Guidelines for LAUC Grants

PURPOSE

The program's purpose is to encourage and provide funding for research and other professional development projects undertaken by LAUC members.

TYPES OF GRANTS

As of 2020-2021, the funding allocations for the program are $24,300 for represented librarians and $8,100 for non-represented librarians.  Though funds are limited, the committee will endeavor to fund as many proposals in as fair a manner as possible.

Research Grants

Research Grants ($5,000 maximum) are designed to support an individual research project, research involving more than one campus, and other similar research ventures. Research Grant funding generally takes priority over Mini Grant and Presentation Grant funding.  Proposals must focus on: research in library and information science, including the dissemination of information; advancement in knowledge within the broad definition of these fields; the profession of librarianship; or subject specialties for which the applicant is highly qualified and which would result in the advancement of knowledge in general.

For more detailed instructions, see Research Grant Guidelines.

Mini Grants

Mini Grants ($500 maximum) are awarded for small-scale research projects or as an adjunct to the full-scale Research Grant program.  Awards may be used to assist librarians in preparation for full-scale research proposals or to bring projects to completion (e.g. expenses for statisticians, printers, consultants, coverage of release time to complete final edits to a book, etc.).

For more detailed instructions, see Mini Grant and Presentation Grant Guidelines.

Presentation Grants

Presentation Grants ($600 maximum) are awarded to fund the cost of presenting completed research.  These costs include (but are not limited to) printing and travel expenses associated with presenting a paper or poster based on the librarian’s professional research.

For more detailed instructions, see Mini Grant and Presentation Grant Guidelines.

GENERAL APPLICATION AND REVIEW PROCESS

Timeline

A call for all three types of grant applications is made in the fall, with a second call for presentation and mini grants only in the winter.  See the current call from the R&PD Committee for specific dates.  The Committee reserves the right to reject late proposals.

Eligibility

Criteria

Proposals from represented and non-represented members will be evaluated and ranked together to determine their relative merit.  In judging proposals, the R&PD committee will consider the following, in addition to criteria listed in scoring sheets and in grant forms:

• The project should not fall within the customary scope of the work of the applicant/library that the applicant/library should already be covering;

• The outcome will have an impact on library services and/or users beyond one individual campus;

• The project should contribute to scholarship and/or emerging technologies in library science or other academic disciplines;

• The applicant should owe no outstanding reports or documentation from previous LAUC grants.

For examples of previously-funded grants and information regarding projects that will not be funded, please see Examples of Successful and Unsuccessful Proposals.

Submission of Proposals

The applicant(s) must e-mail a completed application form and relevant additional forms to the Chair of the divisional (campus) R&PD committee.  Applications submitted directly to the LAUC Statewide R&PD Committee will not be accepted.

If the divisional R&PD committee finds an application meritorious, it may be forwarded to the Statewide Committee.

The Statewide R&PD Committee may request, at its discretion, evaluations from competent reviewers who are not members of its committee.

Multi-Campus Proposals

Multi-campus proposals are eligible for consideration and will be reviewed and evaluated equally with single-campus proposals.  Multi-campus proposals shall be submitted to the primary applicant's divisional R&PD committee.

Notification and Disbursement of Funds

The Chair of the Statewide LAUC R&PD Committee will contact both successful and unsuccessful applicants.  The Chair will send instructions to successful applicants and to UCOP regarding the disbursement of funds.  It is thereafter the grant recipients' responsibility to contact their local library accounting offices and make arrangements for the transfer of the grant funds from UCOP.

The Chair will notify the LAUC President and appropriate division chairs of the final funding decisions and write an end-of-year report for LAUC and UCOP.  Electronic copies of all successful applications will be maintained in the LAUC Archives and may be made available on the LAUC website.

Reporting

All successful applicants are required to e-mail the following items to the Chair of the Statewide LAUC R&PD Committee:

• Annual Report – A concise report outlining the applicant's progress and funds expended is due at the end of each funding year (by July 1).

• Final Report – A final report summarizing project achievements is due within one month of the project's conclusion.  The report will be posted on the LAUC website and sent to UCOP.

• Final Product – One copy of any product (publication, media, website, etc.) resulting from a research project must be sent to the Chair of the Statewide LAUC R&PD Committee.  The Chair will deposit this copy in the LAUC Archives.  When appropriate, copies of the product should be added (and cataloged) to a circulating collection of the local institution and deposited in the UC eScholarship Repository.

Use the End of Funding Period Report form for both annual and final reports.

Acknowledgment

All products resulting from this program must acknowledge receipt of funds from the Librarians Association of the University of California (LAUC).  Proposals that receive divisional funds must also comply with divisional reporting requirements.

Please use one of the following LAUC logos for your papers and presentations:

• LAUC Logo - Black Text
• LAUC Logo - White Text 

Suggested text to add to research papers and presentations:

• This research was supported by a Research Grant from the Librarians Association of the University of California (LAUC).  
• This presentation was supported by a Presentation Grant from the Librarians Association of the University of California (LAUC).