finding funding presented by beth hodges april 2011

Finding Funding

Presented by Beth Hodges April 2011

Today’s discussion

Before you Begin: Considerations Identifying Funding Sources Online demonstration of COS Tips

Before you begin: Considerations

Make Sure You Have Clearly Defined Your Research Have a clearly defined research agenda For beginning investigators, it is essential to

define a problem that provides the foundation for a longer term effort.

Confirmatory efforts that break little new ground should be avoided.

Focus on “Transformative Research” The problem should be hypothesis driven-

What is the question? What is the rationale for asking this question?

Identifying Funding Sources

Ways to Locate Funding The Web Discussion with colleagues Searching literature & by researching where

colleagues in your area are obtaining funding– can be done through COS

Contact program officers at agencies and pitch ideas; visits to agencies are welcome. FSU has a program for faculty which supports trips to Federal agencies (Funding Agency Travel [FAT] Program http://www.research.fsu.edu/crc/fat.html )

Using the WWW for Funding Searches

FSU has resources available on the Office of Research Website Community of Science Grants.gov Individual Agency Links Federal Register Etc.

Let’s look at the pages….

www.research.fsu.edu

Community of Science

Not just for the hard sciences Arts, humanities, social science opportunities Over 25,000 records worth over $33 Billion

Not just federal opportunities Private and Non-profit funders also listed Easy to Search Storable Searches Funding Alerts

http://www.research.fsu.edu/cos/index.html

http://fundingopps.cos.com/

USER TRAINING

AVAILABLE ONLINE

Entering your Profile into COS- Why Bother? Completing your COS Expertise profile

allows others to find you– provides opportunities for partnerships

MyProfile.cos.com – Creates a home page for your CV.

Manage your Saved Funding Searches and Tracked Funding Records

Other Resources?

The Office of Research Newsletter

The Foundation Center Online Available from the FSU Foundation

Contact at the Foundation is Gabe Grass

ggrass@fsu.edu

COS Funding

LIVE SEARCH

Looking for funding…Tips

• Discuss your research proposal with the funding agency, if you have any questions about their interest in your type of research or the application process• Don’t rely on one submission---submit multiple applications for the same project (worry about turning down the award later, if you get more than one application funded)• Seek out details of grant eligibility - don’t assume you aren’t eligible by reading the title of the application notice

Be Assertive and Proactive

Grant Application Tips

• Read the proposal thoroughly before you begin. If you are applying for a limited submission program, find out what the internal deadline is.

• Start well ahead of the submission deadline(s)- Gathering supporting documents- Adequate time to solicit and

incorporate feedback from others

- Last minute revisions to proposal - Internal reviews and approvals

Grant Application Tips (cont’d)

Spend whatever time is needed to present a well-thought out proposal

Be certain to submit all of the funding agency’s required materials ON TIME

Adhere to guidelines- page length, font size/density, margins etc.

Don’t let your proposal be rejected because of an oversight on your part.

Preparing the Budget- Key Points

Ask for what you Need Low ball budget undermines your credibility;

you will appear naïve in the eyes of the reviewers and panel

Same goes for an unrealistically high budget The reviewers and panelists are usually

successful grants people. They know the costs of doing business

Develop a tough skin

Understand that MANY more proposals are declined than awarded. Overall, proposals are increasing and dollars

are decreasing At NSF & NIH, less than 25% of proposals

are awarded

Responding to the declination of a proposal Take the comments of the reviewers very seriously Panel summaries are written to be constructive (and

instructive) Contact the program officer; these individuals take

detailed notes. He/she will be able to fill in between the lines

If your proposal is deemed uncompetitive and has irreparable flaws, move on

Respond to the reviewers comments in the resubmission; point out elements that were changed and points that you agree to disagree on; avoid defensive language

Finally…

Be kind to your grants administrators

Questions or Assistance:

Beth Hodges

FSU Office of Research 3012 Westcott North Building

Tallahassee, Fl 32306-1330 bhodges@fsu.edu (850) 644-2257 (850) 645-0108 (FAX)