Funding

Contents

1. Funding Parameters
2. Eligible Expenses
3. Sustainability Initiative
4. How to Submit a Funding Proposal

1. Funding Parameters

Funding Parameters
ROP projects now have a funding cap of $10,000 per project. A faculty member cannot receive more than $25,000 for one ROP full-year cycle (Summer, Fall, Winter, and year-long). The ROP will continue to support faculty projects by providing up to $750 per student for half-credit courses and up to $1,500 per student for full-credit courses in alignment with the new funding caps outlined.

Financial Auditing
To ensure financial accountability, we have introduced a new mechanism to review funding expenses, specifically for amounts of $5000 or greater awarded through the Office of the Dean.

Project and Funding Proposal Deadlines
Project and funding proposals for the upcoming ROP cycle are due at the beginning of February each year. Late funding proposals may not be accommodated.

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2. Eligible Expenses

Eligible research expenses may include:

Notes:

1 The Office of the Dean is not liable for any vehicle damage caused by students, research assistants, and/or supervisors.

The current University of Toronto rate for vehicle mileage is $0.57 per kilometre. For additional travel reimbursement guidelines, visit the Financial Service website.

2 Hardware and software requests will be reviewed in consultation with I&ITS.

New If faculty require enhancements to existing equipment, upgrades should be requested through I&ITS for existing hardware (laptops and desktops) prior to submitting new requests via their ROP Funding Proposals.

New New computer requests can be made every three to four years based on need. However, we want to encourage faculty participation in the ROP Sustainability Initiative.

*Student travel expenses do not include student travel to conferences. Expenses for student travel to conferences should be discussed separately with your Department and not applied to your ROP Funding Request.

Any items funded by the Research Opportunity Program fall under the Guide to Financial Management. However, the Research Opportunity Program does not fund expenses related to car rentals or hospitality.

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3. Sustainability Initiative

The Sustainability Initiative, introduced in 2017 by the Office of the Dean and I&ITS, is an option for faculty to utilize equipment such as computers, laptops, and tablets available on loan for the duration of a project within an ROP academic cycle. It has been created to ensure the sustainability of resources while efficiently meeting the needs of ROP projects. The Experiential Education Unit, Office of the Dean will contact faculty who wish to participate in the program in advance of their project start. Participation in the ROP Sustainability Initiative is optional but strongly encouraged.

The following is an overview of key services being offered by I&ITS in support of research at UTM:

File storage
I&ITS offers two options for research file storage: fast speed, high-performance server, and standard speed, typical enterprise-grade storage. Further information can be found here. 

Information storage
There are a variety of options for collaboration and information sharing, some being offered through the University’s Office 365 subscription and some offered directly by I&ITS. Further information can be found here.

Software
There is a variety of research-orientated software that is offered and maintained by I&ITS. They can generally be accessed via our Citrix XenApp infrastructure. Common examples would be Matlab, SPSS, and Stata.

Research computing
Support services include high-performance computing and computers connected to research instruments and special equipment. Also, I&ITS provides consulting services.

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4. How to Submit a Funding Proposal

To apply for the ROP research funds, please log onto the ROPAPP and select the Funding option under Actions in your project proposal(s).

Include the following information in your funding proposal:

  1. A budget for the funding.
  2. A brief description of the purpose for the allotted funds and their significance to your project.
  3. How these funds will benefit the student research experience in your course.

Funding will only be allocated to an approved project if there is a registered student in the ROP course.

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