Charles R. Bantz Chancellor’s Community Fellowship and Community Scholar

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Check Out the Previous Recipients of this Award!

What is Community-Engaged Research?

See: https://engage.iupui.edu/research/community-engaged-research/index.html. For the purposes of IRB at IU, community-engaged research is defined as research that "includes the meaningful involvement of community partners in the research process, including but not limited to topic development, need identification, research design, conduct of research, and/or sharing of results."

The Bantz Community Fellowship initiative includes two awards: the Charles R. Bantz Community Fellowship Award ($40,000) and the Charles R. Bantz Community Scholar Award ($25,000). The awards are funded through charitable gifts and campus funding. Both awards are further supported by the Office for Translating Research into Practice (TRIP), Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Office of Community Engagement, and Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.

The Bantz Community Fellowship and Bantz Community Scholar awards provide up to one year of research support for a collaborative research team made up of IUPUI faculty and students, which may also include staff. Working with a named Community Partner organization, the team will be brought together to address a pressing community issue, primarily in Central Indiana or in the awardee’s campus region.

About the Bantz Community Fellowship and Scholar Awards:

The Bantz Community Fellowship Award is intended to support and advance the work of established researchers with significant connections in the community. Bantz Community Fellowship awardees should have a body of research and history of working in/with the community that have led to the proposed project, and be able to demonstrate established partnerships within the community and with the named community partner(s). This award is intended to provide support to a research team to build upon an existing body of research and deep connections in the community, and ideally with the named community partner(s). Because this award will support a researcher team to deepen existing research, it is expected that after one year of research, Bantz Fellowship awardees will have achieved significant advancement of the proposed research agenda and be able to demonstrate impact in the community. Impact may be defined as and include the adoption of innovative policies, measurable increases in awareness, implementation of programs and services, and/or changes in attitudes among stakeholders. 

Bantz Community Fellow Designation. The Bantz Community Fellow must be an IUPUI faculty member who serves as the Primary Investigator on the project. The team must include student researchers and community partners, and may include expertise and leadership from a Co-PI. The Faculty Fellow may (but is not required to) name one student with significant responsibility on the project as the Student Fellow, and one community organization (usually the primary community research partner) as the Community Fellow on the research team.

The Bantz Community Scholar Award is supported by the IUPUI Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) to encourage new and promising researchers to support community-driven goals while advancing their own research agenda. Bantz Community Scholar funding is intended to support applied techniques to achieve community-driven goals. Bantz Community Scholar awardees also may propose pilot studies that include testing and exploration of novel techniques, innovations, and applications if specifically aligned with community-driven goals.

Bantz Community Scholar Designation. The Bantz Community Scholar must be an IUPUI faculty member who serves as the Primary Investigator on the project. The team may include expertise and leadership from a Co-PI, and must include student researchers and at least one community partner. The Faculty Scholar may (but is not required to) name the Co-PI as a Faculty Scholar, one student with significant responsibility on the project as the Student Scholar, and one community organization (usually the primary community research partner) as the Community Scholar on the team.

Bantz Community Fellowship and Bantz Community Scholar Awards
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Eligibility:

To be eligible to serve as Faculty Fellow and PI on a Bantz Community Fellowship team or as Faculty Scholar on a Bantz Community Scholar team, the faculty member must have a primary academic appointment as Tenured, Tenure-track, Clinical Faculty or Lecturer. Bantz Fellowship and Scholar Awardees must maintain residency on the IUPUI, Columbus, or Fort Wayne campus during the award year.

  

Collaborative teams must include one or more students (graduate and/or undergraduate students or both) who are enrolled full-time enrollment in an IUPUI program and are in good academic standing, AND at least one designated Community Partner*. All members of the research team and the community partner(s) should be actively engaged in shaping and achieving the proposed research goals and activities.

  

Applicants may request $40,000 for the Bantz Community Fellowship, or $25,000 for the Bantz Community Scholar Award. Both awards require additional cash or in-kind match (minimum 20%) from the school, community partner, and/or other grants and partners.

Application Terms and Guidelines:
  1. Applications and proposal materials for the Charles R. Bantz Chancellor’s Community Fellowship Award and Scholar Award must be submitted to the online application portal no later than 5 p.m. on the advertised deadline date. No paper or emailed applications or portions of applications will be accepted.
  2. Troubleshooting and tech support for the application portal may not be available on the day of the deadline, so applicants are strongly encouraged to submit materials at least 24-48 hours in advance of the deadline.
  3. Applicants must complete all sections of the application form and upload the requested materials through the online application portal and/or via the links provided:
    • Curriculum vitae for the Applicant/PI (and co-PI if appropriate).  
    • Professional bio photos of the Applicant/PI (and co-PI if appropriate).
    • Project budget using the form provided here.
    • Project timeline.
    • Names of at least two (2) community partners who will be closely involved in the proposed research. Named community partners will be prompted to complete a survey.
    • Applicant’s Dean or Department Chair name and email who will be prompted to submit a letter of support.
  4. Applicants should make certain that their teaching and research obligations do not prevent them from participating fully in the research activities for which a Fellowship or Scholar award was granted. If seeking release from teaching responsibilities from the OVCR Release Time for Research* (RTR) program, faculty must ensure that their department chair and dean approve the release.
Use of Funds: 

The Charles R. Bantz Chancellors Community Fellowship and Scholar Award grant periods are from July 1 through June 30 of each year. Funding may be used to support the research as indicated in the proposal and accompanying budget to pay for personnel including IU faculty, staff, and student time while working on the project and in the form of partial salary and release time; direct project expenses such as software, hardware, and event costs; and limited travel costs.

  

Funding may not be used to support salaries or indirect expenses for external or community partners. The proposal may include funds to provide in-kind services and support to the community organization as part of the collaborative work to address a specific problem. The funds also may be used to reimburse community partner organizations for allowable expenses incurred by the organization as part of the project.

  

*Additional Funding: Upon award of the Bantz Fellowship Award or Bantz Scholar Award, members of the research teams (tenured/tenure-track faculty, non-tenure track faculty, full-time senior lecturers, and clinical track faculty) may apply for up to $10,000 in additional support from the Release Time for Research (RTR). The funding is not automatic upon receipt of the Fellowship or Scholar awards.

  

RTR funding is sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) to provide for paid release time to conduct the research. Eligibility information will be provided upon granting of the Bantz Fellowship and the Bantz Scholar awards. Awardees must apply for OVCR funding in a separate process. Use of funds is dependent upon OVCR, school, and university policies and expectations.

Award Process and Recognition:

The Bantz Fellowship and Bantz Scholar awards decisions are made through a competitive selection process on an annual basis. The selection committee is comprised of faculty and community-engaged scholars, campus administrators, prior Bantz awardees, and community experts.

  

Bantz Awardees and their deans are notified of the awards by the IUPUI Chancellor in spring of each year. Awardees are honored at the annual Fall TRIP Showcase.

Awardee Responsibilities:

Bantz Community Fellow and Bantz Community Scholar awardees are expected to provide public presentations to the community, campus, and donors; communicate broadly about the Bantz award and project; issue appropriate informal and formal reports upon request; exhibit at relevant and appropriate campus research colloquia and community events including but not limited to the annual TRIP scholars event and OVCR research events; share community-engaged research with others in traditional and open-source formats; serve on Bantz Fellowship/Scholar Award Judging Committees after the completion of their award year; and advise and mentor future Bantz Fellows and Bantz Scholars.

  

Awardees also are expected to use the Bantz Fellowship and Bantz Scholar awards to leverage new and additional funding, and respond to annual requests for information about advances in the work and impacts in the community.

Questions?

Contact the following individuals from the Charles R. Bantz Fellowship and Scholar Advisory Committee: