Grant and Contract Proposal Development: The Internet

1. Grant and Contract Proposal Development: The Internet Prepared by Catherine S. Bolek Director Office of Sponsored Programs University of Maryland Eastern Shore Ó

2. Why is the Internet So Important? • Because funding agencies are moving their methods of interaction with the public to the Internet. You can find: • Program Announcements • Forms and Instructions • Samples and Examples • Award and Management Instructions • On-line Help • and a Whole Lot More!

3. What Else is on the Net for Proposal Writers • Program Announcements and Requests for Proposals and Applications • Application forms and instructions for completing applications • Searchable indexes of awards - see who is already funded • Grant and contract assistance sites • Searchable Library databases • Dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauruses, quotations, etc. • Bibliographies • Grant and contract writing courses • Resumes of college faculty who can serve as consultants • Specialized newsgroups and chatrooms by research or interest area • Specialized cybraries • Everything you need to get a good start

4. Get Familiar With All the Tools Available on Your Browser • ISP - Netscape, Explorer, AOL, Prodigy, etc. • Search Engines - Altavista, Google, Hotbot, Lycos, Yahoo,etc. • Uniform Resource Locator (URL) • Bookmarks/Favorites • History • Security • E-mail • Other functions • Recommendation: access this site for basic internet instruction - http://www.refstar.com/internet

5. Don’t Lose That Valuable Information! Create Your Own Grants and Contracts Library • Select bookmarks or favorites • Create a new folder • Call the folder “contracts or grants” • Locate sites on the internet • Save the site to your new folder using a name you will remember when you need it • Update the folder periodically

6. Cool Sites for the New Proposal Writer • http://www.epa.gov/seahome/grants/src/grant.htm - Environmental Science • http://www.schoolgrants.org/grant_tips.htm - Education Grants K- 12 • http://www.osp.umes.edu - UMES OSP Multiple sources • http://www.geron.uga.edu/grants.html - General assistance • http://www.seanet.com/~sylvie/grants.htm - General assistance • http://www.uml.edu/College/Education/Faculty/lebaron/GRANTBEGIN • http://www.learningspace.org/funding/tips.html - General Assistance • http://www.bookreaders.com/books/behavior/grants.htm - Books for social scientists interested in writing proposals

7. Try a Chatroom and a Newsgroup • Search for a chatroom or newsgroup it can: • Provide real time information • Help with problem solving • Involve all partners in a project no matter the location • Help to exchange information • Issues and concerns can be address rapidly • Assist with networking • Try the Education Chatroom - http://www.a1education.com/chatroom.htm

8. Some More Internet Help • www.grantselect.com -free searchable index of grants • www.sciencewise.com/fedix -access Federal grants • www.hhs.gov/progorg/grantsnet -DHHS grant locator • www.nih.gov - National Institutes of Health • sra.rams.com - Research Administration • www.google.com - Great Search Engine www.queryserver.com - Multiple Search • www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov - Medical Publications • www.osp.umes.edu - Help for the new PI

9. Everything Has a Downside • Virus - contact your “IT Help Desk” and inquire about “best practices” for protecting your computer. • Privacy - unless you work at a secure site, your work can be viewed by others - learn about how to protect your work - contact your policy office for more information. • Security - if you have a security need - learn how to us the security option provided by your ISP • Proprietary information - check out the policies of your institution • Access - inadequate bandwidth is creating problems - find out what your institution is doing to provide better service • Complexity - get ready for Internet 2. If you are unfamiliar with the new service. Conduct a search and get educated.

10. The Role of the Internet in Grants and Contracts • The role is anticipated to increase dramatically during the next decade as funding agencies realize cost savings while significantly increasing access to information on their missions, priorities, policies and processes for soliciting, reviewing and awarding grants and contracts. • It is anticipated that the introduction of Internet 2 will have a major impact on those universities and organizations with information technologies capable of meeting the needs of the Federal and State governments and the business sector.

11. Getting Ready for Electronic Proposal Submission • Refer to the following sites for information on electronic submission policies and practices: • NIH - grants.nih.gov/grants/era/ear.htm • www.nsf.gov/home/grants/grants_ecc.htm • www.ojp.usdot.gov/nij/funding_app.htm • Be sure to contact your Business Office or Office of Sponsored Programs if you plan on an electronic submission of your proposal several weeks prior to the submission date. NOTE: not all universities and colleges have electronic access capabilities.

12. Watch for new additions to the Internet: audio video virtual meetings e-commerce increased interactivity new applications new services The primary goals of Internet 2 are to: Create a leading edge network for researchers Enable development of new applications Ensure rapid transfer of new network services Keeping Up with the Internet