Finding the Right Funding Fit

1. Finding the Right Funding Fit September 26, 2018 Kristin Beck, Grant Coordinatorkrbeck@nmu.edu

2. State of Michigan IES MFA Ford NSF SAMHSA ACA NEH NIH APA USDA DOJ AOA Private Foundations Where do YOU Fit?

3. What do you want to do? • Does it address important questions? • Do you have the necessary background and resources? • Will it advance your career? • Does it align with the goals of your department and institution? Know Your Self

4. Know your Field • What is the current state-of-the-art? • Who are the top ten researchers? • What are they doing right now? • Where do they get their funding? • What do they consider to be the key research issues?

5. Where do You Start? • SPIN Search • Read the RFP • Call the Program Officer • All of the above

6. InfoEd SPIN Database

7. Your Research Agenda Research Plan Components: • 5-10 year plan • Preliminary data/publications • Research grant mentors • Funded collaborators

8. Finding Your Research Home • Who is likely to fund your research? • Where do you fit with the big agencies? • Get to know the funder • Agency • Institute or directorate • Mission • Strategic Priorities • Program Officers

9. Avoid the Chase!

10. Funding Data Review Recent Awards: • Average award size • Geographic trends/restrictions • Themes • Types of projects

11. Talk to the Program Officer! • Prepare a short concept paper • Set up the call • Prepare • Grant and Contracts Office support

12. Decoding the RFP Vetting Specific Funding opportunities

13. Read the RFP! The RFP is: • A detailed expression of the funder’s priorities • Non-negotiable • Requires close analysis and parsing • Not a mirror of individual research interests

14. Read it again! However… • RFPs are not always clear • Uncertainties need to be resolved early • RFPs change

15. Are you eligible? Carefully review eligibility requirements: • Look beyond the eligibility section • Understand special requirements • Check for the correct division/mechanism

16. What are the Odds? Number of awards Evaluate the competition Size of applicant pool ROI

17. Assess Your Capacity to Compete Do You have what the funder is looking for? • Expertise/experience • Partnerships • Evidence-based practices • Sophisticated evaluation • Match requirements

18. Available Resources Do you have what you need to prepare a competitive proposal? • People • Time • Peer reviewers • Institutional support

19. How Do You know if it is the Right Fit? • Research aligns with funder’s priorities • No gaps in expertise • Capacity to compete • Advances your research

20. Internal Funding Opportunities Internal funding for Northern Michigan University faculty, staff and students exists to enhance the academic experience and professional growth by providing financial support for new initial research projects, scholarly activities, papers for publication and creative works. This internal funding is intended to prepare faculty, staff and students to apply for external funding in the future.

21. Grant Writing Basics “There is no grantsmanship that will turn a bad idea into a good one, but there are many ways to disguise a good idea.” – Norm Braverman, NIH

22. What keeps us from writing grants? • Fear of rejection • Reality: only one proposal in five is turned down because the idea was not good enough • Reality: a rejected proposal is worth about $10,000 of free advice • Reality: the success rate is higher for proposal turned in a second time • Reality: the success rate on a third submission is almost 1:1

23. Keys to Success • Innovation and Creativity is important • Looking for new solutions to old problems • How do you create creativity • Calling the program officer is the most important element • 85% of all successful grant seekers have had contact with the program officer

24. Who Gives Money and Why? • Federal Government • Gives and takes based on political agenda • They tell you what to do • Fewer $$ means fewer submissions = success rate increases • Slow review process • State Government • Little $$ for basic research • Often good for projects with students • Outsource work when budgets decrease

25. Private Giving • Private Foundations • Give out of the goodness of their heart • Advance a particular cause • Often fund geographically • For every $10 billion annually given only $1 billion goes to universities • Corporations • Give for enlightenment of self-interest • Quality of life • Employment pool • Improve image

26. What to do while waiting? • Search some more • Apply for another grant • Breathe! • Work on your research plan • Find some collaborators

27. How to find collaborators • Contact the Grants and Contracts Office • Access Scholar Universe: • With 2 million profiles, it helps researchers and academics connect with colleagues with shared interests while expanding their networks to include previously unknown people working in related fields or in other areas of the world. • Researchers in your field • New Faculty Buzz Session • September and January each year

28. How to get research published • What do you need? • Time • Ideas • Brainstorming • Where to go? • Grants and Contracts Office • Colleagues

29. Funding for New Faculty UC San Diego has a great list: https://cfr.ucsd.edu/young-investigators/funding-opportunities.html

30. Next Sessions • Four Part Series on External Funding: Session 2 • Proposal Writing I: The Nuts and Bolts • October 10, 8:00am • Bring a possible request for proposals/solicitation to the session!

31. Questions ? Thank You! Kristin Beck, Asst. Director – Grant Development/Training Coordinator krbeck@nmu.edu