Community of Research Excellence Development Opportunities (CREDO) Program

Preamble and Purpose

The Community of Research Excellence Development Opportunities (CREDO) Program supports Social Science and Humanities research within the faculties of Arts and Science, Education, Fine Arts, Health Sciences and Management. CREDO will enable these faculty to develop their strategic research programs and become more competitive in attracting external research funding.

Funding Available

CREDO provides a maximum funding of $11,500 per year for a two-year term ($23,000 total) to each successful applicant.

In addition to funding, successful applicants will have the opportunity to work with a member of the University CREDO Committee, who are all successful grant recipients and senior scholars, for the duration of the grant.

Funds are dispersed on a competitive basis. Applicants are advised that the demand for funds normally exceeds the funds available.

The University CREDO Committee may not be able to recommend support for all eligible projects/activities and may recommend a reduction in the amount requested.

Eligibility

  • Faculty members in tenured or tenure track appointments from the above faculties who have a well established program of research are eligible to apply.
  • Faculty members who are principal investigators on any external grants (over $5000) are not eligible for the CREDO program. SSHRC guidelines state that "Grantees can submit another grant application and hold a new grant during the extension period". As we follow SSHRC guidelines in our internal grant programs, principal investigators of a grant in an extension period may apply to CREDO but applicants must indicate how they will complete the existing research and how funding from CREDO will advance the research program further.
  • Co-investigators on external grants are eligible; however, research pertaining to the CREDO program must be the primary commitment and that commitment must be clearly illustrated.
  • Faculty may hold only one CREDO grant at any one time, either individually or as a member of a research team.
  • If a CREDO recipient leaves the employment of the University of Lethbridge during the term of the grant, the unused portion of the grant reverts back to the Office of Research and Innovation Services.
  • Grant holders are not eligible to reapply to the program for a minimum of 24 months from the completion of the award.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications for the CREDO Grant are subject to competitive adjudication and will be reviewed by the University CREDO Committee.

Priority is given to (not in order of importance):

  1. Faculty members who have an established and comprehensive research program and are almost ready to apply for external funding.
  2. Faculty who request funds to resolve deficiencies in response to a recently rejected external proposal. In this case, the application must directly address how the proposed program will remedy the deficiencies and advance the research program.
  3. Faculty making a major transition to a new area of research/scholarly/creative activity.

Applications will be evaluated on:

  1. the quality of the research proposed and the track record of the applicant;
  2. the extent to which the provision of funding will contribute to achieving the research goals of the University;
  3. the likelihood that the provision of research funding will lead to success in attracting external research funds; and
  4. the extent to which the provision of funding will contribute to and advance the applicant's overall research program or the development of an emerging area of research strength.

Applicants must identify two potential external referees who can review the grant application and provide a critical assessment for the University CREDO committee.

The University CREDO Committee will assess all eligible applications and will make recommendations for funding to the VP, Research for approval.

The Committee will provide feedback to all unsuccessful applicants in a letter of advice. Recommended changes should be addressed in any resubmission.

Application Procedure

The Office of Research and Innovation Services will issue a call for proposals in January each year.

Applicants must complete the online application form available through the BRIDGE and include the required attachment. For detailed instruction on the format of the attachment and what must be included, click on this link: CREDO Application Instructions.doc

 

NOTE: Do not complete the online form until your attachment is complete and ready to be uploaded as you cannot save the online form to be completed at a later date.

 

Deadline for submission is 4 p.m. on the first Friday in March. Late submissions will not be accepted and incomplete applications will be deemed ineligible.

 

Decisions will be announced in June. 

 

Disbursing Grants

The University disburses grants by paying or reimbursing proper expenses; it normally does not advance cash. Monies from the award will be deposited into an account to which the grant holder may submit expenses.

 

Grant Period

Grants will run two years from the opening of the research account (once all necessary approvals have been received).

 

Conditions of Grant Award

The CREDO program also offers successful applicants the opportunity to work with a committee   member in a mentoring capacity. All committee members are senior researchers and successful grant applicants who will be willing to provide feedback and advice in the development of an external   application.

If a CREDO recipient applies for and is awarded funding as a principal investigator on an external grant during the two-year term, the balance of CREDO funding will be forfeited.

Awards run over two years and must be fully expended by the end of the funding period.

Carryover of funding into the third year will be approved only in exceptional circumstances    which can be proven to be beyond the control of the researcher.   

An approved extension of the term of funding will result in a corresponding extension of the period of ineligibility for reapplication to the program. 

If a faculty member leaves the employ of the U of L, the unused portion of the fund reverts back to the CREDO account. 

An interim progress report must be submitted to the Office of Research and Innovation Services after the first year of the grant and a final report must be submitted within six months of the termination of the grant. This final report must specifically address the projected outcomes as identified in the initial application and indicate when application for external funding will occur.  Failure to submit a final report by the specified date will render the recipient ineligible for future funding.  

Following completion of the two year term, CREDO grant holders are required to submit applications to appropriate external funding sources for ongoing support and are not eligible to reapply to the CREDO program for a minimum of 24 months from the completion of the award

 The Committee may stipulate other conditions of award, which will be contained in the letter of award to the applicant. 

Further Information

For further information and assistance, contact Mary Butterfield, Research Officer: mary.butterfield@uleth.ca or 403-317-2869. 

 

Related Documents:

For additional information, contact Mary Butterfield.