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Finding Funding. Presented by Beth Hodges May 2012. 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.
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Finding Funding Presented by Beth Hodges May 2012
Today’s discussion • Before you Begin: Considerations • Identifying Funding Sources • Online demonstration of COS • Tips
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?
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 ResearchWebsite • Community of Science • Grants.gov • Individual Agency Links • Federal Register • Etc. • Let’s look at the pages….
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 USER TRAINING AVAILABLE ONLINE via YouTube Videos http://www.research.fsu.edu/cos/index.html
COS Pivot Profiles • For faculty, Pivot creates a profile that can be edited • Collaborators can be located • Potential Funding Opportunities Identified • Manage your Saved Funding Searches and Tracked Funding Records
Other Resources? • The Office of Research Newsletter • Research Development & Grant Writing News • The Foundation Center Online • Available from the FSU Foundation Contact at the Foundation is Gabe Grass ggrass@fsu.edu
Be Assertive and Proactive • 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
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)