The Grants and Contracts Administration has developed a new electronic Cost Transfer Request Form to expedite the review and approval process. As in the past, your College Post Award contact will enter the information into the electronic form and route to you for your review and approval. Once approved within the system, the form will route automatically to the correct location for final processing.
If you have any questions regarding cost transfers, please contact your college post award contact, or if you have any questions related to the process, please reach out the Jessica Yoder.
Why do I feel so confidently that we will reach our goal to double research activity per Clemson Elevate? Because we have done it before.
Total research and development expenditures as tracked at all institutions by the National Science Foundation (NSF) increased from $152 million in fiscal year 2013 to $287 million in FY2023, the latest year for which NSF data is available. I believe we will exceed $300 million in FY2024.
Tanju Karanfil
Our growth is unmatched. Over the past decade, Clemson posted a compound annual growth rate in total R&D of 5.6 percent, a full percentage point higher than the average of all other Carnegie R1 research institutions, according to NSF data. If interested in reading more about our research activity, you can read my latest quarterly research report here.
Together, we have enhanced our research culture and posted unmatched growth. This has required a shared commitment from university leadership, deans, associate deans, department chairs, faculty, research associates, graduate students and support staff to enhance our research enterprise. I want to thank all of you.
We know we have much work to do, and the Division of Research is working hard to support your research. Here a few important updates as we near the end of another successful semester.
We are accepting applications for funding from numerous R-Initiative programs:
The Clemson Faculty Succeeds R-Initiatives offers four opportunities: (1) Project Initiation/Seed Funding applications are due Jan. 15, 2025; (2) Collaborate applications are due March 5, 2025; (3) Project Completion applications are due Feb. 3, 2025; and (4) Fast Track applications are accepted any time. View details on each program here.
The Clemson Core Incentivized Access program that offers access to research facilities is accepting another round of applications, which are due March 31, 2025.
Several R-Initiatives are available to support industry collaboration, including programs to support hiring postdoctoral researchers and engaging with for-profit companies. Details are available here.
Other R-Initiative programs accept applications any time and provide support for external reviews and travel to meet with funding agencies. The full list of R-Initiative funding programs available is listed here.
For untenured junior faculty, our Office of Research Development (ORD) is accepting applications to its annual CAREER Academy, which runs in the spring semester. The Academy provides a dedicated support structure for untenured junior faculty who are planning to submit National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) proposals. Academy participants will complete the program with a competitive proposal to submit to the NSF. Apply hereby Dec. 7.
Additionally, numerous ORD workshops are planned this spring to help you enhance your proposals for external funding:
Designing Effective Graphics for Grant Proposals;
NIH and NSF Requirements for Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Mentoring Plans;
3-Part Series: Writing Effective Research Objectives and Specific Aims; and
Engaging Stakeholders: Community Organizations.
Details on these workshops are available online here, and past workshops are available to view here. ORD also provides support to Clemson faculty who are working large-scale, complex research grants that are larger than $1.5 million. To request support, click here.
For faculty and graduate students interested in commercializing their research, Clemson joined a hub of Southeast universities that received a $15 million from National Science Foundation (NSF) to help nurture the commercialization of innovation. Our participation in this Southeast I-Corps Hub is led by the Clemson University Research Foundation. The Hub will work to identify business development opportunities for new technologies and prepare inventors for commercial success. Learn more here.
The Office of Research Compliance (ORC) is rolling out new InfoEd request forms for the Institutional Review Board (details here) and the Institutional Animal Use and Care Committee (details here) that will streamline the submission process and facilitate faster responses for you, as well as create an accessible archive of your compliance requests. The new forms will be released in mid-December. IMPORTANT NOTE: To accommodate the transition, the system will be temporarily inaccessible from Nov. 23 until Dec. 9 when new forms go live, so any submissions (new, amendment or annual review) that need to be filed before then must be complete by Nov. 22.
Additionally, ORC has launched a newsletter to keep researchers abreast of timely compliance updates. Subscribe here. IACUC also plans to launch a newsletter to update faculty on animal use and care matters. Subscribe here.
We continue to monitor changing federal regulations. On Oct. 1, the federal government released new regulations that will impact proposal submissions and award management. Of particular interest is the value of equipment and the F&A applied to subrecipients. Clemson University is in the process of negotiating a new F&A rate with the federal government, so no action is needed at this time. Additional guidance will be provided after rate negotiation has concluded. Multiple additional changes are in the new regulations (2 CFR 200). As these changes are clarified by agencies, additional information will be posted. More information is posted here.
Finally, I am pleased to announce that we have hired a director of electronic research administration, a new position created to enhance and streamline services to you as we aim to double research per the Clemson Elevate strategic plan. Mike Bryant starts in this role Nov. 18. He has been with Clemson nearly 10 years, most recently as director of health care infrastructure, where he developed and implemented IT infrastructure improvements to support operational efficiencies and enhanced services to clients. Please join me in welcoming Mike to the team. He can be reached at cbryan8@clemson.edu.
I want to thank all of you for your ongoing commitment to research, scholarship and creative endeavors at Clemson.
Since we released the R-Initiative funding programs in 2017, we have invested $10 million in research projects involving nearly 600 faculty members. Funds have been distributed to every college.
On R-Initiatives awarded through 2020, faculty members have authored 10 books; published 83 articles and presentations; conducted 11 art exhibitions and residencies; hired 23 postdocs and research associates; and secured $15 million in external funding with another $21 million in proposals pending. Additionally, about 100 students have earned their PhDs with support from R-Initiative funding.
More proposals are being prepared and numerous R-Initiative projects remain active. In other words, the return on that investment continues to grow.
R-Initiatives were established to help enhance a culture of scholarship and discovery by investing in people and celebrating great work. These have been worthwhile investments that have contributed to the rising tide of our research enterprise. Since 2017, research awards and expenditures at Clemson have increased 45 percent and 57 percent, respectively.
These programs have nurtured interdisciplinary collaborations. In one project funded by The Fellows R-Initiative program, engineers, political scientists and psychologists collaborated on a project about resiliency. Another included faculty from architecture, health sciences, civil engineering, and psychology. Education and engineering faculty joined together on another. Plant and environmental sciences faculty joined environmental engineers and biological sciences faculty on another. These are just a few examples of the interdisciplinary collaborations that have received R-Initiative investments. Each specific R-Initiative webpage includes a list of past recipients, so you can view awards for each program online and see examples of the interdisciplinary research happening. It is exciting. These R-Initiatives are sparking conversations, encouraging people to meet people outside of their disciplines and learn more about the diverse research happening at Clemson. There are undeniable, unquantifiable benefits to this collaboration.
I want to thank you for your interest in these programs and, if you haven’t taken advantage of these opportunities yet, I encourage you to see what is offered this year. Consult the R-Initiatives webpage for details on funding available, application deadlines and eligibility. I believe, there is something for everyone.
As we evaluate the effectiveness of these programs, for example, we see that faculty from all colleges are participating, and those who apply, regardless of their discipline, are highly likely to be funded. As Figure 1 shows, around 75 percent of the people named in an R-Initiative proposal were ultimately part of a funded project and faculty from every college are participating. So again, please visit our R-Initiatives website to see which program works for you and prepare an application.
In addition to funding opportunities, R-Initiatives celebrate our accomplishments through the Research of the Year and University Research, Scholarship and Artistic Achievement Awards, and offer numerous opportunities for professional growth:
The CAREER Academy, for example, provides a dedicated support structure for untenured junior faculty who are planning to submit National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) proposals. In 2020 and 2021, 10 junior faculty members at Clemson earned early career awards. These are important catalyst awards for young faculty starting their careers.
The NIH Accelerator Program provides intensive mentoring for early-career investigators seeking NIH funding.
The Office of Research Development has planned numerous workshops throughout the year covering many topics: crafting competitive proposals; selling your science; communicating the impact of your work; building successful research teams; and more.
Through its TigerSphere program, ORD also is facilitating the formation of teams of researchers from different disciplines who share thoughts, build relationships, and form convergent research collaborations around a central theme. We encourage you to submit an idea for a TigerSphere.
I hope you will find these programs worth your time, and if you have any ideas for ways the Division of Research can improve its service to you, please contact your representative on my Research Advisory Board.
He will be working with the Industry Contracts team to review proposals to industry and negotiate sponsored research and other research-related agreements with industry.
Prior to joining Clemson, Lapidas served as the contracts officer in the Office of Research Administration at East Carolina University. Prior to that, he was responsible for grant proposals and research agreements in the Office of Research at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
Lapidas received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his Juris Doctor from the Wake Forest University School of Law.
Experienced university compliance officer Robin Tyndall has joined Clemson University as director of the Office of Research Compliance.
Before joining Clemson, Tyndall worked as director of Research Protections at Appalachian State University, where she served as administrator of the Institutional Review Board (IRB), the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), as well as the conflict of interest manager and the responsible conduct of research training coordinator.
In addition to her experience in academic research compliance, Tyndall has directed lean operations and quality control programs in the private sector for notable corporations, including IBM and the Lenovo Group.
Tyndall succeeds Tracy Arwood, who has transitioned to her new role as chief ethics and compliance officer.
Modified Operations
The Office of Research Compliance remains active and assisting faculty members as Clemson operations are modified due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Any adjustments to existing research projects should be communicated to Research Compliance. Additionally, faculty members planning to apply for federal or private funding to conduct research related to COVID-19 should notify Research Compliance.
Individuals supported by research training, fellowship, research education, and career development awards from the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be required to have Open Researcher and Contributor Identifiers (ORCID IDs) beginning in FY2020.
The requirement for ORCID identifiers will be incorporated into the appointment process for trainees, scholars, and participants supported by institutional research training, career development, and research education awards that require appointments through the xTrain system, including the following:
Beginning with receipt dates on or after January 25, 2020, the requirement for ORCID identifiers will be enforced at the time of application for individual fellowship and career development awards, including the following:
A revised version of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 20-1) has been issued and will be effective for proposals submitted or due, and awards made, on or after June 1, 2020. Significant changes include:
NSF-approved format in submission of the biographical sketch and current and pending support documents, once the PAPPG (NSF 20-1) becomes effective. NSF is partnering with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to use SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae as an NSF-approved format for preparation of both documents. Use of an NSF-approved format will not be required until implementation of PAPPG 20-1 on June 1, 2020. To assist the community, NSF has developed websites with additional information for the preparation of the biographical sketch and current and pending support. NSF will post fillable pdfs for both the biosketch form and current and pending support in February and March 2020 that will also be considered approved formats. The Office of Sponsored Programs is making available a step-by-step guidance document for preparing a biosketch in SciENcv.
Appointments section in the Biosketch must include any titled academic, professional or institutional position whether or not remuneration is received.
Separate section in the project description no longer needs to include Intellectual Merit.
New requirement for providing e-mail documentation of Program Officer approval for the submission of RAPID and EAGER proposals; and
Clarifications to current and pending support coverage: Current and pending support includes all resources made available to an individual in support of and/or related to all of his/her research efforts, regardless of whether or not they have monetary value. Current and pending support also includes in-kind contributions (such as office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, employees, students26. In-kind contributions not intended for use on the project/proposal being proposed also must be reported27.
NSF plans to conduct a webinar covering these changes on February 6 at 2PM EST. Visit the webinar website to register for this event.
While this version of the PAPPG becomes effective on June 1, 2020, in the interim, the guidelines contained in the current PAPPG (NSF 19-1) continue to apply.
The federal government is increasingly concerned with attempts from foreign governments to unduly influence and exploit U.S.-funded research and is taking steps to protect our research integrity and intellectual capital.
International research engagements support the free exchange of ideas that has been central to our successes in scholarship and discovery, but we must make sure these engagements are conducted securely, transparently and ethically. Research integrity is paramount to our mission as educators and researchers.
The Division of Research has compiled a Guidance for Managing International Relationships and Activities to share recent statements from federal funding agencies, as well as information on federal policies and disclosure requirements. We encourage you to view that guidance and bookmarkthis webpage here. This guidance serves to help you navigate successful international research engagements.
This matter continues to evolve. The newly established Joint Committee on the Research Environment (JCORE) is coordinating federal agency activities and policies regarding research security. This includes establishing and coordinating disclosure requirements for participation in federally funded research and developing best practices for academic research institutions. JCORE also will be sharing a list of examples to help us understand the various ways research can be exploited or compromised.
We will be monitoring this closely and sharing new information with you as it becomes available.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about international research, please contact Tami Hemingway, Director, Office of Export Compliance and Research Security, at theming@clemson.edu.
Best,
Robert H. Jones Tanju Karanfil Executive Vice President forVice President for Research Academic Affairs and ProvostClemson University, Division of Research
The Division of Research rolled out a new digital solution from BioRAFT that makes it easier for faculty, staff and students to complete safety training, inventory chemicals and other materials, track safety equipment, and complete other safety tasks.
This secure, intuitive online platform provides automated reminders to help faculty complete safety tasks quickly and return to their research. BioRAFT replaces the current method of searching for training materials online, emailing documents to Research Safety staff, trying to track down laboratory personnel to check training status, and searching for chemical hazard information and safety data sheets (SDSs).
Researchers at other universities reported spending 60.5% less time on average completing the top 15 common safety tasks when using BioRAFT. Additionally, researchers spent 53%-84% less time on training and other safety specific tasks, allowing more time to focus on research while incorporating safety into their daily activities.
BioRAFT offers several features:
Easily access SDSs and track inventories of chemicals and hazardous materials using Chemtracker.
Manage safety and other research equipment.
Streamline inspections and follow-ups.
Complete online training and track training requirements and statuses for PIs and lab and research area members.
Easily access safety documents and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
BioRAFT is accessible online here. Log in with your Clemson University ID and password and follow the Quick Start Guide.
The BioRAFT site is compatible with your mobile device.
BioRAFT offers several different “modules” for specific tasks, such as inventorying chemicals, scheduling inspections or meeting training requirements. Those modules will be implemented in the following steps:
As of Aug. 1 – Bioraft is live for PIs and supervisors to set up their labs and work areas.
As of Aug. 15 – Online training is now available.
Sept. 30 – Inspection module becomes available.
Oct. 30 – Chemtracker and SDS becomes available.
Nov. 30 – Equipment module becomes available.
The Office of Research Safety will notify faculty via email from the BioRAFT platform when new modules are available.
Research Safety will conduct BioRAFT training throughout campus during the fall semester. You can also submit questions about this new platform to bioraftRShelp@clemson.edu.
