Funding for Travel & Research

Academic Travel Fund

Full-time faculty members are eligible for up to $1750 in funding available each academic year. The Academic Travel Fund is managed through the Dean of the Faculty in Academic Affairs. Faculty members submit one application through Forms Manager (Academic Travel Fund Request) and reviewed and approved by the department chair, Academic Affairs staff, and the Dean of the Faculty. Academic Affairs processes requests on a rolling basis, and colleagues may submit multiple reimbursement requests each academic year up to the total of $1750. Should a single request exceed $1,750, the faculty member will need to apply for professional development funds through FDRC. The scope of activities covered under the Academic Travel Fund is laid out in the Requirements for Academic Travel Fund and FDRC Grants

FDRC Grants

The Faculty Development and Research Committee (FDRC) invites proposals for Professional Development Funds, for Curriculum and Program Development funds. Each of the following grant categories will be supported.

  • Professional Development (PD)
    • $1750 and under: Academic Travel Fund: individual only*
    • Any amount up to $5000: Individual requests not meeting Dean of Faculty Academic Travel Fund eligibility and group requests.
  • Curriculum and Program Development (C&PD): Any amount up to $5000 (individual) or $7500 (group)

*Eligibility must be met for Academic Travel Fund

The scope of activities for FDRC Grants is laid out in the Requirements for Academic Travel Funds and FDRC Grants.

Deadlines for 2022-2023

For the grant period July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023 (Third Call) – Friday, 21 October 2022

  • If funds remain, a final call for this fiscal year will occur and the deadline will be Friday, 3 February, 2023.

For the grant period July 1, 2023– June 30, 2024
(Note: these are approximate deadlines, as we await future budget details)

  • First Call – Friday, 3 February 2023
  • Second Call (if funds remain) – Friday, 24 March 2023
  • Third Call (if funds remain) – Fall 2023 Semester

Proposals for retroactive funding will receive consideration.

The FDRC request that applicants upload both a PDF of their application with supporting letter(s) and the proposed budget excel worksheet via electronic submission to this link: Grant Submission Form.  There are separate uploads for each within the form.

Criteria Used in Evaluating Proposals

Please note that this is a competitive process. While FDRC funds as many worthy requests as possible, it may receive requests that exceed the available funds. FDRC will evaluate proposals according to the following criteria:

  • What is the overall quality of the proposal? Does the proposal meet the requirements set out in that category?
  • To what extent does the proposal represent an increase of knowledge, further the education of students of the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, or help the applicant become a more productive member of the CSB and SJU community?
  • Is the budget of the proposal proportional to the scope of the project? Projects that promise greater benefit at a lower cost are more likely to be funded at the amount requested.
  • Is the budget of the proposal proportional to the scope of the project? Projects that promise greater benefit at a lower cost are more likely to be funded at the amount requested.
  • Are the proposal's plan, timetable, and activities specified and reasonable? Is there adequate evidence that the applicant can successfully complete the proposed project in the time specified and for the amount requested?
  • How does the CSB and SJU community benefit from the project? Questions such as "How involved are students in this project?" and "Can the results of this project be made accessible to the wider university community?" are relevant here.
  • Does the project effectively make use of available CSB and SJU resources?
  • Is there clear evidence of effectiveness and success in completing previous grant projects?
  • Were reports filed with the Provost from previous FDRC funds received?

Important Information

  • Please note that discipline-specific jargon and formulae may not fully inform committee members, who come from a variety of disciplines, and that may influence funding decisions.
  • Food expenses are supported for up to $225 per trip. Childcare expenses are not supported
  • The FDRC is unable to fund requests for equipment costing over $1,000.00. Capital expenditures $1,000 or more should be submitted to the Academic Planning and Budgeting Committee (APBC).
  • Total individual grant award may not exceed $5,000. 
  • The committee reserves the right to prioritize funding to persons who have received less than $10,000.00 funding in the last 3 years.
  • In most circumstances, course development is a normal responsibility of the faculty and is not funded. However, exceptional curricular changes or plans may be funded not to exceed $1500.00 per course.
  • Previous reports from FDRC grants must be on file at the time of the application. File your report electronically using this form: FDRC Grant Report.

In its distribution of funds the Committee will put the quality of the proposals at the top of our list of considerations. We will also look at the proposals as a group and aim for a balanced use of institutional resources (balance across disciplines and ranks and time since previous grants).