The UGA River Basin Center announces the 2020 call for proposals for John Spencer Research Grants to graduate students. This program was initiated in 2017 with a contribution from Kathelen Amos in honor of her son, former RBC master’s student John Spencer. Ongoing funding is provided by donations to the RBC.

This year’s grant program was delayed by three months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to give students time to adjust their research plans.
Small grants are available to all students affiliated with the River Basin Center. Affiliate status is open to any graduate student at the University of Georgia, including those in professional programs, as long as
their research and/or interests align with the RBC mission. Students can request affiliate status by emailing Sarah Buckleitner at Sarah.Buckleitner@uga.edu. This can be done concurrent with submitting
a proposal.

Small grants are intended to support a student’s research activities. Projects should advance the RBC’s goal of sustainable management of aquatic resources and ecosystems, but can be in any discipline or
disciplines.

Funds can be used for research supplies, travel expenses associated with research, hourly wages for undergraduate research assistants and graduate stipends. Travel to conferences may be
included, but conference travel funding must be limited to $1000.
Proposal Format (2 page limit, exclusive of budget and references):

1. Title of proposal
2. Applicant’s name, email address, department, degree program
3. Introduction, problem statement, and research question(s) to be tested. Applicants should emphasize the work to be funded by the proposal, but also explain how it fits into the broader
   context of their thesis, dissertation, or other project, as appropriate. Research questions should be specific and the scope should be appropriate to the scale of the project.
4. Research plan and methods. Be specific but concise.
5. Budget with justification. Budgets cannot exceed $2000. If the proposed work requires a budget greater than the limit, briefly explain what other funds will be used to complete the work.
6. References.
7. Proposals must be accompanied by a brief (one page limit; one paragraph is sufficient) endorsement from the applicant’s advisor or other faculty sponsor of the work.

Proposals for 2020 are due July 3, 2020. Decisions will be announced 2-3 weeks later, and funding will be made available shortly thereafter. Funds will need to be spent by June 30, 2021, unless special arrangements are made.

Proposals should be submitted as a PDF file to Sarah Buckleitner at Sarah.Buckleitner@uga.edu by
midnight eastern on July 3, 2020.

Proposals will be evaluated by volunteer faculty affiliates of the RBC who have no conflicts of interest with applicants. Proposals will be evaluated both on quality of the project (potential contribution of the proposed work and relevance to the RBC’s mission) as well as quality of the proposal itself (i.e., how well it communicates the content and whether it includes all necessary components).