Office of Research & Creative Scholarship

Month: June 2021

NEA Announces ARP Funding Application Guidelines

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On June 28, 2021

In External Funding Opportunities, Federal Agency Announcements, Federal Funding

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced the competitive application process and guidelines for “The American Rescue Plan — Grants to Organizations“. The program will be carried out through one-time grants to eligible organizations in the arts sector that have been impacted by the pandemic.

Applications will be due on August 12, 2021. Grants will be awarded in fixed grant amounts of $50,000, $100,000, or $150,000. Cost share/matching funds are not required. Unlike other Arts Endowment funding programs that offer project-based support, Rescue Plan funds are intended to support day-to-day business expenses/operating costs, and not specific programmatic activities.

Application Limits

As non-profit institution, Emerson College may submit only one application under these guidelines, with the following exceptions:

  • Applications for Ploughshares, ArtsEmerson, HowlRound, and WERS, each of which NEA has classified as an “independent component” of Emerson;

If you are thinking of applying this year, please contact ORCS at your earliest convenience. Depending on the number of inquiries, the College may need to hold an internal competition to select a single project for submission.

Issuance of NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (NSF 22-1)

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On June 28, 2021

In Federal Agency Announcements, Federal Funding, Federal Regulations, Policies

The National Science Foundation has issued a revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 22-1). The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due on or after October 4, 2021. Significant changes include:

  • A new section covering requests for reasonable and accessibility accommodations regarding the proposal process or requests for accessibility accommodations to access NSF’s electronic systems, websites and other digital content;
  • A table entitled, NSF Pre-award and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support. This table identifies where pre- and post-award current and pending support disclosure information must be provided. Proposers and awardees may begin using this table immediately;
  • Increasing the page limit for the biographical sketch from two to three pages;
  • Updates to the current and pending support section of NSF proposals to require that information on objectives and overlap with other projects is provided to help NSF and reviewers assess overlap/duplication;
  • Adding planning proposals and Career-Life Balance supplemental funding requests as new proposal types;
  • Updates to travel proposals will require that AORs certify that prior to the proposer’s participation in the meeting for which NSF travel support is being requested, the proposer will assure that the meeting organizer has a written policy or code-of-conduct addressing harassment.

NSF plans to conduct a webinar covering these changes. Visit the NSF policy outreach website to sign up for notifications about this and other outreach events.

While this version of the PAPPG becomes effective on October 4, 2021, in the interim, the guidelines contained in the current PAPPG (NSF 20-1) continue to apply. 

If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact the DIAS/Policy Office at policy@nsf.gov.

COVID-19 Update: Resumption of In-Person, On-Campus Research with Human Subjects

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On June 11, 2021

In Human Subjects Research, IRB, Policies, Procedures

On May 27, 2021, Erik Muurisepp, Assistant Vice President of Campus Life, announced that Emerson College would “revise its regulations for those living, learning, and working on campus,” effective June 1. These changes reflect the growing state and local vaccination rates, lowering case numbers, and the most recent guidance from Tufts Medical Center, the Boston Public Health Commission, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new guidelines allow the return of non-Emersonian visitors to campus, subject to the continuation of certain safety measures. With this change, Emerson is pleased to announce that researchers may resume conducting human subjects studies, on campus, with in-person participants. In order to ensure that sufficient protections are in place for both researchers and subjects, the co-chairs of the Emerson Institutional Review board have approved the following procedures for doing so. These procedures will be in effect until further notice:

  1. Submission of the On-Campus Human Subjects Research—COVID Safety Protocols And Attestation form. This form must be completed and submitted to the IRB by the lead researcher, and returned to the researcher with an IRB approval stamp, before an in-person HS study may be conducted. The form outlines both universally mandated safety measures, along with specific protocols based on the nature, duration, and contact frequency of the study.
  2. Consistent adherence to the IRB-approved safety measures proposed by the lead researcher.
  3. Offering a copy of the signed form to participants as informed consent on the safety measures.
  4. Purchasing the necessary sanitization supplies and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) needed for the studies.
  5. Immediately notifying the IRB if any HS participant reports a positive test, of the onset of COVID-like symptoms, within seven (7) days of having participated in the study.

For all studies, participants will need to pre-register in iVisitor, and perform a symptom check one day before the study and the morning of the study. All researchers are still required to perform their own daily symptom checks, and must be tested once per week.

Once your on-campus request has been approved, you can procure sanitization supplies by ordering them through VEOCI. Requests for PPE—including gloves, masks, face shields, and lucite barriers—can be directed to Donna Brescia in Business Services.

This guidance applies to study protocols that have previously been reviewed and approved by the IRB. New protocol applications for in-person studies should also include the On-Campus Human Subjects Research—COVID Safety Protocols and Attestation form with their initial submission until further notice.

If you have any questions, please direct them to human_subjects@emerson.edu.

Presidential Fund for Curricular Innovation: 2021 Curriculum Internationalization and Inclusive Excellence Studio Recipients

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On June 2, 2021

In Faculty News, Faculty Spotlight, Internal Grant Announcements

The Office of Research and Creative Scholarship congratulates recipients of the 2021 Presidential Fund for Curricular Innovation (PFCI): Curriculum Internationalization and Inclusive Excellence Studio award. The following faculty and their projects have been accepted into the Studio:

  1. VM331: Experimental Accessible Cinema (Malic Amalya – VMA)
  2. Embracing Diversity in Digital and Algorithmic Marketing: Expanding dimensions of diversity literacy among students (Sereikhuoch Eng & Naa Amponsah Doodoo – MarcCom)
  3. Crossing Cultures: Appreciation,accommodation, appropriation (Nejem Raheem & Bhamati Viswanathan – MarCom)
  4. Communication Self-efficacy in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Adolescents: Improving access and participation (Maryann Salehomoum & Eileen McBride – SoC and Marlboro Institute)
  5. Re-visioning Perspectives in World Dance (Kristin Horrigan & TBD – Performing Arts)

As a member of the studio, each faculty member will receive a stipend of $1,200 for creating new curriculum. Faculty members selected for the Studio will have the opportunity to apply for further funding for project-related expenses.

About the PFCI: Internationalization, diversity, and Inclusion are major priorities for Emerson. Emerson’s Strategic Plan defines Internationalization as the commitment to “mutually beneficial engagement with the global society in which we participate, and to ensuring that all members of our community are prepared to thrive in that society.” Similarly, Emerson’s dedication to Diversity and Inclusion is rooted in the belief that “institutional and academic  excellence are not possible without full engagement with diversity across all areas of the College.” The President’s Fund for Curricular Innovation supports Emerson’s commitment to internationalizing and diversifying the curriculum of the College, as well as the implementation of inclusive pedagogical approaches in the classroom Each year, faculty are invited to submit proposal projects for acceptance to the Curriculum Internationalization and Inclusion Studio. The goals of the Studio are to:

  • Encourage collaboration among faculty;
  • Build our collective capacity to internationalize curriculum;
  • Develop specific courses, course modules, pedagogical and/or advising methods that contribute to these aims.

The PFCI and Curriculum and Internationalization and Inclusion Studio are jointly overseen by  Dr. Anthony Pinder, Vice Provost Internationalization & Equity, and Dr. Tuesda Roberts, Director of Faculty Development and Diversity. The PFCI is sponsored by The Office of the President.

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