An info session on the Institute Research Funds

by Azzeddine Oudjehane, PhD

Shan Satoglu, MBASeptember 7, 2011

BCIT Applied Research Liaison Office

Supporting Innovation &

Commercialization.

To provide faculty, staff and students at BCIT with services that support BCIT’s objective to engage in innovation and

applied research

BCIT Applied Research Liaison Office

Why we are here?

BCIT Institute Research Fund

“If we knew what we were doing, it would not be

research”

Albert Einstein

– allow BCIT employees to pursue research initiatives for which they are unable to obtain funding from other sources

Institute Research Funds - IRF

Goals and Objectives

– allow researchers to leverage institute funds to obtain research funding from external agencies and partners that they would otherwise be unable to access.

– Funded from the Annual budget of the VPRI

Institute Research Funds - IRF

VP Research Seed Fund

– To fund research applications requiring partial release time from duties for the PI for extended periods of time, (1 or more school terms).

– 3 years maximum – Grants are limited to a maximum $25,000 per

year and per principal investigator, project or application.

Discovery Parks Fund

Institute Research Funds - IRF

– The maximum duration of a grant from this fund is for one fixed term and may be renewed once for a maximum of an additional term.

– Grants are limited to a maximum of $25,000 per year per principal investigator, project or application.

– Funded by Discovery Parks Foundation.

– To fund research applications that are for a fixed term (period of time) or to fund the preparation of applications for external grants.

• Discovery Parks fund: 2• VP Seed fund: 1• Combined funds: 2

Total $: • Amount requested: $ 540,000 over 3 years• Amount allocated for funding: $180,000 over 3 years

– $90,000 Year 1, $50,000 Year 2, $40,000 Year3

Institute Research Funds - IRF

Statistics from the last round of fundingNumber of applications: 14Number of funded projects: 5

Institute Research Funds - IRF

– Svetlana Brzev (SoC&E) - $25,000 in funding through the Discovery Parks Fund for project entitled “Development of Non-Destructive Testing Device for Quality Control of Concrete Masonry Blocks and the Block Manufacturing Research Facility.”

Projects funded, June 2011:

– Ali Palizban (SoE) - $15,000 in funding (for Year 1) through the Discovery Parks Fund and VP Research Seed Fund for project entitled “Volt Var Optimization (VVO) of Power Distribution Systems.”

– Borna Noureddin (SoC&AS) & Jamie Borisoff (CRC) - $25,000 in funding through the Discovery Parks Fund for project entitled “The Use of Ultralight Wheelchairs With Dynamic Seating in the Community: Development of a Wheelchair Data Logger System.”

Institute Research Funds - IRFProjects funded, June 2011:

– Caroline Soo (Tech Ctr) - $24,932 in funding (for Year 1) through the VP Research Seed Fund for project entitled “Exploration and validation of the use of the Wii Fit and other gaming technology as a quantitative clinical tool in the Prosthetics and Orthotics field.”

– Sarah McLeod (SoHS) - $24,793 in funding through the Discovery Parks Fund for project entitled “Role of the Proteins YKL-40 and YKL-39 in interactions between cancer cells and tumour-associated macrophage cells.”

Institute Research Funds – IRFEvaluation criteria (1)

• The quality of the research plan (i.e. are the study design, research methods and analysis plan appropriate to answer a well‐defined research question or questions.)

• The feasibility to conduct the study (i.e. is the project deliverable based on challenges with the study

• Alignment with areas of interest within BCIT or School mandates and strategic plans.

Essential criteria:

Institute Research Funds – IRFEvaluation criteria (2)

• Student Participation.• Partnerships with other BCIT Schools or

departments.• External Partnerships and Collaborations (Industry;

University, Institute or College; Non‐profit Organization).

• Other Internal Funding Support.• External Funding Opportunities.• Length of time since Principal Investigator’s

previous successful application to either fund.

Desirable criteria:

Institute Research Funds – IRF

Project: “Exploration and validation of the use of the Wii Fit and other gaming technology as a quantitative clinical tool in the Prosthetics and Orthotics field.” Team: Caroline Soo, PI, with collaborators from School of Health, Tech Centre, and the School of Computing and Academic Studies.Funding: $24,932 in Year 1 funding through the VP Research Seed Fund

Testimonial of a successful applicantCaroline Soo, MSc., BSc. (Kinesiology)(Honors), Dip.Tech. (P&O

Institute Research Funds – IRFApplication process

Application package:

• Summary of Proposed Research (1 page). • Budget breakdown (2 pages) • Researcher Background Information - (interests,

industry experience, publications (patents, papers, presentations, reports),

• Description of existing or proposed facilities (1 page max.).

• List of personnel required to support research project • Reporting criteria (quarterly, mid project, end project,

etc. as required by committees).

Institute Research Funds – IRFApplication process

Research Proposal:

Institute Research Funds – IRFEligible expenses

• Employee release funding, Research Assistant funding, Student funding to perform research

• Materials and supplies for research.• Minor research equipment (less than 10% of total

fund)• Research‐related travel for data collection (if

required, and justified).• Conference travel for presentation of research

results (maximum one conference per application, to a maximum of $2500 inclusive of all costs).

• Other direct research costs.

Institute Research Funds – IRFIneligible expenses

• Professional fees to the Grantee(s).• Administrative fees/ standard monthly connection or rental costs of

telephones / connection or installation of lines (telephone or other links)

• Costs associated with education: thesis preparation, tuition and courses fees, thesis examination or defence, conference attendance.

• Cell phones, Blackberry, and/or other electronic devices unless directly related to research objectives.

• Books, computers, furniture unless directly related to and justified for purposes of the proposed research.

• Travel to conferences and scholarly meetings except for the presentation of papers as the result of the research as described above.

• Equipment repair or purchase not associated with the specific goals of the research project.

• Curriculum development.

Institute Research Funds – IRFSome tips for preparing an effective application

• Before writing, read very carefully the guidelines

• Write a reader-friendly application (don’t assume that the reviewer is an expert of the topic)

• Emphasize more “how” rather than “why” the methods and activities will address goals and objectives of the research proposal

• Descriptive milestones and budget / cost allocations

...

• Start early particularly if you are involving external support or collaborations

• Be aware of the priorities and interests of the SRC. Does your proposal address them? Does it “fit” (talk to SRC)

Ref: “The Art of Grantmanship” by Jacob Kraicer (UofT)

Institute Research Funds – IRF

Timelines for the application process

• Today: Info session. Ask questions

• In 1 week: get more feedback

• In 2 weeks: do you have all supporting documents? Did you talk to your SRC?

• In 4 weeks: deadline for submission to SRC: October 7

• SRC submits applications to IRC

• IRC meeting: November 1, 2011

• Announcement of results: mid-November

“Research breakthroughs need to meet the challenges

of the industry”

Applied Research Liaison Office

http://www.bcit.ca/appliedresearch/arlo/

Or

contact the ARLO – CAP Business Advisor working with your school or tech centre.

??? contact us