Manuscript Preparation Grants Program

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

This program provides up to $2,200 to assist with manuscript preparation and publication. Allowable costs include indexing, licensing fees for copyrighted materials, page charges, figure preparation, and open-access fees. Professional editing costs for books (but not journal papers) is also supported.

Annual requests to this program have recently exceeded available funding levels. The eligibility restrictions and evaluation criteria below are intended to support a broad range of publication types while directing finite funds to activities producing the greatest impact.

Support for open-access fees is made possible, in part, with funding from Western Libraries.

ELIGIBILITY

Program is open to all non-student employees with formal appointments to the university. This includes staff, research associates, tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure track faculty.
An individual may receive up to one award in any 12-month period.
Members of the review committee* are eligible to apply to the program, but must recuse themselves from the review of their own application.

Helpful Tip!

The proposal template MUST be downloaded, completed, and attached to your application eSign form as a PDF file to be considered for funding.

For best functionality, open template in the desktop Word application.

Required Proposal Template*

*Template updated 8/2023

Apply for Manuscript Preparation Grant

Questions?

APPLICANT

Using the required proposal template complete all required components as one pdf file, attached to the application eSign form and submit to your Department Chair.

DEPARTMENT CHAIRS

Department Chairs should review the application, complete the comment section, and approve the application onto RSP at rsp.internalgrants@wwu.edu.

If the chair is the applicant, they should send their eSign form to their College Dean, who will review the application and complete the comments section.

EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

Proposals will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the Research and Creative Activities Council who submit their recommendations to the Vice Provost for Research for approval.

Proposals are evaluated based on:

Demonstrated likelihood of publication
For journal articles: the publisher employs a robust peer-review selection process.**
For books: the publisher is a recognized academic or commercial imprint. Costs associated with “selfpublished” books are not normally supported by this program unless the author can provide a strong academic or professional rationale.
Likely impact on discipline/students/community
Opportunity for advancing the professional scholarship of the applicant

*Proposals to this program are evaluated using both committee and desk review processes.

**A journal is considered to be peer-reviewed if it is designated as such in the Ulrichsweb database (accessible online through Western Libraries) or is otherwise considered to meet professional editorial standards for the field.