2024 Award Terms and Conditions

Terms and conditions for awards made in 2024 were outlined in the award letter and linked to the URC policy page.  Template award letter language provided below for reference only. See your award letter for details that may be unique to your award. 

This award is conditionally approved, as detailed below. Upon URC award acceptance (i.e., use of URC funds), the URC Awardee acknowledges and agrees to the funding conditions outlined here. All URC policies and guidelines apply to this award.

Award Period: 12-months; June 1, 2024 through May 31, 2025

Reporting Requirements:

  • An End of Award (EOA) Report is required
  • EOA Reports must be submitted within Emory’s InfoReady instance.
  • Anticipated EOA Report due date is June 31, 2025, but no later than 30 days after the award cycle end date.
  • Submission of the EOA report is a criterion for eligibility for future URC funding.
  • Should a No Cost Extensions (NCE) be issued for this award, an Annual Report will be due no later than June 31, 2025, and an EOA Report will then also come due no later than 30 days after the approved NCE date.

Change Notice Required:

  • The Awardee must promptly notify the URC program coordinator if funding received from another source overlaps with the aims and allocated expenses of this award. In such instances, it may be necessary to relinquish all or part of URC funding.
  • A 10% budget modification of the proposed use of awarded URC funds is permitted without approval from the URC. Budgetary changes must adhere to the URC Policies and Guidelines.
  • Other changes to the awarded application, such as significant changes in scope, require that the URC Awardee contact the URC program coordinator, XXXXXX, via email at urcappl@emory.edu immediately.

Additional URC Funding Conditions

  • ECAS faculty who receive course release(s) through URC funding are expected to be in residence and to participate fully in all faculty service responsibilities including department and committee meetings, student advising, etc. Course release is not equivalent to a leave or sabbatical.

NOTE: ECAS faculty who are eligible for a semester leave in a given academic year (pre-tenure leave, post-tenure leave, banked leave, etc.) are not eligible for additional course releases through the URC mechanism in the same given academic year. Please contact <dean_of_faculty@emory.edu> if you have any questions.

  • Specialty equipment purchased with URC funds becomes the property of the University.
  • Abstracts, publications, presentations, creative works, and similar products arising from the work funded by the URC program should cite the appropriate funding source: Emory URC Research Award or the Emory URC - Halle Institute Global Research Award.
  • Any portion of awarded funds not utilized by the end of the 12-month award cycle will automatically revert to the University Research Committee.
  • URC awardees are required to serve on the URC review panel for a period of three (3) consecutive years beginning with the award period immediately following their award cycle. This service includes the review and scoring of URC proposal submissions.
  • No Cost Extension (NCE) requests are due no later than March 31, 2025.

The following language reflects the URC policies and conditions outlined on the website for the subject award years. These terms and conditions apply to awards made during this period.

The URC grant is valid for a period of 12-months from the time of award notification. Awarded applicants may apply for subsequent URC funding no earlier than three years following the initial award, provided the REQUIRED End-of-Award (EOA) report has been submitted.

Submission of the End-of Award (EOA) report is required within 30-days following the end date of the URC grant.  Non-compliant award recipients will be ineligible to apply for another URC grant until the EOA report is submitted and accepted by the URC.

Awardees are required to submit brief annual progress reports for three years following completion of the funded award to capture the impact of the project. Compliance with this request will provide data to support future allocations of institutional funds to the URC. 

 

No-cost Extension (NCE)

URC awards are small, non-renewable grants, designed to be completed within one 12-month time period, beginning to end.  While it is not routine practice for the URC to grant No-Cost Extensions, on occasion additional time is needed due to extenuating circumstances that may have hindered the completion of the project within the standard 12-month time period. Upon approval by the URC faculty co-directors, one NCE is permitted for a project after the original 12-month award cycle.

  • The URC faculty co-directors will consider written requests for No-Cost Extensions that include the following:
  • Requested NCE date range (up to 12 months, maximum). Include the begin and end dates.
  • Research progress. A detailed timeline of progress made on the current project. Include the date research actually began.
  • A brief narrative stating the reason(s) preventing completion of the current URC project. Include the awarded end date.
  • A detailed justification for No-Cost Extension request that includes a list of planned steps leading to the completion of the project by the end date of the NCE.
  • If the original budget is reallocated or adjusted, include the new budget and a detailed justification for the budget changes.

Budget and Policies

Budget is not a criterion for assessing the scholarly merits of an application; however, reviewers may comment on the appropriateness of specific funding requests. Please ensure that all requested funding is appropriate for and aligned with the proposed research needs.

URC awards, available on a competitive basis, are short-term (12-month), non-renewable grants, capped at the amount specified in each category. All fees and expenses must fall within the total dollar amount awarded and should be spent within the 12-month award period.

OF NOTE

  1. Nothing that binds the University to a future expense or commitment is permissible.
  2. Nothing that could be construed as part of a faculty member's usual operating expenses is permissible (e.g., the purchase of a pc/laptop/tablet/cell phone; conference travel and/or attendance, regular salary/benefits, or any other regular operating expense not listed herein).

 

Allowable expenses

  • Course Release: Individuals requesting course releases should include a maximum of $12,500 per course within the proposed URC (or Halle-URC) budget, up to a maximum of $25,000 per application. The application must include a formal school-generated document designating approval for course release. It is the responsibility of the applicant to obtain formal approval for course release from your Dean, and, as appropriate, through your unit head (e.g., Department Chair).  Applications including a request for course release funds that lack supporting documentation with a Dean’s formal approval will not be considered. If the budgeted amount in the application is not sufficient to support the school’s expectation for funding the requested course release(s), the applicant and the applicant’s Chair in consultation with their Dean are responsible to find other (non-URC) funds to fill the gap. The format for documenting Dean (and Chair) approval is left to each of the participating schools.  
  • Direct expenses for the currently awarded project.
  • Subcontracts (with justification) are accepted only with the following Emory affiliated entities:

-Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA)

-Georgia Tech Department of Biomedical Engineering

  • Student Assistance. URC applicants may request funding for coworker assistance, including undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs. If you are including coworker support within your budget, please ensure that additional funding sources are available to cover coworker compensation beyond the 1-year period of URC funding (as needed).

All policies apply to currently awarded URC grants and are not retroactive.

Non-allowable expenses include, but are not limited to:

  • Purchase of equipment of a sort involving normal operations (e.g., personal computers, standard laboratory equipment in the field);
  • Purchase of books or computer software, subscribing to professional journals;
  • Publishing costs of any kind;
  • All costs for conference attendance;
  • First/business class airfare