Volume 16, Number 1: July 6, 2009
FUNDING TIPS
Using the RFP as a Starting Point for Developing Your Proposal
In a July 1, 2009 article titled "RFP as a Proposal Template" in the Texas A&M University Office of Proposal Development's E-Research Newsletter, Mike Cronan provides guidance for developing a proposal responsive to the sponsor agency's program solicitation. His advice is:
- Use the request for proposals (RFP) as a template for your first draft
- Copy and paste specific sponsor requirements into your template
- List and respond to all questions addressed in the RFP
- Keep core topics as section headings
- Add subcomponents or topics as temporary section headings
- Continuously update the proposal template
- Make the proposal template available to all members of the proposal development team
- Have a place to keep discarded text and ideas
The template process will ensure that the final document fully addresses every requirement of the funding agency. It will avoid the most common mistake made by grant applicants: not responding fully and clearly to every question asked by the funding agency, or worse, failing to respond at all to one or more critical questions upon which the agency will base an award decision.
Share COS Funding Information with Others
You can share your COS funding searches with other researchers in a variety of ways.
For example, once you save a search to your own COS Workbench, you can click the "share" button to send an email containing a URL that links to the results of your search. You can share not only with individual researchers, but also with departmental administrators who can then disseminate the set of results throughout the department or to a listserv.
Shared searches can also be posted on your department or center's webpage. Simply share the search with yourself, and then add the URL that is created to your webpage. Try posting multiple shared searches for different departments or disciplines. As long as the search is saved on your COS Workbench, the link will remain active and will run the search each time it is clicked, for continually updated results. To see examples of shared searches, click here for funding searches created for the melanoma, stroke, stem cell, and diabetes research interest groups at Carolina.
If you are interested in learning about how to create and share COS funding searches, contact the GrantSource Library (962-3463) to schedule a consultation or click here to view a schedule of upcoming workshops.
New at GrantSource Library: Foundation Grants for Individuals
The GrantSource Library announces a new subscription to Foundation Grants for Individuals, available for use in the library at 307 Bynum Hall. This online database includes close to 8,300 foundation and public charity programs that fund researchers, students, artists, and other individual grantseekers. It includes foundations that fund:
- Research and professional support
- Arts and cultural support
- Awards, prizes, and grants by nomination
- Educational support: scholarships, fellowships, loans, and internships
- Students and graduates of specific schools
- International applicants
- Employees and families of employees at specific companies
- General welfare and special needs
For more information about this new database, including a web-based tour on how to use it, click here. To schedule an appointment to use the database, contact the GrantSource Library (962-3463)
Faculty International Expertise Database
The Center for Global Initiative's Faculty International Expertise Database provides information on the international expertise of researchers at Carolina . The database is especially helpful to faculty members seeking colleagues for research or proposal writing purposes. You are strongly encouraged to add yourself or update your entry for 2010.
NC OpenBook
Governor Beverly Perdue has launched the NC OpenBook site in an effort to bring greater accountability and transparency to state government. This searchable database contains both opportunities and awards made information, including:
- grant programs, with information about the grant opportunities, grant recipients, and contact information for the particular grant
- state contracts, with agency and vendor information, the size of the award, and contact information for that particular contract
You can browse North Carolina state government grant programs by title or topic. You can also search by keywords or conduct an advanced search by multiple criteria.
The awards data is currently limited to direct grants to non-state entities. Future enhancements will include adding information on grants to local governments, other state agencies, and higher education systems. Office of State Budget and Management plans call for ARRA funded projects to be listed at this site as well.
Change in RW Johnson Foundation Reporting Procedures
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has instituted a new electronic system for email submission of narrative and financial reports, bibliographies, and products from all grantees. All instructions and FAQs have been revised. Contact the national program office if you have any questions or concerns.