As a key pillar of its IUB 2030 strategic plan, Indiana University Bloomington is committed to prioritizing the acceleration of research and creativity that address complex societal challenges, build on areas of historic strength, and capitalize on emerging opportunities. The set of plans and programs established in this document (collectively, the “IUB Research Incentive Plan”) is intended to increase the volume and scope of high-impact research and creativity, consistent with IUB 2030 goals and metrics.
The IUB Research Incentive Plan consists of four programs:
The IUB Research Incentive Plan will go into effect on July 1, 2024. The Plan will be evaluated annually with regard to its impact on IUB 2030 metrics and in consideration of the financial state of the campus. As such, the Plan may be withdrawn or amended by the Provost prior to the beginning of each fiscal year thereafter.
The IUB Research Incentive Plan supplants similar existing programs and policies at the school or department level. However, related incentives outlined in offer or retention letters dated prior to July 1, 2024 will continue to be honored for a period of two years if preferred over the Plan. Starting July 1, 2026, all individual arrangements will be replaced by the Plan unless otherwise approved by the faculty member’s dean and the Provost.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Faculty will apply for incentives through forms that will eventually be located on the VPFAA website. Those forms are currently being developed. In the interim, applications and inquiries can be sent to vpfaa@iu.edu.
Full-time faculty on regular or special title series appointments, excluding visiting/acting/adjunct appointments, who serve as principal investigator(s) (PIs) of a qualifying grant or contract to Indiana University are eligible. For the purposes of this program, site PIs are also eligible to receive ICR (i.e., co-investigators who are the designated the PI or responsible party for oversight of a subaward to IU).
Grants or contracts of any size that include indirect cost recovery (ICR) qualify for this program. Any new grants (e.g., competing, not continuation) awarded after 7/1/2023 qualify. The date of award is defined by the date of receipt of the official notice of award (NOA) from the funding agency.
The 10% of ICR distributed to PIs is split between Co-PIs in proportion to the attribution or allocation of direct costs.
Extramural grants or contracts (i.e., awarded by an external funder to support a project or contracted scope of work) of any size that are used to cover academic year salary not associated with a course buy out are eligible for this program whether or not they include ICR. Any grants or contracts used for this purpose will qualify regardless of when they were awarded. These will typically be research grants but might also include service contracts or grants supporting activities such as teaching, mentoring, or infrastructure building (e.g., administration of training grants). Fellowships (i.e., awarded to support a person taking a full or partial leave from IU to focus on research, teaching, or service) are ineligible for this Award, but are covered under the Prestigious Fellowships Award. Salary covered by endowment or gift accounts is not eligible for this Award.
No, any eligible faculty who cover their salary on external grants or contracts will receive the Award regardless of their role on the project.
All faculty on regular or special title series (e.g., tenure-track appointments, nontenure-track clinical, lecturer/teaching, or professor of practice) excluding visiting/acting/adjunct and research appointments (e.g., research professor or research scientist), are eligible for the Award. Faculty with research appointments are typically ineligible because salary coverage using grants and contracts is often an explicit expectation of employment solely in the service of research (i.e., these are “soft-funded” positions). Exceptions for faculty with research appointments may be granted with approval by the dean or their delegate when the faculty member’s salary is typically paid using general operating funds rather than extramural grants and contracts (i.e., “hard-funded” positions).
The award is split evenly between PIs.
Faculty cannot use G901 and the monetary incentive simultaneously for the same student in the same year (i.e., if a faculty member supports stipend and benefits but the student uses G901 credits in lieu of paying full tuition, the faculty member is ineligible for the $5,000 award).
Extramural grants or contracts (i.e., awarded by an external funder to support a project or contracted scope of work) of any size and regardless of ICR that are used to cover full tuition, stipend, and benefits for a graduate research assistant will receive the incentive in accordance with the program guidelines. Any grants or contracts used for this purpose will qualify regardless of when they were awarded. Graduate student fellowships (i.e., fellowships awarded to a student to support their research or training), regardless of whether a faculty member must serve as PI (e.g., the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship), are not eligible for this award.
