Office of Research Development

Announcements about limited submissions funding opportunities are distributed by listserv notice to the Mason research community. These announcements identify the opportunity, give a brief description, provide a link to the funding agency’s site, and indicate all internal and external deadlines. Additionally, limited submissions funding opportunities and internal and external deadlines are posted on the ORD web site.

While ORD makes every effort to identify all limited submissions opportunities and notify faculty, it is the responsibility of the faculty to contact Ann McGuigan, Director, ORD, should a faculty member identify a limited submissions funding opportunity that she/he is interested in, but finds that it is not posted on the ORD website. Faculty may not proceed with an application to a limited submission competition without notice of approval from ORD.

Deadlines Table

Applications for internal review should be submitted to Ann McGuigan, by the posted internal deadline as a single pdf document. Each application should also be sent to the applicant’s Associate Dean for Research or equivalent position. Faculty who are interested in submitting an application for internal review are strongly encouraged to notify Ann McGuigan of their intent prior to the specified deadline. While not required, such notification assists in the planning of review sessions.

Internal applications generally require the following information, but may include other information as deemed appropriate for selection purposes, based on the sponsor requirements.

Standard Proposals

• Project title and a list of investigator(s);
• 3 - 5 page project summary;
• CV or Biosketch (1-4 pages) for PI and all Co-Is;
• Total budget estimate and total project cost share estimate, if applicable;*
• Additional supporting information deemed relevant by investigator (optional).

Equipment/Instrumentation Proposals

• CV or Biosketch (1-4 pages) for PI and all Co-Is;
• Description of the equipment and need justification (1-2 page);
• A table listing faculty who will be involved in the submission and the estimated number of researchers who will benefit from the use of the equipment;
• Description of project and management plans, including plans for the maintenance, operation, and technical support of instrumentation, and for attracting new users (one page);
• Total budget estimate and total project cost share estimate, if applicable.*

*Please note that cost-sharing (mandatory or voluntary) commitments are not required at the internal proposal stage and should not be sought until you are notified by the Limited Submissions Advisory committee that you may move forward to the submit an application on behalf of the institution.

After the internal deadline has arrived, and the number of applications received by the ORD exceeds the limit (often only one), a faculty ad hoc Limited Submissions Advisory committee is convened to conduct the internal review the applications. These committee members are identified by The Associate Deans for Research, who will be given the names of the applicants, will identify committee members to be appointed by the Vice President for Research and Economic Development. The Committee’s charge is to select the maximum number of candidates allowed to apply for an opportunity.  The Committee identifies the candidate(s) with the best chance of success in the overall external competition as determined by evaluating the application against the program guidelines and review criteria. The Committee recommends these candidates as nominees to the Vice President for Research. The Vice President for Research has the final authority for selecting a nominee(s). When reviews require additional research expertise not reflected by the composition of the ad hoc committee members, the Director of the Office of Research Development will, in consultation with the Associate Deans for Research, select 1-3 ad hoc reviewers, based on their expertise.

There shall be an exception to this review process for limited submission programs that give awards to individuals as an acknowledgment of their academic or professional achievement. These awards frequently target junior faculty who have demonstrated significant contributions early in their careers. An example of this program is the ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Achievement Award. ORD acts as a liaison between the award-granting agency and Mason. Internal applicants for these awards shall be nominated by the Associate Dean for Research in the applicant’s unit. The nominees identified in this manner shall then be reviewed and selected by the ad hoc Advisory Committee as described above.

If ORD is notified of a limited submission RFP that has not previously been announced and if there are at least ten working days until the agency deadline, an announcement will be sent out and the standard review process will apply. If there are fewer than ten working days until the agency deadline, the proposals will be approved by ORD on a first come, first serve basis. If any proposals come in after the University has reached the maximum number of submissions permitted, those proposals will not be eligible for submission.

Selected candidates(s), his/her Associate Dean for Research, and the Office of Sponsored Programs will be notified by email.  Selected candidate(s) will be required to confirm intention to submit a full proposal within three (3) work days of receiving selection notice. If intention to submit is not received, the review committee will recommend a new candidate. Candidates who were not selected will be notified at the same time as the selected candidates.

Selected candidate(s) will then work directly with the Office of Sponsored Programs to submit his/her proposal.

If you have questions regarding the limited submission review process, please contact Ann McGuigan, Director, Office of Research Development, at amcguiga@gmu.edu or by telephone, 3-2298.