Volume 16, Number 2: August 12, 2009
FUNDING TIPS
Understanding Your NIH Peer Review Summary Statement
Implementation of many of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Enhancements to Peer Review began with the May 2009 review meetings, and applicants are now receiving summary statements with new features, such as scores determined under the new system. The critique format is also new with this review cycle.
In the July 2009 issue of Extramural Nexus , the Office of Extramural Research provides tips to help you better understand your summary statement.
Positioning Your Research Proposal for Success
In an August 2, 2009, Chronicle of Higher Education article, "How Your Grant Proposal Compares," David Stone discusses some steps to take to ensure that your research proposal is well positioned relative to other grant proposals. Whether you are an experienced investigator or a junior faculty member, these are some of the things you can do to win the approval of reviewers:
- Provide a good literature review that shows how your research idea builds upon previous important work in the field
- Demonstrate your knowledge of the major players
- Have a good track record
- Integrate teaching and service into research proposals
- Show how important findings will be disseminated
David A. Stone is director of the Office of Sponsored Projects at Northern Illinois University.
New to Carolina? Move Your COS or SMARTS Account Too
If you are a new faculty member coming from another university that subscribes to COS or InfoED, you can easily transfer your existing COS or InfoEd SMARTS account to Carolina .
In COS , just log in to your COS Workbench and click on "Manage Your Profile." Then edit your "Current Positions" to indicate your new appointment, and update your previous appointment to include its ending date. Once the changes have been saved, your profile will display your new affiliation.
If you have an InfoEd SMARTS funding alert service, you can simply log in to your SMARTS profile and change your account to reflect your new academic institution and email address.
If you have forgotten your login and password or need assistance updating your COS and InfoEd SMARTS profiles, please contact the GrantSource Library (962-3463) to schedule an individual consultation.
Customized Workshops on Identifying Funding Sources
The GrantSource Library offers customized group workshops on identifying potential funding sources for research, training, and other scholarly endeavors. These sessions are an especially good introduction for faculty new to the research and funding resources and services available at Carolina.
In each session, a GrantSource librarian demonstrates how to use online resources for identifying funding opportunities, how to set up a funding alert, conduct a search for targeted grant information, and find internal funding at Carolina.
Contact the GrantSource Library (919-962-3463) to schedule a workshop for your research team or department.
Finding Foundation and Corporate Givers with the Foundation Directory
The Foundation Directory Online (FDO) has announced several useful new search features. You can now search for grantmakers, companies, and grants by congressional district, and grants by grantmaker state. Since grantmakers often "give where they live," this search capability offers new possibilities if you are taking a geographic approach to your grant-seeking—for example, looking for funding for an outreach or community-based project.
"Economic crisis" has been added as an index term to the FDO grants database to help you identify support specifically related to the downturn. In addition, economic forecasts have been added to FDO's grantmaker profiles, when available, to help you plan your approach to those foundations.
To learn more about these new features, click here.
The GrantSource Library subscribes to The Foundation Directory Platinum Online , available for use in the library only. Updated weekly, this directory provides comprehensive data on more than 98,000 U.S. foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking public charities, as well as an extensive database of grants awarded. For more information and tools to identify foundation funding, click here.
To use the FDO or to schedule a consultation with a GrantSource Librarian, contact the GrantSource Library (919-962-3463).