Volume 16, Number 3: September 2, 2009
FUNDING TIPS
New to Carolina? Tips from the GrantSource Library
Welcome to Carolina! The GrantSource Library would like to offer new faculty members and postdoctoral scholars these tips for getting started on your funding search:
- Schedule a consultation with a GrantSource librarian for help in identifying potential funders.
- Subscribe to Research Support, Carolina's monthly online newsletter about funding and sponsored research.
- Search for external funding opportunities using databases such as COS, SPIN, and Foundation Directory Online, available through the GrantSource Library's website.
- Use the Carolina Internal Funding Database to find internal funding opportunities.
- Learn about resources and services available at Carolina via the Research@Carolina website, which provides information and links to the offices that support the university's research mission.
- Talk with departmental colleagues, your mentor, or other faculty members to learn about opportunities and resources in your department.
For more information or to schedule a consultation with a GrantSource librarian, contact the library (962-3463).
Funding through NC State Government Agencies
One of the most frequent inquiries that we get at the GrantSource Library is about how to find funding from North Carolina state government agencies.
One of the best ways to find out about available state funding is to call the relevant agency officials to let them know how your areas of expertise are relevant to their missions and interests. To identify state agencies that might be interested in your expertise, here are some possible steps you can take:
- Use NC OpenBook, a new database of approximately 2,500 state contracts and over 5000 grants, to learn about previous grants and contracts awarded by different state government departments.
- Visit the state agency's website and look for a “business” or “financial assistance” link for information about their financial assistance programs. For a list of NC state government agencies' websites, click here.
- Search RAMSeS, Carolina's research information system, to learn about funding that other Carolina faculty members have received from various state agencies. Click on the “Reporting” tab and then search by “Department and Sponsor.” (ONYEN login is required.)
The GrantSource Library receives information about some funding opportunities, especially from the NC Department of Health and Human Services, through UNC General Administration. These opportunities are published in the Research Support newsletter. To subscribe to this weekly funding blog, click here.
When seeking state funding, there are some important things to remember. While funding is available from NC state agencies, either directly or through regranting of federal block grants, these agencies are often more interested in procuring services or expertise than in funding research. Also, some state agencies do not routinely issue formal Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and there is no central portal for identifying funding information as there is for federal funding.
To schedule a consultation about funding for your research or other academic endeavors, contact a GrantSource Librarian (962-3463).
Applying for Funding from Family Foundations
In the August 2009 GuideStar newsletter, Page Snow, chief philanthropic officer, summarized a Foundation Source survey of donor- and family-led foundation officials. Here's their advice about how you can be successful in applying to these smaller foundations.
- Look beyond major foundations to the relatively untapped reservoir of funding through smaller family foundations.
- Relationship-building and networking is very important.
- Many are willing to provide general operating support.
- Their application process is often simpler.
- Ensure that your project is relevant to the mission and priorities of the foundation.
- Most prefer that inquiries and information be submitted electronically.
- Describe your proposal in sufficient detail but don't overload it with irrelevant information.
- Have clear goals, plans, and measures of success.
- Show where you fit in with other organizations doing similar work.
- Follow all guidelines and instructions.
- Be respectful of foundations' limited time and staff resources.
New RePORTER Tool Provides Insight into NIH Research Funding and Results
Comprehensive information about National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and contracts awarded is now available online through the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool Expenditures and Reports (RePORTER). You can use RePORTER to identify other researchers working in your field and to gain more insight into NIH priorities by seeing what awards are being made.
Like its predecessor NIH CRISP—NIH's longstanding database of funded projects—RePORTER allows users to locate and view NIH awards using their own search criteria. RePORTER gives users access to additional data not previously available through CRISP, including budget, patents, and publications information. An especially useful new feature of RePORTER is that you can now search by a specific Request for Proposal or Program Announcement to find awards made via that opportunity.
Data from 1985 to the present—including the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009—are available and searchable according to user interest.
For assistance in using NIH RePORTER or other federal awards made databases, contact the GrantSource Library (962-3463).
Funding Guides for Diabetes, Stroke, Melanoma, Fibrin, and Stem Cell Research
The GrantSource Library has created a new specialized funding guide for faculty and postdoctoral scholars conducting research on fibrin and bleeding or clotting disorders. In addition, the library has updated four guides to funding opportunities for diabetes, stroke, melanoma, and stem cells research.
Diabetes Research Funding Guide
Created in partnership with the UNC Roadmap Office, these funding guides provide information about federal funding agencies and private sponsors, as well as how to get help at Carolina to identify potential support in these research areas.
NC Biotechnology Center Awards Available Online
A list of the NC Biotechnology Center Grants awarded in FY 2008 is now posted on the Center's website. When applying for any grant program, it is helpful to review the types of projects that have been funded in the past. This list provides the awards made in all NC Biotech Center grant programs for Fiscal Year 2007-2008. To see the fall 2009 deadlines for the Center's grant programs, click here.
NC Dropout Prevention Grants and Technical Assistance Webinars
The North Carolina General Assembly has appropriated $13,000,000 to support new and existing programs and initiatives that target students at risk of dropping out of school. The North Carolina Committee on Dropout Prevention's Raising Achievement and Closing Gaps Section is hosting several technical assistance meetings and virtual webinars to assist new applicants and previous grantees with the application process.
The technical assistance meeting schedules, as well as applicant user manuals and application forms, are available online:
- Dropout Prevention Grant applications for new applicants
- Dropout Prevention Grant applications for additional funds for 2007 and 2008 grantees
All webinars will be recorded and available online after September 14 through October 15, 2009.