FYI Research:
GrantSource is a new tool to find financial support for research

Finding research funding can seem like hacking your way through a jungle, especially if you're new at the game. But Carolina has some safari guides designed to help you do just that.

Those guides work at the GrantSource Library, which helps faculty, staff, and graduate students find financial support for research projects, fellowships, training, and more. Susan Gramling and Rebecca Rhodes, GrantSource Librarians, will be happy to give you the tools you need to make the jungle more hospitable. Gramling and Rhodes can give group funding workshops to your department or research team, and they're also available for one-on-one funding consultations.

You can access funding databases and set up automatic funding searches through the GrantSource Library's web site. For example, with more than 400,000 opportunities listed, the Community of Science (COS) database may just be the most comprehensive source of funding information available online, Gramling says. COS also offers a Funding Alert service that emails you specific funding opportunities weekly, based on search parameters you set up.

But Gramling is quick to stress that there's no online database that includes absolutely every funding opportunity available. She suggests using several different resources to build a complete picture of what's out there.

The library is pilot-testing a new funding opportunities database called the Illinois Researcher Information Service (IRIS). It contains more than 8,000 active federal and private funding opportunities in medicine, sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. IRIS also features an automated search-and-alert system. Gramling encourages you to give IRIS a try, via the GrantSource web site, to help the library decide whether to enroll in a long-term subscription.

If you've been receiving COS funding alerts but aren't satisfied with your results, Gramling or Rhodes can help you customize your alerts so that they're more relevant. "I've noticed that a lot of faculty members are getting default COS results based on broad keywords that relate to their fields," Gramling says. For instance, if you happen to be in a health-related field and haven't customized your COS alerts, your results are probably very general and not necessarily relevant to the specific research you have in mind.

Gramling and Rhodes want to remind you that they're here for you. If you'd like to schedule a one-on-one consultation or a workshop for your department, simply email or phone the library to set up an appointment.

Access the GrantSource Library's databases, subscription services, and more online at research.unc.edu/grantsource. The library is located in room 307 Bynum Hall and is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 962-3463 or e-mail gs@unc.edu.

Provided by Research and Economic Development.
Editor: Neil Caudle. Writer: Jason Smith.

Technology transfer update

The Office of Technology Development helps Carolina faculty, students and staff develop and commercialize patentable inventions resulting from their research. In August 2004, the University executed one license agreement and had three U.S. patents issued.

A patent is a legal document granting inventors the exclusive right to prevent others from making, using or selling an invention for a number of years. A license agreement is a written contract granting permission for a person or company to use an invention under certain terms. For more information about OTD, go to research.unc.edu/otd.