faculty Research and creative activity awards (RCAA)
The J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts (TCVPA) is committed to fostering excellence in all aspects of scholarly, creative, and artistic endeavors as a demonstration of Our Core Values of Curiosity, Principled Conduct, Sense of Community, Creativity, and Care. From groundbreaking research to trendsetting artistry in performance and exhibition, our faculty are recognized pacesetters throughout the global arts community.
As part of our commitment to supporting faculty excellence in research and creative activity, TCVPA offers an internal grant application. Whether a stand-alone project or one that can foster collaboration and external funding, these internal grants are intended to promote a more visible presence of Texas Tech's faculty.
Award guidelines may be updated annually in consultation with the RCAA Taskforce, a group of faculty members from across the college who are past recipients of the award.
This year, to incentivize and reward faculty who wish to get involved within the strategic growth area of engaged research and creative activity, we are proudly introducing an optional extension to the RCAA, which is titled Engaged. The Engaged option may be a part of CATEGORY 1 or CATEGORY 2. For each category, please review the details in the tables below.
A definition of engaged scholarship, examples, and metrics for measuring impact are in the downloads folder. Please use the budget template located in the download folder.
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CATEGORY 1 |
Engaged OPTION |
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up to $5,000 |
Can be applied as an option. |
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Internal grant with a one-year term |
Internal grant with a one-year term |
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ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS |
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS |
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Awardees will receive instructions on how to access and track the funds. Access to a designated account and instructions on how to spend and track award funding. Invitation and expectation for participation in the Annual Colloquium and reception in which recipients must provide a poster presentation on their research. At the end of the award period, recipients will receive a prompt to complete a brief report to the Associate Dean for Faculty, Research, Creativity, and Outreach summarizing the activities undertaken, the goals to which they aspired, and the degree of success they enjoyed in reaching those goals within the award period. Consent to post media from project. Invitation to attend faculty grant workshops. |
Awardees will receive instructions on how to access and track the funds. Access to a designated account and instructions on how to spend and track award funding. Invitation and expectation for participation in the Annual Colloquium and reception in which recipients must provide a short, pre-recorded presentation on their engaged research. At the end of the award period, recipients will receive a prompt to complete a brief report to the Associate Dean for Faculty, Research, Creativity, and Outreach summarizing the activities undertaken, the goals to which they aspired, and the degree of success they enjoyed in reaching those goals within the award period. Consent to post media from project. Invitation to attend faculty grant workshops. |
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SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS |
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Applicants to Category 1 Engaged will need to outline a plan for collaboration with a community partner to identify a need and goals. Faculty are encouraged to submit a letter of support from the identified community partner as part of the application. Partnering with the community member is a central piece to the project proposal. Applicants must provide a plan for programmatic measures of impact. The data collected will be utilized for internal purposes only such as submission to Director and Dean, CV, and Digital Measures. If recipients intend to publish on their scholarship, they should articulate this in the proposal so that they can receive additional support and consultation on protocols for data collection pertaining to populations. An additional rubric is applied at the time of review. Recipients of this award will receive supports pertaining to engaged scholarship protocols and opportunities from engaged scholar specialists at Texas Tech and office of the Associate Dean for Faculty, Research, Creativity & Outreach. |
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CATEGORY 2 |
Engaged OPTION |
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$5,000 and up |
Can be applied as an option. |
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Internal grant that requires an application to an external funding source upon the end of the two-year term. |
Internal grant that requires an application to an external funding source upon the end of the two-year term. |
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ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS |
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS |
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Awardees will receive instructions on how to access and track the funds. Access to a designated account and instructions on how to spend and track award funding. Invitation and expectation for participation in the Annual Colloquium and reception in which recipients must provide a short, pre-recorded presentation on their research. At the end of the award period, recipients will receive a prompt to complete a brief report to the Associate Dean for Faculty, Research, Creativity, & Outreach summarizing the activities undertaken, the goals to which they aspired, and the degree of success they enjoyed in reaching those goals within the award period. Consent to post media from project. Invitation to attend faculty grant workshops. |
Awardees will receive instructions on how to access and track the funds. Access to a designated account and instructions on how to spend and track award funding. Invitation and expectation for participation in the Annual Colloquium and reception in which recipients must provide a short, pre-recorded presentation on their engaged research. At the end of the award period, recipients will receive a prompt to complete a brief report to the Associate Dean for Faculty, Research, Creativity, & Outreach summarizing the activities undertaken, the goals to which they aspired, and the degree of success they enjoyed in reaching those goals within the award period. Consent to post media from project.Invitation to attend faculty grant workshops. Consent to post media from project. Invitation to attend faculty grant workshops. |
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SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS |
SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS |
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The Category 2 award stipulates recipients submit at least one application to an appropriate external funding source within six months after the conclusion of the award period, by September 1. |
The Category 2 Engaged award stipulates recipients submit at least one application to an appropriate external funding source within six months after the conclusion of the award period, by September 1. |
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Recipients are encouraged to work with the Director of Grants & Innovation in consultation of external grant applications. |
Recipients are encouraged to work with the Director of Grants & Innovation in consultation of external grant applications. |
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Applicants to Category 2 Engaged will need to outline a plan for collaboration with a community partner to identify a need and goals. Faculty are encouraged to submit a letter of support from the identified community partner as part of the application. Partnering with the community member is a central piece to the project proposal. Applicants must provide a plan for programmatic measures of impact. This data will be utilized for internal purposes only such as submission to Director and Dean, CV, and Digital Measures. In anticipation of the expectation for the external funding application, the applicant will need to outline proposed measures of impact/data collection that will be used for publishing purposes for external funding applications. Recipients will receive additional support on protocols for data collection pertaining to populations. This will involve additional supports and consultation throughout the phases of project development. An additional rubric is applied at the time of review. Recipients of this award will receive supports pertaining to engaged scholarship protocols and opportunities from engaged scholar specialists at Texas Tech and office of the Associate Dean for Faculty, Research, Creativity & Outreach. |
For a list of recent recipients and sample projects, please see the Colloquium Website.
ELIGIBILITY
All full-time faculty members in the TCVPA are eligible and encouraged to apply. This includes professors of practice, lecturers, and tenure-track or tenured faculty members. For any questions about eligibility, please contact the Director of Grants & Innovation, Geneva Aragon-Allen.
ANNUAL TIMELINE & PROCEDURES
November 18: Application portal opens in InfoReady.
February 3: Submission Deadline. All proposals are due by 11:59pm CT at which time the application portal closes.
February 4-15: Proposals are thoroughly reviewed by a RCAA Review Committee that consists of a rotating group of past recipients from across the college who are not applying in the current cycle. The Director of Grants & Innovation also serves in a non-voting advisory capacity. The Associate Dean for Faculty, Research, Creativity, & Outreach serves as ex-officio chair.
Throughout the review process and awarding period, the identities of both the RCAA applicants and those serving on the reviewing committee are protected. All submitted applications are thoroughly reviewed using criteria articulated in the corresponding Published Rubric. Upon completing a thorough review, the RCAA Review Committee ranks each project and provides advisory comments. It may accept, decline, or make a recommendation for an acceptance with budgetary revision. The reviews and rankings are forwarded to the Dean of the college for a final review.
Feb 17-21: Applicants are invited to an optional meeting in which anonymous feedback on the proposal is shared and the decision is communicated. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by February 21. After the decision is communicated applicants may receive a written summary of the feedback upon written request.
March 15: The date at which the award period begins and ends on either a one- or two-year cycle based on the category.
Every Spring: RCAA Recipients are announced and are required to attend the annual TCVPA Research & Creative Activity Colloquium as part of their acceptance of the award. All faculty are encouraged to attend. This year it will be held on March 11, 2025 at 5:30 PM.
September 1: CATEGORY 2 – Faculty must provide documentation demonstrating the requirements for additional external funding to the Associate Dean for Faculty, Research, Creativity, & Outreach. Reminders to faculty will be sent at the end of the award period, but this documentation is due by September 1.
Please Find Resources for Project Proposals in the Downloads Folder:
- Budget Template
- Sample Budget
- Engaged Scholarship Definition & Guidance
- Published Blank Rubrics for each award category, including Engaged Option
- RCAA Table
The following components will be required for a complete application:
- Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator
- Faculty may serve as principal investigator on a maximum of one application and as co-investigator on no more than two additional applications per annual application cycle.
- Principal Investigator (PI): project lead who is responsible for directing and administering the project or activity.
- Co-Investigator(s) (Co-PI): Optional, additional key personnel. If included, they play significant roles in the project design, execution, and/or evaluation. Co-Investigators may be from other TTU units or external to Texas Tech.
- Title of Project and a concise and clear project abstract (250-500 words)
- Project Narrative (≤2,500 words):
- Please Review the Published Rubrics for guidance on what to include in the narrative.
- Project Scope & Timeline
- Articulate how the project will be accomplished within the award period; include an annotated timeline.
- Category 2 & Category 2 Engaged: How will the scope of the project expand beyond the award period, and what type of external funding do you envision as being suitable support?
- Detailed Budget
- Please complete the Itemized Budget Template and include a short narrative describing how the proposed budget adequately and realistically meets the needs of the project.
- Downloads folder
- For CATEGORY 1 Engaged & Category 2 Engaged: Please see Engaged Scholarship Guidance and Additional Rubric in downloads folder for examples of engaged scholarship and parameters around measures of impact.
- TCVPA Values Based Project Evaluation:
- Please Review the Published Rubrics for each category for additional information.
- Optional Supporting Materials:
- Can include links to websites, media platforms, social media illustrating related work.
Questions?
Contact the Associate Dean
Ivy Walz
Associate Dean for Faculty, Research, Creativity, and Outreach
J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual & Performing Arts
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Address
School of Theatre & Dance Building | Box 45060 | 2812 18th Street STE 222 | Lubbock TX 79409 -
Phone
806.742.0700 -
Email
talk@ttu.edu