4-VA at JMU – Collaborative Research Awards

2024 Proposal Cycle

Proposals for the 4-VA@JMU  2024 award cycle are due by 5:00 Tuesday, February 6, 2024. Proposals must be submitted through the application 4-VA@JMU Award Proposal Submission Form. All award proposals must include a signed submission approval form.

See below for proposal preparation guidance.

4-VA at JMU Collaborative Research Award Program

Background Information

4-VA is a collaborative partnership between eight Virginia universities. The mission of 4-VA is to promote collaborations that leverage the strengths of each partner university and improve efficiencies in higher education across the Commonwealth of Virginia.  We carry out this mission by advocating partnerships between faculty, departments, and colleges to generate significant, innovative solutions to educational and real-world problems. 

4-VA is comprised of the following eight universities: 

  • George Mason University 
  • James Madison University 
  • Old Dominion University 
  • University of Virginia 
  • Virginia Commonwealth University 
  • Virginia Military Institute 
  • Virginia Tech 
  • William & Mary 

The function of 4-VA is to put ideas into action—inviting innovative collaboration across disciplinary boundaries, among the Virginia system of universities, and between educational and business. The 4-VA at James Madison University’s collaborative research award program is intended to increase research collaborations among partner universities and enhance competitiveness for extramural funding.  

Collaborative Research Initiative – Award Proposal Information 

Aims of 4-VA Collaborative Research Awards 

To strengthen Virginia’s competitive edge, 4-VA provides small-scale awards to pilot research teams collaborating across 4-VA universities. With access to funding, teams can build evidence to demonstrate that their projects will make valuable, impactful contributions to their fields and enhance the potential for external funding. The collaborative nature of these awards maximizes university resources at the 4-VA institutions and leverages faculty expertise all while increasing competitiveness and capacity. 

Potential outcomes of awards include the following: 

  • Original research 
  • New research partnerships and collaborations 
  • Events/conferences that convene researchers around common subjects and emerging opportunities 
  • Extramural funding applications and advancement of competitive research 

Types of Awards 

The 4-VA@JMU Collaborative Research Award program has transitioned to a once-per-academic year RFP model.

Two types of collaborative research awards are offered to fund research activities during the 2025 Fiscal Year (From July 2024 – June 2025):

  • Research initiation awards, with budget requests of up to $7,000, are intended to seed original research collaborations.
  • Research scale-up awards, of up to $25,000, are intended to build additional capacity for promising research collaborations. To be considered for a scale-up award, applicants must have previously received a 4-VA research initiation award or must provide compelling evidence of their capacity to take existing research to the next level with intentions of pursuing significant external funding upon project completion.

In addition to the research initiation and scale-up awards, 4-VA@JMU offers complementary funds for collaborative projects with researchers at other 4-VA institutions.

  • For JMU faculty requesting a research initiation or research scale-up award from 4-VA@JMU, complementary fund requests (up to $5,000 per collaborator) from a non-JMU collaborator’s institution (GMU, UVA, VT, etc.) may be requested through inclusion in the award proposal. Complementary funds are awarded by the collaborator’s institution and are subject to approval by the 4-VA coordinator at collaborating institution and availability of funds.
  • JMU faculty who are named as collaborators on 4-VA awards issued by other institutions may request complementary funds (up to $5,000 as designated in the original proposal) from 4-VA@JMU. To request complementary funds, please send the awarded proposal notification, the original proposal submitted to the awarding institution, and a detailed budget for the complementary fund expenditures at JMU to the 4-VA@JMU campus coordinator. Awarded complementary funds must be expended through JMU departments and cannot be transferred to the collaborator’s institution.

Recognizing that the fiscal year spending constraint may impede initiation of research in summer months, proposals may include modest requests for bridge funds. If awarded, these funds may be used to initiate work, including procuring materials or hiring students during the FY 2024 months of April – June.

  • Research Bridge Fund Awards will use remaining FY 2024 funds to support the proposed research during the period prior to the close of the fiscal year at the end of June 2024. Requested bridge funding will not be eligible for “roll-over” to FY 2025.

Guidelines for proposal and budget preparation are provided below. Due to the nature of the 4-VA funds, all proposed research activities should be designed to expend all requested funds during the 2025 Fiscal Year (prior to the end of May 2025, to allow for procurement processing), with the exception of bridge funds, which must be committed prior to May 2024. Unspent funding is not eligible to “roll-over” to subsequent fiscal years.

Research Initiation Proposal Format 

Collaborative Research Initiation proposals to 4-VA at JMU should include a cover page, a narrative not to exceed 5 pages, and an appendix containing budget details and supporting documents (as described below). Proposals should be single-spaced, 12-point font, with 1-inch margins. Proposals must be uploaded as a single PDF file (not scanned).

  • Cover page (not part of the 5-page narrative) that includes
    • The title of the proposed research project
    • The name, department and college affiliation, and contact information of the JMU investigator
    • Name and contact information of the departmental fiscal administrator who will assist the applicant in administering awarded funds
    • A list of internal and external collaborators and their respective institutions
  • Completed and signed 4-VA@JMU award submission authorization form (template provided below, not included as a part of the 5-page narrative limit)
  • Project Narrative (maximum of 5-pages), to include
    • Project Summary/Executive Summary
      • A brief (250 word) summary of the proposed project that addresses how this award helps to improve Virginia’s research competitiveness through collaboration
    • Background section that describes the context for the proposed research
    • Research Questions section that describes the proposed inquiry and the intellectual merit of the proposed project
    • Research Plan that describes the frameworks, methods, approaches, and stages of inquiry that be used to address the research questions
    • Research Activities Timeline describing the plan for conducting the proposed research
    • Outcomes and Deliverables section that describes the work product(s) resulting from the proposed work.
    • Future Work section that describes how the research initiation funding will lead to future extramural funding and enhanced partnerships.
  • Appendix (in addition to the 5-page narrative)
    • Budget and Budget Justification
      • Provide a line-item budget for the proposed work. For each line item, indicate the expected timeline of the expenditure.
      • Provide a brief narrative (1 – 2 pages) that describes how each requested item in the budget is aligned with the research and activities plan proposed in the narrative.
      • If bridge funds are included, clearly distinguish between requested bridge funds (to be expensed in the current fiscal year) and requested project funds to be expensed the following fiscal year.
      • If complementary funds are requested from another 4-VA institution, clearly distinguish between the uses of the requested complementary funds and the research initiation award funds.
      • Proposals that involve JMU departmental resources or release time require approval from the appropriate academic unit head. At the time of proposal submission, an email will be sent to your Dean and AUH requesting their acknowledgement of your submission.
    • Personnel
      • Include a 1-2 page CV or biosketch for the investigators involved with this proposal that highlight experiences, publications, and activities most closely aligned with the proposed research

Research Scale-up Proposal Format 

Collaborative Research Scale-up proposals to 4-VA at JMU should include a cover page, a narrative not exceed 7 pages, and an appendix containing budget details and supporting documents (as described below). Proposals should be single-spaced, 12-point font, with 1-inch margins. Proposals must be uploaded as a single PDF file (not scanned).

  • Cover page (not part of the 7-page narrative) that includes
    • The title of the proposed research project
    • The name, department and college affiliation, and contact information of the JMU investigator
    • Name and contact information of the departmental fiscal administrator who will assist the applicant in administering awarded funds
    • A list of internal and external collaborators and their respective institutions
  • Completed and signed 4-VA@JMU award submission authorization form (template provided below, not included as a part of the 7-page narrative limit)
  • Project Narrative (maximum of 7-pages), to include
    • Project Summary/Executive Summary
      • A brief (250 word) summary of the proposed project that addresses how this award helps to improve Virginia’s research competitiveness through collaboration
    • Background section that describes the context for the proposed research
    • Prior Work section that describes the investigator(s) prior research efforts upon which this scale-up proposal is founded
    • Research Questions section that describes the proposed inquiry and intellectual merit of the proposed project
    • Research Plan that describes the frameworks, methods, approaches, and stages of inquiry that be used to address the research questions
    • Research Activities Timeline describing the plan for conducting the proposed research
    • Outcomes and Deliverables section that describes the work product(s) resulting from the proposed work.
    • Future Work section that describes how the research initiation funding will lead to future extramural funding and enhanced partnerships.
  • Appendix (in addition to the 7-page narrative)
    • Budget and Budget Justification
      • Provide a line-item budget for the proposed work. For each line item, indicate the expected timeline of the expenditure.
      • If bridge funds are included, clearly distinguish between requested bridge funds (to be expensed in the current fiscal year) and requested project funds to be expensed the following fiscal year
      • If complementary funds are requested from another 4-VA institution, clearly distinguish between the uses of the requested complementary funds and the research initiation award funds.
      • Provide a brief narrative (1 – 2 pages) that describes how each requested item in the budget is aligned with the research and activities plan proposed in the narrative.
      • Proposals that involve JMU departmental resources or release time require approval from the appropriate academic unit head. At the time of proposal submission, an email will be sent to your Dean and AUH requesting their acknowledgement of your submission.
    • Personnel
      • Include a 1-2 page CV or biosketch for the investigators involved with this proposal

Complementary Funds

Complementary funds (up to $5,000) may be requested from other 4-VA institutions to support collaborators on 4-VA@JMU research initiation or scale-up awards. Not all 4-VA institutions offer complementary funds. If you have questions about complementary fund availability for collaborators associated with your proposal, please contact the 4-VA@JMU campus coordinator, Dr. Keith Holland, at hollansk@jmu.edu or (540) 568-2701. Indicate your intent to request complementary funds from other 4-VA institutions by designating the institution and requested amount on the proposal submission form. The proposal narrative and budget must clearly distinguish between the requested award funds and the requested complementary funds. Please consider the following when incorporating complementary fund requests into project proposals:

  • Complementary funds are not guaranteed. Proposed projects must not be dependent on them to achieve primary project objectives.
  • Complementary funds are awarded by the collaborator’s institution after the original award has been approved by 4-VA@JMU. The 4-VA campus coordinator will communicate with you after the original award is made to explain the approval process.
  • Complementary funds may only be used for expenses at the collaborator’s institution. For example, if you request complementary funds from Virginia Tech, those funds must pay for your collaborator’s activities at Virginia Tech. Complementary funds cannot be transferred back to JMU for management or use by the JMU awardee.
  • Complementary funds are contingent upon the participating school having available 4-VA funds. Not all 4-VA schools are able to provide complementary funds each award cycle. For questions about which schools are participating at this time, please contact the campus coordinator.

If you have been designated as a collaborator on an award issued by another 4-VA institution, complementary funds of up to $5,000 may be requested by from 4-VA@JMU to support the collaboration effort. To request complementary funds from 4-VA at JMU, the JMU faculty must provide the following information to the 4-VA at JMU campus coordinator to authorize the complementary award funds:

  • The original proposal that was submitted to the partner’s university that includes the JMU investigator listed as a collaborator
  • The original proposal must indicate the anticipated complementary funding amount request that will be made JMU collaborator to 4-VA@JMU
  • A copy of the 4-VA research award notice that was issued by the partner’s university (e.g., 4-VA at VT, or 4-VA at GMU)
  • A brief (1-2 page) description of the specific collaborative activities to be completed by the JMU collaborator, including milestones and expected deliverables

A budget that details how the requested complementary funds will be allocated. Requested complementary funds must be expended by the end of the current fiscal year and will not be eligible for “roll-over” to a subsequent fiscal year.

Resources and Forms

A budget template, example budget justification, and submission authorization form are available for download. Please use your JMU e-ID to access. 

If selected for award, recipients will be required to sign a 4-VA @ JMU Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). An example MOU is provided for reference:

Funding Priorities 

4-VA at JMU encourages projects to focus on the following funding priorities of the program: 

  • Creating and/or strengthening partnerships across the Commonwealth of Virginia 
  • Incorporating undergraduate and graduate student researchers into the project 
  • Developing capacity and a strong plan for securing future extramural funding 

Screening Criteria for all 4-VA at JMU Collaborative Research Award Proposals 

  1. Awards are open to JMU faculty. Faculty may name staff as Co-PIs.
  2. The applicant must obtain support from their unit head and dean (or equivalent supervisors) for the proposed award activities. All proposals must be accompanied by a signed submission authorization form. Please allow sufficient time prior to submission to obtain required signatures. 
  3. Projects must contain an aspect of collaboration. Interinstitutional collaboration may be included. Collaboration outside of your home institution is strongly encouraged. External partners may be from other 4-VA  member institutions, although this is not required. Other examples of acceptable institutions may include other state institutions (e.g., schools or government agencies) or other Virginia organizations (e.g., Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries), etc. Priority is given to collaborations that directly impact the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

Proposal Evaluation Criteria 

Proposals submitted to 4-VA at JMU will be evaluated by an internal panel of research advocates (including associate deans and research liaisons) representing all of the colleges at JMU. Reviewers will evaluate how well each proposal addresses the following criteria: 

  1. The proposed work is aligned with JMU 4-VA funding priorities and is compliant with screening criteria, including supervisor approvals.
  2. The proposed research exhibits collaboration with 4-VA institutions or other partners in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  3. The proposed research has potential for strategic impact to the unit, college, university, and/or the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  4. The proposed research plan, outcomes, deliverables, and assessment are aligned with the budget request.
  5. (For Research Scale-Up Proposals only) The proposal builds upon a body of prior research efforts. Prior research outcomes and products indicate the potential for success of the proposed scale-up effort. 
  6. The proposal indicates how this award will increase potential to secure extramural funding and continuation of the collaborative research beyond the 4-VA award. Identification of specific funding opportunities and how the proposed research will advance competitiveness is encouraged.
  7. The proposed research is aligned with departmental, college, institutional, and/or Commonwealth of Virginia goals. 

Submission Deadlines and Instructions 

  • 4-VA at JMU is now offering one proposal cycle per year. Requested funds must be expended in the following fiscal year (FY2025). Any awarded bridge funds must be committed prior to the conclusion of FY2024. Awardees are encourage to commit funds by May of the fiscal year to ensure ample time for processing and reimbursement. Awarded funds will not “roll-over” to the next fiscal year and may not be used for expense in the subsequent fiscal year.
  • Proposals are dueby 5:00 Tuesday, February 6, 2024.
  • Submit your proposal by uploading to this form/survey: https://forms.microsoft.com/r/W9VQWP2wC9
  • Only proposals submitted through the procedure listed above will be considered for award.

Expectations 

  1. Awardees are required to complete a 4-VA follow-up survey at least once every year, for up to five years following the award. Additional assessment information will be provided upon award. 
  2. Faculty are expected to acknowledge 4-VA support as a part of publications by using the official 4-VA logo on printed materials and by using language provided by 4-VA. 
  3. Additional expectations regarding expenditure processes and policies will be provided upon award. 
  4. Funds will be used according to the budget provided in the original proposal. The 4-VA campus coordinator must approve any changes or additions to the budget.  Should there be unused funds, those funds will return to 4-VA unless an updated or adapted proposal is submitted and approved by the 4-VA coordinator in advance. 

Legal and Ethical Considerations 

Federal, state, and university policies, procedures and rules apply to all awards. For further information regarding these rules, please contact Procurement, the Financial Procedures Manual, and Accounts Payable. If you believe your project will result in patentable work, you should discuss requirements and policies with Director of Technology Innovation and Economic Development, Mary Lou Bourne (bourneml@jmu.edu, x8-2865). 

A number of ethical practice review protocols are required for research involving human subjects, animal subjects, biohazardous materials, etc. If you have questions about the requirements that may apply to your project, contact Carolyn Strong  (strongcd@jmu.edu, x8-6872), Director of the Office of Research Integrity.