Identifying Funding Sources and Developing Research Proposals ANDREW SHEPARD-SMITH

OFFICE OF RESEARCH SERVICES

YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY

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Types of Funding Agencies • Association (i.e., College Art Association, Music Library Association) • Industry (i.e., Coca-Cola, 3M, Lowe’s, Ford Foundation) • Local (i.e., Youngstown Rotary Club, City of Youngstown, City of Warren) • Private Grants (i.e., the Smith Family Foundation) • State Agencies (i.e., Ohio Department of Higher Education) • Federal Agencies (i.e., National Science Foundation) The requirements for research, writing, submission, and regulatory compliance of each type of funding agency can be very different. Proposals may vary from two pages to 15 pages; some are webforms and some are paper copies, etc.

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Finding Grant Opportunities Grants.gov: the central repository for all federal grants. Find and apply. http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/manage-subscriptions.html

infoEdSPIN: On-campus database.

https://spin.infoedglobal.com/Home/GridResults

ChangeDetection.com, Versionista, etc.

http://www.changedetection.com, https://versionista.com/

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Alaska $3.1B 0.5% Hawaii $2.6B 0.4% New Ham. $2.4B 0.4% Vermont $2.1B 0.3% Massach. $12.B 1.9% Rhode Isl. $2.5B 0.4% Delaware $2.2B 0.3% Maryland $12.B 1.7% Wash. D.C. $6.4B 1.0% ______________________________________ Figures are rounded for brevity. Grants and Contracts, Major Agencies Source: usaspending.gov, 2013

$10.7B 1.6%

$7B 1%

$69.1B 11%

$3.5B .5%

$2.7B .4%

$2.6B .4%

$1.6B .24%

$7.6B 1.1%

$4.2B .6%

$10.1B 1.5%

$5.9B 1%

$52.4B 8%

$8B 1.2%

$5.5B .8%

$3.5B .5%

$2.4B .4%

$2.5B .4%

$8.3B 1.3%

$6.4B 1%

$11B 1.6%

$24.2B 3.7%

$11B 1.7%

$26.7B 4%

$6.4B 1%

$9.8B 1.5%

$20B 3%

$21B 3.2%

$8.8B 1.3%

$11.5B 1.8%

$10.3B 1.6% $9.6B

1.5%

$16.3B 2.5%

$34B 5%

$8B 1.2%

$16B 2.4%

$12.9 2%

$5B .7%

$2.9B .4%

$24.7B 3.7%

$52B 8%

Grant/Contract Funding by State

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State Contributions to U.S. Economy

A., Raul. "How Does Your State Size Up?" HowMuch. Howmuch.net, 1 Sept. 2015. Web. 19 Jan. 2016 URL: http://howmuch.net/articles/us-economy-summarized-in-one-diagram.

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Types of Awards and Research Grants

Subgrant

Contracts

Coop Agrmts

Awards

Fellowships

Gifts

Prizes

In-Kind

Research

Training

Program Grants

Econ. Development

Formula Grants

Block Grants

Earmarks

Use (i.e., telescope)

Basic—Basic research is defined as systematic study directed toward fuller knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and of observable facts without specific applications towards processes or products in mind. (DOD, NSF, DOE. Federal)

Applied research — Applied research is defined as systematic study to gain knowledge or understanding necessary to determine the means by which a recognized and specific need may be met. (DOD, NSF, DOE. Federal)

Development — Development is defined as systematic application of knowledge or understanding, directed toward the production of useful materials, devices, and systems or methods, including design, development, and improvement of prototypes and new processes to meet specific requirements. (DOD, NSF, DOE. Federal)

Evaluation/Contractor: Third-party examinations of the effectiveness of interventions, research; services to support any component of research.

Fixed-Price

Cost-Reimb.

Pay/Perform

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Federal Agency Websites U.S. Agency for International Dvt (USAID) Corp for National and Community Svc (CNCS) U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) U.S. Department of Education (ED) U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) U.S. Dept of Health and Human Svcs (HHS) U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Dept of Housing and Urban Dvt (HUD) U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)

U.S. Department of State (DOS) U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) U.S. Department of the Treasury (TREAS) U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS) National Aeronautics & Space Admin (NASA) National Archives and Records Admin (NARA) National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Administration (SBA) Social Security Administration (SSA)

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Federal Agency Websites NSF Find Funding Dept. of Energy: Find Funding

NSF Award Search Dept. of Energy Award Search

Dept. of Energy: Early Career Research Program

Principal Investigators are within 10 years of having received a Ph.D. and are either untenured assistant professors on the tenure track, untenured associate professors on the tenure track, or full-time, non-postdoctoral, permanent DOE national laboratory employees.

U.S. Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

National Endowment for the Humanities

National Endowment for the Arts

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Grant Development Cycle 1. Read YSU’s Policies and Procedures 2. Draft your Proposal Concept and Budget 3. Identify Funding Source (search databases, find good fit) 4. Submit “Intent to Apply” Webform 5. Work with ORS on the proposal, if needed. 6. Routing Form Approvals 7. Deliver FINAL Proposal Within 7 Days of the Due Date 8. Protocols: if the program requires IRB or IACUC approval,

the PI/PD may not begin grant activities until all appropriate personnel are approved to do so by the respective committees. Please be advised that project directors are not eligible to determine that their own activity is exempt or non-exempt.

9. ORS Submits the Proposal

Fundable Concept

Draft a Budget

Find Funding Sources

“Intent to

Apply”

Write Proposal

Route Proposal

Submit

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Budget Considerations : Indirect Costs • Indirect Costs ARE:

a) Based on a Federally assigned rate (53% of salaries/wages) b) The lifeblood of the YSU research enterprise (research assistants, URC grants, publications. c) Distributed to the Office of Research (50%), College (25%), and the Department (25%)

• Indirect Cost ARE NOT: a) insignificant, a tax on research, or discretionary. They are also not fringe benefits. b) able to be waived or reduced without prior approval (violates YSU policy and possibly

Federal regulations) c) able to use a rate that differs from YSU’s Federally assigned rate unless specifically required

by the funding agency or approved by the Office of Research. The calculation on salaries/wages will be different if based on total direct costs or any other calculation.

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Budget Considerations: Fringe Benefits Post-Docs to Full Professors: 33%

Summer, Overload, Supplemental 17%

Staff (Professional/Admin) 37%

Grad Students: 90%

Undergrads/Task-Based 05%

In Summary: Associate Professor ($10,000), Fringe Benefits ($3,333), Indirect Costs ($5,300) = $18,633.

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The Architecture of Research Proposal Letter of Intent / Intent to Apply White Paper Abstract / Executive Summary Federal Forms, State Forms, Cover Sheets Proposal ◦ Needs Statement (with Problem Statement) ◦ Literature Review / Background ◦ Significance of Study/Research ◦ Outcomes/Deliv/Objectives/Methodology ◦ Timeline (may be Task-Based) ◦ Evaluation Plan ◦ Partners (Internal and/or External) ◦ Leveraged Resources ◦ Personnel (PI/PD and Support Personnel)

References / Works Cited / Bibliography Budget Budget Justification (with cost-per-participant)

Vita/CV (be prepared for 2 page maximum) Data Management Plan Current, Pending, and/or Prior Support Facilities Statement Annual Reports IRB/IACUC/IBC Documentation and Assurance

Post-Doc Mentoring Plan

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Successful Writing Tips Organize the proposal exactly as the RFP describes – to make a reviewer’s task easier.

NSF: The first sentence of every proposal should be: “The purpose of this proposal is to…”

Do you have profound findings, text, or deliverables? Make it leap from the narrative, tastefully. ◦ Italics, bold, underline? Headings? Images? Tables? ◦ Aesthetics: Choose complimentary fonts to draw the reader to sections. Improve clarity. ◦ People do judge a book by its cover. Make the proposal look good.

Read and proofread the grant, then verify every calculation in the budget.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Read other proposals. Review the work of colleagues.

Use reviewer comments to improve your second submission. These are free!

Do not disclose intellectual property submitted for patent, copyright, trademark, or license.

Read and follow directions.

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Problem Areas • Cost-per-participant is too high.

• Research is not particularly novel.

• Services provided duplicate existing services from state, fed, or local sources.

• The proposal is not persuasive.

• The narrative looks unattractive.

• The author did not follow the grantor’s regulations (fonts, margins, format).

• The grant did not start the YSU cycle early enough to allow us to assist.

• Post-Award: Researcher did not predict additional expenses.

• What are problems you have encountered? How can we help?

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