Research and Development Excellence Program

About RDE

RDE's target is achieving excellence in science and engineering in Kentucky, allowing innovation and technology development in existing and emerging areas of research, by making proactive investments through a peer-reviewed competitive selection process.

http://applications.kstc.com -- online application and online reporting for RDE.

How to Apply for RDE-016

Important Considerations

1. All required information must be entered even though the online system does not prompt the applicant to complete the fields missing data.
2. Carefully review the RFP, Program Description/Instructions, and "How to Apply", taking special note of any changes/updates from the previous round(s) such as funding amount, page limitations, separate lists of references, small business repayment requirements, etc.
3. Read the "Browser Compatability" notice on the application login screen, and use a compatable browser on your system for entering data and submitting your application.
4. KSEF must receive the complete electronic submission no later than 4:00 PM ET on the due date. Each submission is electronically time-stamped. The applicant is solely responsible for timely submission.
5. If the PI does not receive the email confirmation with PDF, the application has NOT been submitted and the PI should contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for problem-resolution and PI submission completion before the submission deadline.
6. Proposals submitted on or around the time of closing are more likely to run into server errors and high internet traffic. It is the applicant's responsibility to submit the online application on time and consider the risk of submission failure at a time of high demand.
7. Applicants in previous rounds have required a minimum of three to four hours to complete their online applications.
8. CLARIFICATION - "...the PI will not have an active award (no more than three awards in the past five years) at the time of LOI submission..." Should the PI have a current/active award at the time of the RFP announcement for RDE-016, the PI may finish the current/active award early by submitting the final report (including completion of all tasks and deliverables) before the RDE-016 LOI due date.

Letter of Intent (LOI)

1. Carefully read the RFP, the entire Program Description/Instructions, and "How to Apply" -- RDE-016 is open only to PIs with no active RDE awards at the time of LOI submission and the PI must have less than three RDE awards in the past five calendar years (01-2008 to 12-2012).
2. Begin a LOI application via http://application.kstc.com on the "LOI" tab. The login email and password, as well as PI information tab data, should be the PI's and not an administrator's or other lab/team member's. To be eligible for an invitation to submit a Full Proposal a complete LOI must be submitted online; email submissions are not acceptable.
3. Prepare and submit the online LOI application before the submission deadline. All required information must be entered even though the system does not prompt the applicant to complete the fields missing data. For example, be sure to include the organization name, PI's complete physical address (not PO Box), mandatory five relevant key words, mandatory five relevant areas of expertise, etc.
4. Use of Internet Explorer to "finalize and submit" is recommended.
5. Upon successful submission, the PI will receive an email confirmation containing the final PDF rendering.
   
   1. Carefully review the PDF to confirm: all data is entered as desired, and no content is missing, and page limitations and/or formatting requirements defined in the Program Description/Instructions and/or RFP and/or "How to Apply" are adhered to on the final PDF rendering.
   2. The applicant is solely responsible for a thorough review the final PDF rendering to confirm compliance with content and formatting and other requirements in the RFP and/or the Program Description/Instructions and/or "How to Apply".
6. Should changes be necessary, the PI must contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (w/ cc to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) for the application to be unlocked for revision. All edits must be made and the LOI resubmitted online by the PI before the submission deadline.
7. If the PI does not receive the email confirmation with PDF, the application has NOT been submitted and the PI should contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for problem-resolution and PI submission completion before the submission deadline.
8. KSEF must receive the complete electronic submission before the submission deadline; the applicant is solely responsible for timely submission.

Full Proposal -- by Invitation Only

1. Carefully read the RFP, Program Description/Instructions, and "How to Apply"
2. Prepare and submit the online application before the submission deadline. Important notes:
   1. The final PDF rendering of the technical narrative must not exceed EIGHT pages in length, and
   2. The final PDF rendering of the complete Full Proposal must not exceed 24 pages in length -- including the table of contents and all uploads and all attachments, i.e. no pages are excluded from the count (see Program Description/Instructions and RFP for details), and
   3. The text must display as four lines of text on any given vertical inch of the final PDF rendering; do not reduce the font size or margins to accommodate more information, and
   4. The budget worksheet document download is in Excel XLS format. Be sure to retain the XLS format for the upload budget file, i.e. save it as Microsoft Office Excel 97-2003 worksheet; do not change it or save the file in the newer XLSX format.
   5. Any PDF uploads within the application should have file names limited to a maximum of 25 characters and should not include spaces or special characters such as &, #, @, or parentheses.
   1. All required information must be entered even though the system does not prompt the applicant to complete the fields missing data.
3. Use of Internet Explorer to "finalize and submit" is recommended.
4. Upon successful completion, the PI will receive an email confirmation containing the final PDF rendering.
   
   1. Carefully review the PDF to confirm all data is entered as desired, and no content is missing, and any page limitations and/or formatting requirements defined in the Program Description/Instructions and/or RFP and/or "How to Apply" are adhered to on the final PDF rendering.
   2. The applicant is solely responsible for a thorough review the final PDF rendering to confirm compliance with content and formatting and other requirements in the RFP, the Program Description/Instructions, and/or "How to Apply".
   3. Should changes be necessary, the PI must contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for the application to be unlocked for revision. All edits must be made and the Full Proposal resubmitted online by the PI before the submission deadline.
5. If the PI does not receive the email confirmation with PDF, the application has NOT been submitted and the PI should contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for problem-resolution and PI submission completion before the submission deadline
6. KSEF must receive the complete electronic submission before the submission deadline; the applicant is solely responsible for timely submission.
7. Print and submit your signed budget and cover sheets to your grants management officer (e.g. University Research Administration, Office of Sponsored Prjects, Sponsored Programs Grants Administration) for electronic transmittal to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by the required deadline. Proposals without the signed budget and cover sheets, submitted by the deadline, will be disqualified and not considered for review.