FAQs
I am planning to submit an application and I want to be sure I have all of the appropriate materials in order to be considered for an award from this program. What do I need to submit? Answer: Two documents are required for each project application: 1. One (1) Curriculum Vitae Summary of the principal investigator or team leader. This should include references to previous articles and books written by the investigator. 2. Letter of Intent (LOI). Both documents are limited to 3 typed pages each (a total of 6 maximum pages). The content and format requirements are listed on the 'How to Apply' page of this website. Please be aware that applications are accepted ONLY through the Arete Initiative Grant Submission Site which you can access at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/arete-virtues . Please DO NOT send applications via email or U.S./International postal services. Applications that are not received through the grant submission site will NOT BE ACCEPTED.
What are the specific evaluation criteria used by the judges to select the winners of this competition? Answer: The following is a list of the selection criteria that will be used by both peer reviewers and Project Council:
• Is the idea or research novel and creative?
• Is the topic relevant to the study of virtue?
• Is the level of complexity appropriate?
• Does it use rigorous scientific methods?
• In what ways does it build upon the world’s existing research literature?
• What, specifically, are the likely outcomes of the research?
• What are the potential applications of the knowledge gained?
• Is the proposed research feasible given the timeline and budget?
• Does the proposal draw on multiple disciplinary perspectives in order to advance a science of virtue? Does it draw on insights of the humanities and the sciences?
• What is its expected value in terms of interdisciplinary impact?
• Is the researcher capable of carrying out the proposed project?
• Are the PI’s scholarly environment, resources, and career goals conducive to the success of the project?
I am not sure whether or not my research idea is someting that this grant competition is seeking. How do I determine this? Answer: To determine whether or not your project proposal is appropriate for submission to this program, please review all of the illustrative topics, although they do not represent an exhaustive list, located on the TOPICS page.
May I forward a summary of my project idea or submit an informal draft for feedback prior to submittting a formal application? Answer: No. Since this is a grant competition, our Directors and program staff cannot provide consultation in this manner for it may give an unfair advantage to such applicants. The best way to prepare your application is to be sure to address the selection criteria within your Letter of Intent, and to recruit your own colleagues to review and provide feedback on your application.
We are applying as a team of co-investigators. May we submit more than one CV Summary? Answer: No. For administrative purposes, we accept only one CV of the person who is completing the electronic application and who will be the sole contact person for that application. However, you may have multiple collaborators as well as multiple leaders (co-investigators, co-PIs, joint leaders, etc.) in the execution of your project. In the Letter of Intent document itself, you may include a listing of co-leaders and collaborators and a brief description of their roles or contributions to the project .
If your project is chosen as a finalist, you will be asked to submit a full proposal that includes CVs of all leaders. The person who was named as the “single applicant” on the initial application will be invited to present the proposal and represent the team at the Virtues Symposium (Chicago), where finalists compete for one of about 20 awards. Co-investigators and collaborators may attend the Symposium as well, however only one person from each project will be funded for transportation, hotel, and some meals.
I electronically submitted my application through the Scholar One Manuscript Central website and later realized that my application was incomplete or contained errors. What do I need to do to correct this? Answer: As long as the correction is made before the deadline (March 2, 2009, 5:00 pm CST), you may un-submit your submission and repeat the same application process to submit a revised version. If you need to do this, be sure to do the following: (1) Send us an e-mail to virtues@uchicago.edu to request that we un-submit your initial application; and (2) Once you have received an e-mail notification that your application has been formally un-submitted, you may repeat the same application process to submit a revised version of your application. Also, remember to re-submit all content, including the portions that did not need revisions. This way, the new version will arrive to us in one complete package of finalized documents.
If my academic field is not mentioned in the list of targeted disciplines, am I still able to submit an application to the program? Answer: We encourage an applicant from any field to apply to our program, but you must be aware of the criteria of merit for a competitive evaluation. If you feel that your academic expertise does not fully qualify you for the competition, we encourage you to submit a proposal with a co-investigator(s) who can complement and/or supplement the expertise necessary to round out your application.
If I submitted an application by the established deadline and I was not selected to attend the research symposium, am I eligible to submit a full proposal to compete for one the grants? Answer: No. Only the participants who are selected to present thier project proposals at the research symposium will be eligible to compete for the awards. Nevertheless, since our long-term goal is to establish a network of investigators who are interested in virtues research, we encourage you to stay in contact with us through registration at our web site. We plan on making strategic partnerships with other foundations and granting agencies that are interested in supporting this work, as well as providing a forum for interested investigators to correspond with each other through a moderated list-serve and other hosted research discussion events.
Can a prospective principal investigator who is not part of a college/university or nonprofit organization be eligible for an award from this program? Answer: Yes, it is possible for a prospective principal investigator who is not part of a college/university or nonprofit organization to be eligible for an award from this program. If such a prospective principal investigator is one of the finalists selected to attend the research symposium, the requirements for submission of the full proposal for that project will require a consulting and expenditure responsibility agreement. However, if your proposal involves the use of human or animal subjects, you must be affiliated with an organization that can provide IRB and IACUC approvals.
I am not a resident of the United States. If I am chosen as one of the grant winners, would I have to establish residency within the United States for any extended period of time? Answer: No. Grant winners can conduct their research in the country in which they reside. Only three short visits to the United States (Chicago, IL) are required: a Science of Virtues Symposium in January 28-30, 2010 and two Science of Virtues Research Network Meetings scheduled for March 9-11, 2011 and March 14-16, 2012. See our Timeline of Events to view the Science of Virtues schedule.
I applied as a team. If we are chosen as a finalist, will all members of my team be invited to attend the Science of Virtues Symposium in Chicago? Answer: No. Only a single principal investigator per project is invited to attend the Symposium where he/she will represent the interests of the group, and compete for one of approximately twenty awards. Airfare, hotel, and some meals will be funded for the principal investigator to attend the Symposium.
If I send in a letter of intent after the March 2, 2009 (5:00pm CST) deadline, can I still be considered for the competition? Answer: We require that your complete application be received by us by March 2, 2009, 5:00pm CST. Any applications that we receive after the deadline will not be considered in the competition. We encourage that you allow yourself ample time before the deadline for submitting your required electronic documents.
Can an award from this program be used for salary support? Answer: Yes, budgets may be used for salary or any other legitimate expense in conducting research. However, as in the case for all budgetary items, salary for the principal investigator or any other personnel need to be justified.
Can an award from this program be used to support on-going research that is also supported by other funds? Or use this award as a basis for seeking other funds? Answer: Yes. If you plan on doing this, be sure to list the other awards you are using and how this award would allow you to expand or improve your current research. If you have received funding from other sources for a proposed research project, you must use this award to support something new within your existing research. Also, you can apply for other grants and assistance to go along with the Science of Virtues award, should you receive it. However, we need to know about your plans at the time of submission of the project and outcomes of other funding decisions, if successful. Our intent is to strongly encourage co-funding and/or follow-on funding of the research in this area provided that the funding is used for budget items not already funded by our program of support. In fact, we are committed to doing whatever we can to help you with this process both scientifically and administratively.
Can we request grant money for indirect costs? Answer: Yes. However, know that the upper limit for indirect costs is set at 20% of the total direct costs for the project. Any needed indirect costs that exceed the 20% upper limit will need to be funded by other outside sources.