Seeking External Funding at UNC Charlotte Lesley Brown

Seeking External Funding at UNC Charlotte Lesley Brown Director of Proposal Development Research and Economic Development University of North Carolina at Charlotte 10/7/2020 1

Developing a Strategic Plan for Funding Your Research* � *Lucy Deckard, Academic Research Funding Strategies, LLC � Develop your research agenda � Develop your education agenda � Determine expectations from your department � Find research grant mentors 10/7/2020 2

Developing a Strategic Plan for Funding Your Research � Find out which sponsors are likely to fund your research � Develop a process for identifying funding opportunities � Identify research development resources at your institution 10/7/2020 3

Research Development Resources at UNC Charlotte � Office of Proposal Development � Lesley Brown (704 -687 -1880 or labrown@uncc. edu): long-range funding plans; strategic proposal design; identify collaborators � Susan Robinson (704 -687 -1869 or ssrobins@uncc. edu): funding information � Joy Mc. Auley (704 -687 -1878 or jomcaule@uncc. edu): editorial assistance

Developing a Strategic Plan for Funding Your Research � Determine what you must do to be competitive � Identify potential collaborators if appropriate � Schedule your proposal writing � Plan to be declined 10/7/2020 5

New Faculty Guide to Competing for Research Funding by Mike Cronan and Lucy Deckard New Faculty Guide to Competing for Research Funding: What all new faculty need to know about finding funding and writing research proposals, provides an invaluable tool to help new faculty get started, or as a resource for research offices developing grantwriting workshops to help new faculty write more competitive proposals. This 81 -page book addresses the key competitive strategies and grant writing skills new faculty need to master for funding success at federal agencies and foundations 10/7/2020 6

OPD Canvas Site � The Office of Proposal Development Canvas Site has a copy of the New Faculty Guide to Competing for Research Funding available for you use � https: //uncc. instructure. com/enroll/9 LW 43 J � The site is set up for self-enrollment, but if you have problems accessing it, call or email Lesley. 10/7/2020 7

Developing Long-Term Funding Plans � Know the major sponsors in your field � Develop a timeline to tenure (and beyond) and know how grant-writing fits into that timeline

Grant Support at UNC Charlotte � Research and Economic Development � College-Based Research Offices 10/7/2020 9

Grant Support at UNC Charlotte � Research ◦ ◦ ◦ and Economic Development Office of Proposal Development Office of Research Services and Outreach Office of Research Compliance Office of Technology Transfer Office of Grants and Contracts Administration Charlotte Research Institute 10/7/2020 10

Office of Proposal Development Support for Single Investigators � Developing research agendas � Locating funding � Identifying collaborators � Defining a competitive research/proposal strategy � Editing and formatting proposals 10/7/2020 11

Office of Proposal Development Support for Large-Scale Proposals � Designing proposal strategy � Facilitating project team meetings and communication � Managing the proposal schedule � Identifying faculty expertise and resources � Editing and formatting proposals 10/7/2020 12

Office of Proposal Development Support for Large-Scale Proposals � Preparing the budget and budget justification � Negotiating cost sharing agreements � Collect and format CVs, current and pending support forms � Draft letters of support/commitment 10/7/2020 13

Office of Research Services and Outreach � Provides institutional approval for extramural proposals � Reports on grant activity to the UNC Office of the President � Provides training to departmental administrators � Maintains NORM (online proposal and award management system) 10/7/2020 14

Office of Research Services and Outreach � Services for faculty ◦ Agency guideline review and interpretation ◦ Budget development ◦ Proposal submission (electronic and mail) 10/7/2020 15

Office of Research Compliance � Oversight of human subjects in research (IRB) � Oversight of animal use in research and teaching (IACUC) � Oversight of institutional biosafety (IBC) � Export control � Research ethics 10/7/2020 16

Office of Technology Transfer � Industrial relations � Strategic partnerships � Intellectual property (IP) development, management, and commercialization � Economic development � University spinouts 10/7/2020 17

Grants and Contracts Administration � Post-award support, including: ◦ Contract review and negotiation ◦ Financial monitoring and reporting of sponsored research ◦ Following the guidelines of grants and contracts ◦ Account maintenance of grants and contracts ◦ Periodic billings and reports and collecting past due bills ◦ Monitoring final technical and invention reporting 10/7/2020 18

Charlotte Research Institute � Portal for business-university and government-university partnerships at UNC Charlotte � Funding is available to faculty for seed grants, symposia and special projects � http: //cri. uncc. edu/funding-grants � Targeted Research Internal Seed Program (TRISP) � http: //cri. uncc. edu/funding-grants/2017 targeted-research-internal-seed-programtrisp 10/7/2020 19

Grant Support at UNC Charlotte � College-based Research Offices ◦ Liberal Arts and Sciences: Peter Szanton, Director of Sponsored Research ◦ Health and Human Services: Vikki Cherwon, Pre-Award Administrator ◦ Education: Denise Bradley-Fluellen, Director of Research Development and Management ◦ Engineering: Shanda Wirt, Director, Contracts and Grants ◦ Computing and Informatics: Vacant, Research Officer ◦ Other colleges work with Stafford Farmer and Ellen Zavala in ORSO 10/7/2020 20

Who Submits My Proposal? � The College-Based Research Offices in the Colleges of Engineering and Liberal Arts and Sciences submit single-college proposals directly to agency � Faculty in all other colleges submit proposals through the Office of Research Services and Outreach (ORSO) 10/7/2020 21

Who Do I Contact First? � The college offices and the central offices work seamlessly together � If you have a college-based research office, start there � Office of Research Services and Outreach: 704 -687 -1881 � Office of Proposal Development: 704 -6871880 10/7/2020 22

Proposal Routing and Approval � Proposal routing is handled by filling out Internal Processing Forms or IPFs � NORM (Niner Online Research Management) � Online proposal and award information system � Tools needed to manage submission of proposals and closeout of funded projects 10/7/2020 23

Proposal Routing and Approval � NORM � https: //uncc. myresearchonline. org/ramses/ � Use your Novell user name and password � See FAQ and “Help with IPF Questions” for help � Or contact your College-Based Research Office or the Office of Research Services and Outreach 10/7/2020 24

Proposal Routing and Approval � Proposals ◦ ◦ ◦ must be approved by the following All PIs and Co-PIs Department Chairs Deans Center Directors Head of any unit providing matching funds 10/7/2020 25

Finding A Fundable Idea Unless you have something truly original to say about them, you should avoid topics typically considered to be “of central interest to the discipline. ”* *“The Art of Writing Proposals” ―The Social Science Research Council

Finding A Fundable Idea � Read literature/journals in your field � Serve as a reviewer for major journals in your field � Serve on proposal review committees � Read winning proposal abstracts � Network with colleagues 10/7/2020 27

Finding A Fundable Idea � Pick a topic within your expertise that has the potential to make a regional or national impact � Show you will contribute to the field by extending work that has already been done or combining existing approaches to a problem 10/7/2020 28

What Reviewers Look For � Work that is important and that addresses a compelling need � A well-designed project that fills a gap in the field �A project that can be completed within the timeframe specified and with the funds requested � An investigator who is competent to carry out the research 10/7/2020 29

Make the Right Match

What Motivates Sponsors? � Some sponsors want to solve problems � Some sponsors want to make life better for groups and communities � Some sponsors want to add to knowledge � Your job is to match your project and capabilities to what the sponsor wants to achieve

Understanding Sponsors � Every funding agency has its own agenda: ◦ NSF funds basic research ◦ NIH funds research with broad, health-related outcomes ◦ DOD funds basic and applied research ◦ Federal agencies fund work that has national significance 10/7/2020 32

Understanding Sponsors ◦ National foundations fund work that addresses national or international problems ◦ Regional foundations and state agencies fund work that addresses regional, state and local problems � An agency’s agenda can be determined by examining its website and printed materials and by talking to program officers 10/7/2020 33

Locating Funding Sources • The Office of Proposal Development website has links to online databases and state and federal agency websites • Susan Robinson can do a custom funding search for you • Contact Susan at ssrobins@uncc. edu or ext. 7 -1869 10/7/2020 34

Online Databases � COS Pivot Funding Opportunities Database � Formerly COS � International database of faculty expertise and funding opportunities � Claim your profile in COS to receive weekly updates on funding in your field � Or go to pivot. cos. com � Email Susan Robinson for instructions 10/7/2020 35

Online Databases � Foundation Center � Provides information on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects � Can be found on the Atkins Library website 10/7/2020 36

Grants. gov � “One-stop-shopping” for Federal grants � Find apply for grant opportunities from all Federal agencies � Register to receive email notifications of grant opportunities � Over 900 grant programs offered by the 26 Federal grant-making agencies � http: //www. grants. gov/ 10/7/2020 37

Contacting a Potential Sponsor � Introduce yourself and outline your background/expertise � Give a brief synopsis of the project and ask if it falls within the agency’s funding priorities � If it does not, ask for other agencies that might be interested 10/7/2020 38

Contacting A Potential Sponsor � If your project fall within the agency’s priorities ◦ Are there aspects of the project that should be emphasized? ◦ Are there unallowable costs? ◦ Will a program officer review a preliminary draft? ◦ Who will review the proposal? ◦ When is the next deadline? 10/7/2020 39

Getting Started � Identify grant programs for new faculty in your field � Team with a more established collaborator to build a track record

Leveraging Internal Resources � Use UNC Charlotte Faculty Research Grant ($8, 000) as seed funding for larger projects � Pick a topic for your FRG proposal that will lead to a larger project that can be funded externally

Grant-Writing Basics � Workshop series to help you learn the basics of developing a competitive grant proposal � 2 sessions in October/November: � Writing a Competitive Proposal: October 18, 11: 30 -12: 45, Student Union room 265 � Budgeting Basics: November 1, 11: 30 -12: 45, Student Union room 265 10/7/2020 42