award notifications be sent out?

Award notifications will be emailed in early April.

If awarded, can I apply for a no-cost extension?

The Research Council operates on a small yearly budget, and no-cost extensions are granted rarely, and for exigent reasons only. No-cost extensions will not be granted to faculty whose project has not commenced within the original award term; applicants who have not been able to begin their project can resubmit their project in the next application cycle, though funding is not guaranteed. Apply for NCE by filling out the request form.

If awarded, when will I have access to the funds?

The applicant agrees to comply with IRB, IACUC and COI requirements as a condition of receiving funding. If the research project involves human or animal subjects, the applicant/recipient must provide proof that they have complied with IRB/IACUC requirements. The recipient must also have entered the appropriate information into the COI website. All awards will begin on July 1, 2025. All funds must be committed by May 1, 2026, and expended by June 30, 2027.

What is a subvention?

Subventions provide partial subsidies to university and other highly regarded scholarly presses for the publication of scholarly books authored by full-time faculty, given that in some cases, such presses ask authors to cover a portion of the cost of publishing a scholarly book in order to make it more affordable. This program is designed to assist with those costs.

Are publishing costs for journal articles available for subvention?

No. This program is solely for the publication of scholarly books.

What costs are eligible for a subvention?

This program assists scholarly presses with costs that they would otherwise incur in the publishing process, and the publisher is required to provide a rationale for the subvention. Typically, subventions are used to enable the press to price a book more reasonably than it might otherwise be able to do, either because of a book’s length or cost of production.

To whom is a subvention paid?

Subventions are paid directly to the publisher.

Can I apply for a subvention for costs that authors generally incur, such as indexing, translating books into a different language or the cost of permissions to reproduce materials?d

No. Costs incurred by authors are not eligible for subvention. Faculty should apply for a Research Council Individual Fulcrum Award if they are seeking funding for author-related costs.

Are edited volumes eligible? Are textbooks eligible?

No. Only authored books are eligible. Edited books and textbooks are not eligible for this program.

Are self-published books eligible?

No. Self-published books and books for which the publisher requires the author to cover the entire cost of publication are not eligible for subvention.

Can I apply for a subvention and a Research Council Award at the same time?

No, faculty can serve as a PI or Co-PI on at most one application to the Research Council in a given cycle, regardless of the program the application is under.

What is a manuscript review award?

The Manuscript Review award reinforces the university’s commitment to research and scholarship. Awardees will receive a formal manuscript review plus a three-hour workshop / seminar coordinated by your department chair and led by an external senior scholar. The award also provides up to $4,000 in honoraria and travel fees for external scholars.

Who is eligible to apply?

Full-time, tenure-track Rutgers faculty members at the assistant or associate professor rank qualify for Manuscript Review Awards. Applicants must have a complete (or nearly complete) manuscript at a stage that will benefit substantially from a professional assessment and be endorsed by their department chair and dean.

Prior Manuscript Award winners are not eligible.

Are review awards for journal articles available for subvention?

No. This program is solely for the review of scholarly books.

Are edited volumes eligible? Are textbooks eligible?

No. Only authored books are eligible. Edited books and textbooks are not eligible for this program.

Are self-published books eligible?

No. Self-published books and books for which the publisher requires the author to cover the entire cost of publication are not eligible for this program.

Can I apply for a Manuscript Review Award and a Subvention or Research Council Award at the same time?

No, faculty can serve as a PI or Co-PI on at most one application to the Research Council in a given cycle, regardless of the program the application is under.

Is there a page limit for the application?

The limit on the project summary is 1000 words.