About Sponsored Programs
The Sponsored Programs division of the Board of Regents administers State and federal programs that provide funds and other resources to Louisiana’s post-secondary education community and interacts extensively with institutions and governmental agencies on issues related to post-secondary research and educational enhancement. The principal activities of Sponsored Programs are centered around three major initiatives: the Board of Regents Support Fund (BoRSF), the Louisiana Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (LA EPSCoR), and the Louisiana Systemic Initiatives Program/Louisiana Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (LaSIP/LA GEAR UP).
April Spotlight
Support Fund recommendations for funding for the FY 2011-12 competitions will be brought to the Board of Regents at its April 25, 2012 meeting. In total, 174 proposals were identified as Priority I projects and recommended for funding. Among these are 60 Research & Development projects and 84 Enhancement proposals. In addition, five Endowed Chairs requests will be matched with FY 2011-12 BoRSF funds. Finally, 25 Graduate Fellowships projects were recommended for funding with first-year monies allocated from FY 2012-13 and FY 2013-14. As many Priority I proposals as possible will be funded with available Support Fund monies.
The funding recommendations released in April are the result of rigorous peer reviews and a highly competitive process. This year Support Fund competitive programs received 488 proposals: 199 in R&D, 236 in Enhancement, 16 in Endowed Chairs, and 37 in Graduate Fellows. The staff has hosted 13 final review panels both in Baton Rouge and via offsite conferencing. Panel members who participated read both proposals and program guidelines, and used established rubrics and evaluation criteria to score, rate and rank proposals. To ensure the objectivity of the review process, all of these panels were comprised of out-of-state experts: faculty, administrators, and other professionals with experience in and detailed knowledge of the disciplines, subject areas and types of activities for which funding was requested.
