Frequently Asked Questions

No, the President’s Research Grant program was created by Nova Southeastern University Chancellor Ray Ferrero, Jr. and the Board of Trustees in 1999 to provide funding to faculty in their efforts to secure additional resources for research activities. You cannot submit the same proposal to both the PRG and the QOL programs in the same year.  These programs share several characteristics (application and program dates, award amounts, eligibility requirements, etc.), but the QOL program is focused on community-based applied research designed to solve the most serious problems affecting the quality of life in local communities. Please see the PRG website and the QOL Grant page for complete details regarding each program.

All current full-time NSU faculty are eligible to apply; part-time faculty and students are also eligible to apply as the principal investigator of a project if they have faculty support.

While the maximum award is $15,000, previous applicants have requested as little as $3,000. Since a budget justification is required with each application you should request only the money you will need to complete your project.

Through the efforts of the university president and its Trustees, as well as community organizations, funds have been targeted to support faculty scholarship in applied research to improve the Quality of Life in local communities.

While the Dean does not need to commit to funding, or provide a funding match for your QOL project, you will need your Dean's approval for the proposed activity and your time on the project, if funded. The Dean's Commitment Form should be submitted with your application (see Application Guidelines and Procedures for the form).

Please review the timeline under Application Guidelines and Procedures at https://www.nova.edu/qol/application-guidelines-procedures.html.

The earliest start date for QOL projects is July 1^st of the award year. However, before beginning, all winning applicants must:

• Work with the Office of Sponsored Programs to finalize the project budget and review post-award procedures.
• Obtain Institutional Review Board approval, if the project includes any research with human subjects (including certain types of data).

Please visit Application Guidelines and Procedures  https://www.nova.edu/qol/application-guidelines-procedures.html which includes detailed instructions for preparing and submitting an application.

QOL awards cannot be used for any faculty salary or development travel. You can include in your budget money to pay student workers or for travel that is dedicated to collecting data for your project or disseminating the results of your research at a professional conference.

Each application is reviewed by a faculty review team, composed of volunteer faculty members from across the university and community members serving on the Quality of Life Council. These review teams score each de-identified application using a standard set of questions and Dr. Hanbury makes the final selection of winners based on these scores and your performance on previous PRG or QOL awards (if any).

No, the decision of the president is final. Applications can be updated with the comments and recommendations of the QOL Review Panel and resubmitted for future application cycles.

Yes. If your project involves human subjects in any way, you will need IRB approval before you begin your research or spend grant funds. Please see the IRB website for details on their procedures. 

If your application is selected for funding, you will receive an email from the Office of Sponsored Programs with further instructions on accessing your award after you receive the decision letter from the President.

All QOL awardees are allotted one fiscal year to complete the project. If you are unable to complete your project in this time period, you may request a no-cost extension by submitting a No-Cost Extension form to qol@nova.edu. This form can be found on the Application Guidelines and Procedures page at https://www.nova.edu/qol/application-guidelines-procedures.html

If you find yourself in this situation, you may submit a request to your Dean and OSP to appoint another willing full-time NSU faculty member, who is qualified in your project’s field of research, to take over your duties and responsibilities as principal investigator. If this is not an option, your project will be closed upon your departure, and remaining funds will be returned to their original source(s).

For additional questions, please contact qol@nova.edu.

The following activities are examples viewed to be acceptable expenditures for the NSU Quality of Life Faculty Community-Based Applied Research Grant:

• Work Study assistance

• Other temporary employee assistance

• Equipment to be university property

• Instruments, including test materials or other specialized materials

• Incentive payment to human subjects involved in the research

• Special promotional activities (i.e., advertising for special clients or students participation, special seminars or conferences to promote activities, etc.)

• Focused faculty travels for specific consultations/collaborations

• Travel for formal presentation of scholarly work in professional venues

• Travel to collect data

• Computer equipment and software (however, computer and software will become property of NSU upon project completion)

The following activities WILL NOT be supported through the NSU Quality of Life Faculty Community-Based Applied Research Grant:

• Faculty development travel (i.e., attendance at professional meetings when not presenting)

• Faculty release time

• Payment of regular on-going employees

• Enhancement of faculty or other employee salary