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Call for Proposals
View FAQs on the following subjects:
- Does my institution need to be an accredited school of nursing?
- Do salary support funds cover summer salary?
- Can the primary mentor be the Dean (or Department Chair) of the SON?
- What is the maximum grant amount and what is the grant period?
- The School of Nursing falls within a larger college at my university, and therefore does not have a dean. Should I request my dean's letter from the dean of the college or the director of the school?
- Can I use a team of mentors?
- How many meetings is my mentor required to attend?
- What role will each of my mentors play?
- Can I compensate my primary nursing and research mentors for their time?
- Are mentors required to have a currently-funded program of research? Or just have had prior funding?
- What if I am at a non-research intensive university and there is nobody within my university that has an R01 or equivalent that could serve my research mentor?
- Is it acceptable if my proposed research mentor within the institution does not have a funded research project, but a co-mentor outside the institution does?
- May you have co-research mentors, if you have an existing relationship with a research mentor outside of your institution that is a close match for your research? May you have both?
- If your Primary Nursing Mentor is also your Dean, does this individual write 2 letters (Dean’s nomination letter and Primary Nursing Mentor?
- Who should write the nomination letter in an accredited nursing school where the nursing department is part of the science or a health professionals or similar division?
- Can part of the 60% support time during the RWJF NFS program be devoted to preparing and submitting an R01?
- When should I plan to initiate my research project?
- Do we need to have IRB approval ready before the start of the grant?
- Is it allowable to use the RWJF NFS 60% time to obtain training to develop expertise in a new aspect of research methodology, such as cost benefit analysis?
- Is it required that candidates schools of nursing supply matching funds?
- Is it appropriate to propose a feasibility study as one’s research project?
- Is it appropriate to propose a pilot study? For instance, to propose a pilot the first year and the full study for the next two years to include alternate plans based on the pilot outcomes?
- Can the primary mentor be an associate professor with extensive leadership experience?
- If you are a School of Nursing within a College, may your research mentor be within that College, but within a different discipline/department.
- I understand that budgets are only required of those candidates select as finalists. However, my institution requires a simple budget in order to apply for this grant. How should I plan to allocate funding?
- If I am selected as a finalist, will my institution be permitted to request indirect costs as part of my award budget?
- Does my institution need to be an accredited school of nursing?
Yes, grants will be awarded only to accredited schools of nursing.
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- Do salary support funds cover summer salary?
RWJF grant funds are applied to the annual salary (60 percent FTE). These funds can be allocated across the year in differing percentages in different semesters so that summer salary is covered in cases of 9 or 10 month contracts.
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- Can the primary mentor be the Dean (or Department Chair) of the SON?
Yes, the primary mentor can be the Dean of your SON or another senior faculty member who could fill that role.
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- What is the maximum grant amount and what is the grant period?
Up to 12 awards of up to $350,000 each over three years will be available in this round of funding.
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- The School of Nursing falls within a larger college at my university, and therefore does not have a dean. Should I request my dean's letter from the dean of the college or the director of the school?
The RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program recognizes that schools of nursing are structured in many different ways. You should request the letter from the person who authorizes your time and salary within the school, and who can authorize the engagement of your university.
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- Can I use a team of mentors?
While we do not discourage more than two mentor relationships, the RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program asks that you identify a primary nursing mentor and a secondary research mentor. Letters of commitment and biographical sketches are required from these individuals.
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- How many meetings is my mentor required to attend?
Primary mentors will attend three national meetings with the Scholar (one each year) and the NFS Orientation meeting in the fall of the first year of the grant. Research mentors are not required to participate in meetings. Scholars will also attend at least one other meeting annually for leadership training purposes.
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- What role will each of my mentors play?
The primary nursing mentor is a senior nurse faculty member in the Scholar's School of Nursing. He/she will assume primary responsibility for ensuring that the scholar learns how to juggle successfully the tripartite responsibilities of academia (teaching, research, and professional/institutional service) in a particular university. The research mentor is a non-nurse senior researcher in the university (not in the school of nursing) with similar or complementary research interests. The research mentor is from a discipline different from nursing. They are responsible for helping the scholar to orchestrate an externally-funded program of research. An important aspect of this role is helping the scholar make interdisciplinary connections within the university in their focus area. The national program office will also appoint a national mentor at the beginning of the Scholar's program. The national mentor is a senior nursing leader with expertise in the scholar's general research area. This mentor will provide leadership development in nursing and will serve as a resource in shaping the scholar's career in academic nursing and in their area of research.
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- Can I compensate my primary nursing and research mentors for their time?
Both your primary nursing mentor and research mentor can be compensated for their time up to 2-4 days/year ($500/day). That compensation should come from the Scholars' budgets. The primary mentor from your School of Nursing will be compensated for travel and attendance to the national meeting. Those funds will come out of the Scholars' budget. - Are mentors required to have a currently-funded program of research? Or just have had prior funding?
Reviewers evaluate this part of your application on the basis of your proposed mentors as being “qualified” to support your growth as an academic nursing leader and researcher within your school of nursing and university. While not absolutely required, research mentors with a robust track record of prior AND current funding (or at least prior) have a more solid foundation on which to offer mentorship and research collaboration. For instance, they can help you with successful grant writing and make introductions to external funders and program officers and other successful funded interdisciplinary researchers in your field as well as afford you membership in a currently funded research team that will be useful to you.A track record of research funding is weighted as somewhat less important in the evaluation of Primary Nursing Mentors. This mentor should be a senior leader within your school of nursing who will mentor you in a faculty role and in your process of attaining promotion and/or tenure and increase your visibility and contribution as a leader in your school of nursing.
- What if I am at a non-research intensive university and there is nobody within my university that has an R01 or equivalent that could serve my research mentor?
If there is nobody within your university that has an R01 or equivalent that could serve as his/her research mentor, then you may include a complimentary research consultant (faculty member) from another university in close proximity to yours. You may have this faculty member write the “Faculty Recommendation Letter” to include that he/she understands your plan of research. The primary mentor and the research mentor should also note the complimentary research consultant in their letters. - Is it acceptable if my proposed research mentor within the institution does not have a funded research project, but a co-mentor outside the institution does?
Your research mentor should have an active funded program of research. It is possible that at the time of your RWJF NFS application your research mentor is in a period of lapse of funding (when one or two research awards just ended and he or she has applied for others but they have not yet been reviewed and/or awarded) but they have a program of research with an active research team and a track record of external funding, and should have at least some proposals submitted or under review so there will be active funding soon. - May you have co-research mentors, if you have an existing relationship with a research mentor outside of your institution that is a close match for your research? May you have both?
Yes, you may have both. However, you must identify one as your Research Mentor for the program who will write the Research Mentor Letter. You may name the other as a co-mentor and address this in an appropriate place in your application (i.e. career goal statement or proposal narrative. A letter is not required from this other mentor but they can write the letter of recommendation if you wish). - If your Primary Nursing Mentor is also your Dean, does this individual write 2 letters (Dean's nomination letter and Primary Nursing Mentor?
Yes, the Dean should write both the Dean’s nomination letter and the Primary Nursing Mentor Letter. - Who should write the nomination letter in an accredited nursing school where the nursing department is part of the science or a health professionals or similar division?
The person who authorizes your time as a faculty within your institution should write the Dean’s nomination letter. If the chair or director of the department of nursing authorizes your salary as opposed to the Dean of the larger division under which your school of nursing falls, this individual may write the Dean’s nomination letter, clearly identifying in the letter their role in the school and in the division. - Can part of the 60% support time during the RWJF NFS program be devoted to preparing and submitting an R01?
Absolutely! We encourage all RWJF NFS to prepare and submit an R01 during their time as scholars. As a researcher, you are always writing new grant proposals while you are conducting a current study. - When should I plan to initiate my research project?
On the first day of your grant. - Do we need to have IRB approval ready before the start of the grant?
No, it is not required to have already obtained IRB approval but we encourage finalists to initiate this process during the summer months prior to the start of your grant. It will accelerate your ability to stay on your timeline if IRB approval is obtained during the months prior to the start of the grant or is at least ready to be submitted on the first day of your grant. - Is it allowable to use the RWJF NFS 60% time to obtain training to develop expertise in a new aspect of research methodology, such as cost benefit analysis?
Absolutely, that or something similar is exactly what we expect scholars to do in part of that time. You may address training needs and plans in your career goal statement. - Is it required that candidates schools of nursing supply matching funds?
No, matching funds are not required of the candidate’s institution. - Is it appropriate to propose a feasibility study as one’s research project?
It is appropriate to propose a feasibility study IF it is equivalent in scope to a 3-year NIH R21 or an equivalent mechanism so the study (or studies) demonstrates ability to recruit a sufficient sample for an R01, sufficient diversity of sample, and measures are piloted with sufficient sample to do psychometric testing (reliability AND validity). For instance, it is appropriate to propose a substantive combination of feasibility and intervention development research (i.e. with focus groups or individual interviews) to develop or adapt an evidence- based intervention that will show sufficient data indicating the intervention is acceptable evidenced by pre- and post- test intervention data, with a sufficient sample to show at least good potential for efficacy. One of the ways to verify if your study is substantive enough is to ask yourself if results will provide sufficient data for three or four data-based publications (published, accepted or at the least submitted) within the 3 years scholarship. - Is it appropriate to propose a pilot study? For instance, to propose a pilot the first year and the full study for the next two years to include alternate plans based on the pilot outcomes?
That would be appropriate although you wouldn’t identify them as pilot and full study. You are advised to propose them as “Study One” and “Study Two” and you must fully describe methods for both within the proposal narrative. You cannot say you will wait for results of Study One to decide how to do Study Two. You can describe Study Two methodology, etc. Background should be same for both since one builds on the other. Assuming the results of Study one are X or close to it, you may provide an alternative plan if results are Y, giving an indication that you have thought through implementation of Study Two depending on the results of Study One. - Can the primary mentor be an associate professor with extensive leadership experience?
It is not required that primary nursing mentors be a full professor. However, being a full professor is the quintessential indicator of academic leadership so we recommend identifying a mentor who is very close or has already been promoted to full professor and should indicate this in their letter. Remember, your primary nursing mentor is going to help you orchestrate your academic career especially around gaining promotion and tenure. They should be very successful at this themselves, have ideally mentored others to gain those types of achievements, and have perhaps served on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure committee in the school and/or the university, demonstrating that they know how this process works and what YOUR school and institution’s requirements are for promotion and tenure. - If you are a School of Nursing within a College, may your research mentor be within that College, but within a different discipline/department?
Yes, it is permissible that the research mentor be within the same college and within a different discipline or department, but sometimes not ideal. Remember, your mentor will be evaluated on their ability to raise your visibility as a research within your institution, at the university level. - I understand that budgets are only required of those candidates select as finalists. However, my institution requires a simple budget in order to apply for this grant. How should I plan to allocate funding?
Yes, RWJF will award up to $350,000 over 3 years of your grant award. Major budget categories include personnel, other direct costs, purchased services and indirect costs if requested by your institution. Personnel includes your salary as project director, a small amount for mentors, and research staff, and fringe benefits. Direct Costs include office operations, communications and marketing, travel, meeting costs, surveys, equipment, and project space. Purchased services includes consultants and contracts/contractual agreements. Only finalists are required to submit a budget and budget narrative. Detailed budget preparation guidelines will be provided to finalists. - If I am selected as a finalist, will my institution be permitted to request indirect costs as part of my award budget?
As a demonstration of their in-kind support for the RWJF NFS program, finalists’ institutions are asked to waive their request for indirect costs. The RWJF funds will not be used to support overhead for this scholarship program.