Is there a limit to the number of proposals a Lead Applicant can submit?
No. There is no limit on the number of proposals.
As is allowed with the Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program, can cost share be earned before the five year project period for the ORSP?
No. The ORSP differs from the Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program (which allows institutions to count earlier investments going back to FY 2007).
Cost share can be earned starting when the award is received through the five year project period. During that time, the institution must
contribute 100% of the 1:1 cost share required (or higher ratio if pledged by the Lead Applicant).
Must part of the required cost share be tied to the magnitude of the dollars requested for endowments?
A portion of the costs share is related to the requested endowments, based not on the principal amount but the annual interest earned. The minimum
required 1:1 cost share must include a commitment to provide a cash contribution to the endowment principal and/or additional salary for the new hires
in an amount equal to the interest earned on the endowment over the five year project period. As with any element of the cost share, it may be earned
over the five year project period.
Will in-kind contributions count the same as cash contributions?
Yes. Cash and in-kind will be considered equivalent, except where cash is required to fulfill the cost share associated with interest earned on the endowments.
Can sponsored research dollars be used for cost share?
Yes, so long as the sponsored research funds are directly in support of the growth plan for the proposed research cluster rather than coincidental
or related/similar allocations, and earned within the five year project period.
Can you clarify the language on contributions to cost share and the use of extramural funds discussed in Appendix C, paragraph A?
The distinction between cash and in-kind contributions is stated in that section of the appendix. The document does not preclude the use of new extramural funds.
Does cost share have to be proportional among collaborators?
No. The Lead Applicant makes a commitment to provide at least the minimum cost share of 1:1. It is up to the proposal team to decide on the
organizational sources of that cost share commitment. There is no requirement for the cost share to be assigned in proportion to the amount of
the award received by an organization or by any other a priori formula.
It was stated in the remarks today that collaboration is strongly encouraged but the RFP indicates that collaboration is required. Which is correct?
As stated in the RFP, the proposal must include collaborations between two or more institutions or organizations. It is not strongly encouraged but a required element of every proposal.
Can a commercial partner come into Ohio from somewhere else, including another country, and be a partner in the cluster?
Yes. If that commercial partner is the only collaborator associated with the proposal, they must meet the requirements for having a principal place of business in Ohio.
How important is commercialization to the evaluation of proposals? What is expected for the commercialization time-frame as it relates to near-term vs. long-term outcomes?
Because the ORSP is jointly supported by Regents and the Third Frontier Commission, the goals and objectives are broader than those that might be reflected in programs sponsored by the individual parties to this RFP. The goal is to have fully functional research clusters that support basic research, applied research, teaching, and short, medium and long term commercialization. A proposal may emphasize the investment in activities that strengthen one or more of these elements, but must provide a complete rationale for the operation of the fully functional cluster. The appropriate time-frame for commercialization will be dictated by the technology focus of each individual proposal. While the funds requested from the ORSP may not directly support commercialization activities or infrastructure, it is expected that the experience and capacity to commercialize IP resulting from the ORSP activity should be well integrated into the overall structure of the research/technology cluster proposed. Specific evaluation criteria define the expectations for commercialization in this program and will be given equal consideration by the evaluator along with the other dimensions of the evaluation criteria included in the RFP.
Will the evaluator look at commercialization in Track 1 differently than in Track 2?
Yes. The evaluation criteria for commercialization in the RFP set different standards for Track 1 and Track 2. The evaluator will be expected to consider those differences in evaluating the Track 1 and 2 proposals.
Can ORSP endowment funds be added to an existing endowment?
Yes, but only if the existing endowed position is vacant and being pledged for a new position within the proposed research/technology focus area
to be recruited from outside Ohio. The ORSP endowment funds cannot be used to augment an endowed chair that is currently filled.
Can ORSP endowment funds be used for retention of existing faculty/researchers or recruitment from within Ohio?
No. As stated in the RFP, endowed recruitment packages that include endowment funds awarded by the ORSP must be used for tenure track positions at
the Associate Professor level or higher or senior research positions at equivalent levels recruited from outside of Ohio.
However, in addition to contributing to endowed recruitment packages, operating and capital funds awarded by the ORSP may be used to support any
other proposed positions deemed important to the growth plan for the research cluster. This includes the retention of existing personnel and recruitment
from within Ohio.
Can the minimum $2.5 million request be split between multiple positions?
No. The RFP states that the minimum request must be used for a single endowed position.
In requesting endowment funds and capital funds, what is a good mix?
Unlike, the operating funds which are capped at 15% of the total request, there is no limitation on the capital and endowment funds that can be
requested below the $50 million maximum total request. A good mix is a reasonable balance. The capital request should be consistent with the
number of hires to be supported and nature and resources of the research cluster proposed.
Operating funds are seen as critical to achieving the commercialization goals of the program. Is the 15% cap on the operating fund request inconsistent with meeting the commercialization goals?
No. We are taking the best advantage of the mix of funds available and the cap was established based on the relative proportions of the
different funds. If a Lead Applicant sees this cap as prohibitive, then appropriate cost share should be used to compensate for the inability
to provide more funds in this category.
Does the individual recruited into an endowed position have to be retained in that position through the project period?
No. This is not required. However, the package and the research cluster proposed should foster the long term retention of any newly recruited
research personnel, which is a goal of the program. If retention becomes a problem than the grantee may need to work with the ORSP sponsors to
identify the problem and potential remedies.
Can funding be used for both graduate and undergraduate students working on research?
Yes. While the endowment funds provided by the ORSP can only be used for specifically defined positions (i.e., senior faculty and researchers), the
capital and operating funds can be applied to the support of any personnel deemed important to the function of the research cluster proposed.
Must the research cluster proposed relate to specific Ohio region in which the Lead Applicant resides?
No. The RFP states that the proposed research cluster must support one or more of the state's regional economies. That does not necessarily
include the Lead Applicant's home region.
If a proposal is unsuccessful in competing in one track, would it be considered in the other track? [Assumed that the reference was to Track 1 proposals being reconsidered as Track 2 submissions]
No. Each proposal will receive a review based upon the criteria associated with the track assignment declared by the Lead Applicant. Therefore,
the choice to compete in Track 1 or Track 2 should be carefully considered early in the proposal development.
Similarly, can there be a proposal with track one and track two positions?
No. The entire proposal must be assigned to one track or the other.
Is one track valued over the other?
Track one and two are equally important. The intent of the program is to build on existing centers of excellence and recognize new clusters.
What is the balance of funding expected to be awarded for Track 1 and Track 2 proposals?
It is wide open based on scoring. There is no predetermined allocation of funds to be awarded to the two tracks.
With respect to letters of interest, are letters of support/collaboration required at that stage?
No. They are not required at the letter of interest stage, which only requires a single letter signed by the Lead Applicant's
president. In the next phase, the Lead Applicant must submit a statement of intent from its organization and from all named collaborators.
Each statement of intent must be signed by the organization's president or chief executive officer.
What will be included in the response to letters of Interest?
Responses to the letters of interest are designed to save an institution the time of writing a full proposal if it is clear that the idea
is not consistent with the requirements of the RFP. They may also contain suggestions for additional or different collaborations that the
Lead Applicant may want to consider pursuing, especially where multiple letters of interest have been received in the same or similar
research/technology focus areas. Subjective feedback on the quality of a proposal will not be rendered, nor will anyone be instructed
not to submit a proposal based on the content of the letter of intent.
If multiple institutions are working together initially (i.e., letter of interest stage) on a unified topic and it is later determined that the subject matter would be better addressed as a set of separate proposals, could each involved institution move forward as Lead Applicants on individual proposals.
Yes, each eligible institution represented in a letter of interest has the option to move forward as a Lead Applicant fielding a
separate statement of intent followed by a full proposal. That option to separate must be exercised during the statement of intent
phase of the proposal process. The eligibility for submitting a full proposal will be fixed at that point in the process.
Where do we direct follow-up questions after the bidders conference?
You must send email questions to the address designated in the RFP and you will receive written responses up until January 28th.
What is the relation between Ohio Research Scholars Program and the Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program?
At a high level, the Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program goal is to see a net increase in the number of students in stem
disciplines – excelling and preparing to teach – help enhance and attract high quality faculty members. An institution may get a
Choose Ohio First Scholarship and not qualify for the Ohio Research Scholars Program. Neither is a requirement of the other.
Both are welcomed, and if an institution qualifying for both is submitting dual proposals, the narrative should emphasize the
linkage/overlap of the two proposals.
How likely is it that there will be an Ohio Research Scholars Program offered in FY 2009 and beyond?
The RFP that was released in October is for the award of funds appropriated in both FY 2008 and 2009. The possibility of a program
offering beyond 2009 will depend on the success of this first funding round. It is hoped that there will be an opportunity to continue
and even expand the ORSP in the future.
May letters of support be attached to our Letter of Interest?
No, the Letter of Interest is strictly capped at 5 pages in length and may only contain the information specified in the RFP.
Can we split the minimum endowment amount of $2.5 million between state funds and cost share? For instance, can we request $1.5 million from the state and contribute $1 million to the endowment to arrive at 2.5?
No. The minimum request for an endowment is $2.5 million in state funding.
Is the 15% cap on operating funds 15% of endowment + capital or 15% of the total request?
It's 15% of the total request.
Does the 15% of operating dollars include the 20% overhead?
Yes, the 15% must include all the direct operating costs as well as the 20% in overhead against those operational dollars.
Are Collaborators required to complete a Statement of Intent similar to that required by the Lead Applicant (a 5-page summary that includes the proposed technology/research focus area and Research Cluster Growth Plan) or can the Statement of Intent from Collaborators be a "letter of support" from the respective presidents/chief executive officers affirming commitment to the project?
Collaborators are not to submit a statement of intent similar to that of the lead applicant. The letter that a collaborator submits is only intended to accomplish the following, as taken from the RFP:
"The Lead Applicant must also submit a Statement of Intent from each Collaborator the Lead Applicant names. Those letters must also be signed by their respective presidents or chief executive officers. The letters affirm that the Lead Applicant and Collaborators are committed to the submittal of a Proposal."
Essentially, a letter from a collaborator needs only to be signed by its CEO and affirm that collaborators involvement in the ORSP submission. That needs to be accomplished within one page, anything more would be unnecessary and an overload of information considering the number of submissions and collaborators involved in each submission.
