Eligibility
1. Do both PIs have to have neuroarts expertise?
A proposal must include at least two co-principal investigators:
- An early career researcher with an appointment at an academic or research institution and engaged in a field of basic science related to neuroarts.
- An individual engaged in an arts-based, performance, or other neuroarts-related discipline. This individual may be, but need not be, affiliated with an academic or research institution. They can simply be engaged independently in an arts-based neuroarts-related discipline or be affiliated with an arts-based neuroarts organization such as an arts museum.
For the purposes of the Fleming Awards, PIs — whether from the sciences or the arts
— are considered equal partners.
2. What is the definition of an “early career researcher” engaged in a field of basic science related to neuroarts?
An early career researcher is a program director (PD)/principal investigator (PI) who has
completed their terminal research degree or post-graduate clinical training, whichever date is later, within the past 10 years and who has not previously been awarded a substantial NIH independent research award such as an R01 or R01-equivalent as a PD/PI.
3. Must an “individual working in an arts-based neuroarts discipline” also meet the criteria of an “early career investigator” as defined for the purposes of the Fleming Awards program?
No, an individual working in an arts-based neuroarts discipline need not fulfill the requirements of an early career investigator as defined for the purposes of the Fleming Awards program.
4. Is an individual with adjunct status at a US academic or research institution eligible to apply for an Award or is a full-time academic appointment required?
An early career researcher must hold a full-time appointment at a US academic or research institution and be engaged in a field of basic science related to neuroarts to be eligible to apply. Adjuncts are not considered to have a full-time academic appointment and would not be eligible to administer the Award.
The early career researcher must be eligible to administer the Award through their academic institution. Note: this may require explicit written approval of the department chair or other relevant institutional officers.
5. Are medical students eligible to apply for an Award?
No, medical students may not apply for an Award but medical residents may be eligible
to apply for an Award.
6. Are non-US citizens eligible to apply for an Award?
No, although individuals who are permanent US residents or who hold a Green Card are eligible to apply for an Award.
The early career researcher must be a US citizen or permanent resident or hold a Green Card and must have a full-time appointment at a US academic or research institution.
Non-US citizens may be members of a research team.
7. May a researcher unaffiliated with an academic or research institution apply for an Award? Can an unaffiliated artist apply for an award?
An early career researcher must have a full-time appointment with a US academic or research institution. However, the artist or arts practitioner PI does not need to have such an appointment or be affiliated with a US academic or research institution.
8. Must an early career researcher be associated with an academic or research institution for a certain period of time before applying?
No, there is no requirement regarding the length of time such a researcher must have an academic or research appointment or be engaged in a field of basic science related to neuroarts. The Application Review Committee may, however, take such experience into consideration in making its recommendations for awards.
9. Can an “arts practitioner” who holds a full-time appointment at a US academic or research institution and is engaged in a field of research related to neuroarts be the designated early career researcher?
No. To qualify as a co-PI, an early career researcher must have an appointment at an academic or research institution and be engaged in a field of basic science related to neuroarts.
10. May different faculty members with appointments at the same academic or research institution submit different proposals?
There is no limit on the number of proposals that may be submitted by different faculty members affiliated with the same institution.
11. May a faculty member be part of more than one proposal?
No, individual faculty members — regardless of their academic or research institution affiliation — may be a part of only one proposal; they cannot be part of multiple applications.
12. Could one of the Co-PIs be a more senior researcher with more than 10 years of experience?
A more senior researcher can be a collaborator or a member of the research team, but cannot be one of the Co-PIs.
13. Can an arts teacher engaged in K-12 education qualify as an arts practitioner PI?
Yes, if they meet the qualifications of an “arts practitioner:” an individual engaged in an arts-based, performance, or other neuroarts-related discipline.
14. Are for-profit businesses eligible to apply for an award?
No.
15. To whom do the conflict of interest restrictions regarding applicant eligibility
apply?
Individuals affiliated with the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative, including members of its Advisory Board, as well as members of the Application Review Committee and staff of the Renée Fleming Foundation may neither apply for an Award nor participate in the development or execution of an application for an Award.
A person with a professional affiliation with any individuals described above may apply for an Award if that person works independently in the development and execution of their application.
Research Design
1. Is there greater interest in supporting either qualitative research or quantitative research?
No, both types of research are encouraged and most welcome.
2. May an application include graphs or charts? Should an application include references? In either instance, is the material to be included within the specified word counts?
Applications may include graphs and other such charts as well as references. They may be added as “Additional Work Samples.” None of these materials will be counted against the word counts specified in the application requirements.
3. What is the expectation for the size of “groups of individuals” in community-based settings that are the subject of an Award application?
There is no expectation that “groups of individuals” must include a certain number of people. The number of people involved should commensurate with the scope of the project.
4. For applications requiring documentation of approval of an Institutional Review Board (or an equivalent committee), must that documentation be provided by the deadline for submitting an application?
No, the application must confirm that IRB (or equivalent) approval is required and that the process for securing such approval will move forward immediately if an award is made. Documentation of approval must be provided within at least three months from the notice of the grant award since recruitment cannot proceed without the documented IRB approval.
5. May Award funds be used to support currently existing or soon-to-be launched programs?
No, Award funds may not be used to support existing programs related to the project submitted.
6. Can a research project be conducted on non-US soil if the research team meets
the eligibility requirements?
Yes. Principal investigators must meet the US citizenship/residency requirements to be eligible to apply for a Fleming Award, regardless of where the research will be conducted. The research itself may be conducted outside the US.
7. Must the research proposed be completed within 12-18 months after an award has been made?
Proposals should be designed to be completed within the 12-18 months award period (the time period must be indicated in the proposal) and, if awarded, every effort should be made to meet that timeframe. However, research projects — from design to data publication — often take longer than 18 months to complete. Requests for no-cost time extensions, therefore, will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
8. Must the proposal involve neuroscientific methodology (e.g. neuroimaging) or can the methodology involve qualitative data collection, psychoanalytics, etc.?
Qualitative and/or quantitative research methodologies are encouraged and most welcome.
9. We are working with dancers and martial artists in some of our research. Can both sets of individuals be included in a proposal, or only the dancers?
Yes. Research teams may include individuals whose work, background, expertise, and experience are relevant in carrying out a proposal. The Application Review Committee will evaluate all proposals based on whether the results of the project are likely to help advance the field of neuroarts, including the possibility of securing additional research support to build on those results.
10. Is virtual reality considered to be an “arts-based neuroarts discipline”?
Yes.
Grant Administration
1. Who may serve as the fiduciary agent of an award?
The fiduciary agent for a Fleming Award — and there must only be one such agent — must be a US based academic or research institution where one of the PIs has an appointment. In the case where both PIs have an appointment at different academic or research institutions, agreement would need to be reached on which institution would serve as the fiduciary agent. To be clear: each award may have only one fiduciary agent.
2. Does the Award cover indirect costs?
No, the Award does not cover indirect costs.
3. Does the Award cover article process charges and/or travel expenses to present research findings at conferences?
Yes, the Award can cover article process charges and/or travel expenses to present research findings at conferences and other appropriate venues as long as such charges and expenses are related to research work supported by the Award.
4. What defines “significant” for “previous financial support”?
For purposes of the Fleming Awards “significant” financial support means a major grant or contract from a private or public funding source such as a National Institutes of Health R01 or R01-equivalent grants. Other NIH awards, such as R213s, K awards, and other grants or contracts specifically targeted for early-stage investigators — whether supported through public or private sources — are not considered to be “significant.”