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About the Office of Research Development

The Falk College Office of Research Development helps foster a vibrant research community within the College and facilitates collaborative scholarly research inclusive of undergraduate and graduate students.

Falk College faculty members engage in a wide variety of research activities that improve the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and the community, locally, nationally, and globally. Their fields of expertise include exercise science, food studies, human development and family science, marriage and family therapy, nutrition, public health, social work, sport analytics and sport management.

Funds from federal and state grants/contracts, foundations, the University, and Falk College support faculty research projects. Faculty members collaborate across all schools and colleges and contribute to research institutes, centers and working groups. While the College is diverse in its disciplinary fields and areas of research interest among its faculty, all are committed to studying change and potential for change across a broad array of human needs, aspirations, and institutions; that is, to the study of human dynamics in its widest sense.

The Falk College Office of Research Development assists in:

• identifying funding sponsors and collaborators

• internal and external proposal development (including strategy, narrative review, and budgeting) and post award support

• navigating the University sponsored-project system

In collaboration with academic departments and centers or institutes, we sponsor activities including seminars and colloquia highlighting innovative faculty research. Annually, Falk College awards small seed grants for tenure-track assistant professors to support the development of junior faculty’s research programs.

Falk faculty are encouraged to access the Falk College Office of Research Development Faculty manual via the Falk College Intranet.

Faculty Research Resources

Falk College supports faculty research by offering pre- and post-tenure research leaves, faculty development funds, summer salary support, reduced course loads for new faculty and seed funding for tenure-track faculty.

The Falk College Office of Research Development additionally offers extensive support services to research and sponsored project development in the college including one-on-one research planning meetings, customized funding searches, proposal development, assistance building research teams, and post-award support of sponsored projects. Falk faculty are encouraged to access the Falk College Office of Research Development Faculty manual via the Falk College Intranet.

We also coordinate the following:

Research Colloquia: showcase Falk faculty research and emerging topics of interest to Falk faculty.

Support of Academic Research (SOAR) : showcase research in progress and allow colleagues to give and receive constructive feedback on in development, planned, or ongoing research projects. SOAR sessions foster peer mentorship and support, and those who attend regularly typically benefit as much as those receiving feedback.

Writing Circles: involve a group of writers who meet regularly to share writing time, provide writing feedback, and/or provide writing-related support. Writing Circles facilitate productivity by creating a supportive community.

Falk Specific Aims Review: involves 3-4 Falk faculty reviewers providing rapid feedback on the specific aims page, which informs other proposal components and is often the first glance reviewers have into your research ideas.

Academic Strategic Planning Workshop: annually, a working meeting to develop a plan to meet your goals.

Falk Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Seed Grants: In collaboration with the Dean’s Office, the Falk College Office of Research Development awards seed grants to tenure-track assistant professors annually. These are competitive, peer reviewed and intended to assist tenure-track junior faculty with completing preparatory work for research projects that have a high likelihood to secure external funding.

Human Subject Research Listserv: A listserv dedicated to disseminating human subject research information and problem-solving human subject research issues on campus. This listserv consists of 74 members across 13 schools/colleges/offices and 24 departments.

Other SU resources:

Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE): Led by women faculty and professional staff, WiSE serves STEM departments at the University. Their diverse programming and events offer women in STEM a wide variety of networking and learning opportunities, as well as support, encouragement, and inspiration. Through research-based strategies and an active community of mentors and peers, we help women students and faculty achieve their professional goals.

Learn more about WiSE

Grant Proposal Support

As independent researchers, faculty are responsible for the development of research grant proposals either individually or in collaboration with other faculty. The services provided by the Falk College Office of Research Development and its staff are meant to assist and complement these efforts. Office staff can assist faculty with their preparation of grant submissions through work on the following activities:

• Budget preparation;

• Identify statistical consultants to help with developing analysis plans;

• Review text of proposals for clarity, completeness, and satisfaction of the request for proposal requirements;

• Provide administrative support to faculty with completing research proposal forms required by the College, Office of Sponsored Programs, and funding agencies;

• Work with faculty to meet proposal submission deadlines required by the College, Office of Sponsored Programs, and funding agencies, and;

• Act as a liaison with the Office of Sponsored Programs for final submission of proposal applications.

The entire grant submission process is covered in the Falk College Office of Research Development Faculty manual.

Funding Guidance

Faculty members considering new research projects that require external funding should look for possible funders on the databases available on the Syracuse University’s Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) webpage, Funding Your Research.

Falk College Office of Research Development will assist faculty to identify potential support for their activities. Faculty are invited to first explore available searchable funding databases or sites, and then to contact our office if additional assistance is needed.

Writing Circles

A Writing Circle is a group of writers who meet regularly to share writing time, provide writing feedback, and/or provide writing-related support. Writing Circles facilitate productivity by creating a supportive community. Here are a few suggestions for successful Writing Circles.

Create a group of 3-7 members committed to regular attendance:

A smaller group gives each member more time to share work and receive feedback. A larger group provides broader input and is easier to sustain if members periodically cannot attend.

Hold an organizing meeting:

1. Discuss why you want to be in a Writing Circle, and your personal goals as a writer (short-term and long-term) and hopes for being involved in the Writing Circle (e.g., accountability – including shared writing time, feedback, support).

2. Agree on what kinds of writing are—or aren’t—suitable for the group (type and stage), and agree on a page limits to be shared (e.g., an entire journal article or book chapter or limit reading to 5-10 pages to keep workload manageable?)

   • Do you want to focus on dissemination writing (manuscripts, books, etc.) or proposals?

   • Do you want to review outlines, sections of products, full first drafts, etc.?

   • Will you address writing topics (pre-writing strategies, challenges, etc.)?

3. Agree on meeting format.

4. Agree on a deadline for pre-distribution, reading and recording feedback.

5. Agree on meeting frequency, length, and set up a schedule for presenting work, with 1-2 members receiving feedback at each meeting.

6. Agree on communication structure between meetings. Will you touch base in between meetings with questions or updates?

7. Discuss other topics of importance to group members, including desired Ground Rules, adding new members, etc.

8. Appoint a group facilitator to keep the group focused to fulfill its intended purpose (and does not become primarily a social club), a convener to set meetings and reminders, a time keeper, and a note taker (as desired by authors). These roles can rotate.

Hold regular meetings:

• Writers should let readers know what level of feedback they are seeking (developmental editing, copyediting, etc.) and any specific questions they would like the group to address.

• Set a positive tone by starting with a round of what members like about the piece before turning to constructive criticism.

• Remind members to couch criticism supportively and to own their opinion rather than make declarations of what the writer “must do.”

• Let authors choose whether they will bring revised work back to the group. This allows writers to receive feedback without any obligation to incorporate it.

Evaluate regularly how the Writing Circle is going for everyone:

• What is working (keep)?

• What is not working (change)?

Support of Academic Research

Falk College Office of Research Development Support of Academic Research Sessions.

Support of Academic Research (SOAR) sessions provide peer mentorship and support for work in progress. SOAR sessions allow colleagues to give and receive constructive feedback on in-development, planned, or ongoing research projects, with an emphasis on proposals for extramural sponsored projects. SOAR Sessions work best when a committed group of colleagues attends regularly, but guests are always welcome. Regular attendees benefit as much as those receiving feedback.

Usually, SOAR Sessions focus on one project per meeting, though it may be possible to do a themed session (e.g, responding to reviewer feedback, developing specific aims). The proposal can be at any stage of development. Presenters must be genuinely interested in receiving input from peers and should expect a good deal of interaction and input. It can be useful to present when you are:

• first brainstorming ideas or developing a research proposal

• exploring next steps based on preliminary data

• articulating specific aims or approach

• identifying possible challenges and ways to address them

• responding to reviewer feedback for a resubmission

To get the most out of a SOAR Session, the presenter(s) should:

• share materials one week before the meeting

• indicate the type of feedback they would like

• give a brief introduction to the current state of the proposal (aiming for 5 minutes or less).The presenter(s) should not have a formal presentation, but focus on providing a framework for the current state of the work so that attendees can provide feedback.

Presenter(s) must be Falk faculty and the lead researcher of the project presented (e.g., PI), though collaborating colleagues can be invited and included.

Presentation of grant proposals is generally restricted to external opportunities only. Faculty that want feedback on internal SU sponsorship opportunities should reach out to their mentors/network or contact The Falk College Office of Research Development for additional suggestions.

Skills Enhancement

Falk College and its Office of Research Development support continuous learning and quality improvement in all endeavors, including faculty research. The Falk College Office of Research Development has initiated a seminar series where college faculty, faculty from the larger SU campus, and visiting scholars can share their research experiences, study findings, and advice about successful grant submissions with interested college faculty. Learn more about Falk College Research Colloquiums.

In addition, the SU Office of Research has information on undergraduate research and creative engagement (The SOURCE), proposal support services, technology transfer, research integrity and protections and sponsored programs. These resources including tools for budget preparation and aids for proposal writing, intellectual property information, IRB and IACAC for human subjects and animal protections, and workshops and training sessions that faculty can attend to learn about strategies to obtain support for research and scholarship as well as issues pertaining to research policies and regulations. 

Specific Aims Review

“there is no grantsmanship that will turn a bad idea into a good one…but there are many ways to disguise a good idea.” – unknown

An internal grants review team reviews specific aims and provides feedback prior to submission to an external funder. While faculty often have collaborators review/edit their proposal sections, this initiative is intended to solicit quick feedback from Falk faculty reviewers outside of the project/department (3-4 reviewers). The feedback is for the specific aims section, which informs other proposal components and is often the first glance reviewers have into your research ideas (if your funder does not require a specific aims section you may submit a comparable one-page document for review). Use the link below to submit a one-page document with your specific aims:

Submit your specific aims

For additional information visit: NIH – Writing a Winning Application.

Post-Grant Award Support

As the recipient of research grants and support, faculty are responsible for meeting the requirements of funding agencies regarding carrying out a research plan and submission of reports.

The services provided by the Falk College Office of Research Development and its staff assist and complement the work faculty do to meet post-award requirements. Office staff can assist faculty with their post-award needs through work on the following activities:

• Assist in collaboration with the Dean’s Office (budget staff) to troubleshoot problems with grant budgets-reconcile discrepancies, help with interpreting and implementing grants budgets;

• Provide support to meet deadline submissions for grant renewals, interim and final reports, or other deliverables proposed in funded proposals;

• Review interim and final reports or other deliverables for clarity, completeness, and ensuring the deliverables are consistent with what was proposed, and;

• Assist faculty to document and submit effort reports to the Office of Sponsored Programs

Databases for Research

Secondary data sets can provide useful pilot information to support competitive research proposals, serve as a data source for publishable research papers, and through data mining, provide ideas for new lines of research. Reviewers at funding agencies increasingly expect to see prior empirical work in support of grant proposals. Secondary data sets can be a valuable resource for college faculty to make a strong proposal submission.

A useful compendium of databases, ranging from those focusing on Syracuse data to cross- national information, can be found on the Syracuse University Library website. A particularly useful resource for secondary datasets is the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), which is free to SU faculty.

Statistical Resources

Falk Faculty listed below have agreed to share their statistical expertise. These faculty are available for interdisciplinary statistical collaboration and/or consultation for grant applications and research projects. Appointments may be made by contacting these faculty directly.

General questions can be addressed in the Falk College Office of Research Development by Kate Gratien at kgratien@syr.edu.

Additional campus-wide resources:

• Paul Bern, Research Data Services Librarian, phbern@syr.edu
  Research and Scholarship Subject Areas include: Census Information, Numeric Data, Statistical Information and Consulting, Survey/Poll Data

• SU Libraries Research Data Services

• Faculty in Applied Statistics Program at SU