The mission of USU’s Office of the Vice President for Research (VPR) is to facilitate and stimulate research, scholarship. The VPR directs a number of programs/offices aiming to improve the research environment here at USU. The VPR sponsors three seed grant programs to get your research and subsequent large proposal rolling.
Within the VPR's office is the Office of Proposal Development is creating a network of proposal development staff in colleges across the University. Proposal developers report jointly to their unit directors (deans/department heads/research center directors) and to the VPR. Every spring, the network sponsors a Proposal Writing Institute to assist researchers in learning the tools and techniques to develop high-quality proposals. Contact proposal developers of other colleges when looking for research expertise outside your discipline. Click here for a list of all proposal developers and their contact information.
All grant proposals go through the Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) which is a unit within the Vice President for Research Office. SPO determines correct rates for indirect costs and other budget line items, and reviews proposals for compliance with all applicable university, state and federal regulations. Only SPO can approve proposals in an administrative capacity for the university, as directed by the Vice President for Research. Other SPO functions:
- Acts as negotiator and liaison between the principal investigator and the funding agency on issues that arise prior to funding during the agency's review of the proposal
- Reviews contracts and grants received for acceptable terms and conditions
- Advises principal investigator of receipt of award and notifies the Controller's Office to assign university account number
- Forwards accepted awards to the Controller’s Office for post-award administration.
Center for High Performance Computing provides no-cost large scale computing, networking, visualization, storage and data management resources to the research community. The Center will partner with researchers to design, develop and deploy computing systems that have the potential of advancing computational research in agriculture, science, engineering, technology and other disciplines. The Center will collaborate with educators to integrate advanced computing technologies into undergraduate and graduate curricula.
Utah State University's Center for Women and Gender provides a professional and social climate to enhance opportunities through learning, discovery, and engagement. The Center offers research and travel grant programs for both faculty and graduate students.
The Utah State University Environmental Health & Safety Office is a service organization that provides expertise and advice for compliance with federal, state and local safety and health regulations, as well as current professional practices and guidelines. Services include assisting the university to maintain compliance with regulations and training university personnel and students in appropriate safety measures. General areas of focus include biological, radiological, occupational, and chemical health and safety.
Research Integrity and Compliance The Research Scholars Certification Program (RSCP), offered by the Office of Compliance Assistance in conjunction with the Office of the Vice President for Research, is designed to introduce students and postdoctoral fellows to key topics in scholarly research and publication. The program focuses on the responsible conduct of research, resolving ethical dilemmas, and proposal and grant management skills. Students and postdoctoral fellows who are supported through the National Science Foundation Funding are now required, under the America COMPETES Act, to complete training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). The RSCP is the approved program for fulfillment of this requirement.
When either animals or humans are involved in your research:
Institutional Review Board (IRB) All research involving human participants, including unfunded research, must be reviewed in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations. All ongoing research projects are reviewed annually; however, if there is more than minimal risk to human participants, the continuing reviews may be more frequent. Any proposed change or revision to a currently approved study that affects human participants must be reviewed and approved by the IRB prior to implementation of that change. See website for more on certification procedures as well as an application.
Animal Care and Use (IACUC) If live, vertebrate animals will be used in some way as a part of your research project, IACUC approval is required prior to receiving a grant award. See the IACUC site for more information and an application.
Lab Animal Research Center provides animal care above the minimum standards that have been established for laboratory animals. Animal care within the center is in accordance with the "Animal Welfare Act", PHS "Policy on Humane Care and Use of Animals", ILAR "Guide", and, where applicable, the FDA "Good Laboratory Practices". This objective is three-fold, one to ensure that no research work is jeopardized through inadequate animal husbandry practices, two to ensure non-research personnel that the animals used in research are treated and cared for in a humane manner and three to ensure that federal funding for research involving animals is not jeopardized through inadequate or inhumane care or treatment of research animals. Call LARC (7-1886) to discuss your project needs and timeline then include rates for use of this facility in your proposal.
