Volume 14, Number 6: December 5, 2007
FUNDING TIPS
Proposal Writing Tips from the CFDA
The Catalog of Federal and Domestic Assistance (CFDA) web page “Developing and Writing a Grant Proposal” offers some excellent advice for federal grantseekers. Once you identify a potential grantor agency, CFDA suggests that you contact the program officer or other key agency personnel to ask for suggestions, criticisms, and advice about your proposed project. In many cases, the more agency personnel know about the proposal, the better the chance of support and of an eventual favorable decision.
Sometimes it is useful to send the proposal summary to the specified program official in a separate cover letter, and ask for review and comment. Always check first to determine the agency's policy if you are considering this approach. If the review is unfavorable and differences cannot be resolved, ask the program officer to suggest another department or agency that may be interested in the proposal.
A personal visit to the agency's regional office or headquarters can also be very useful. A visit not only establishes face-to-face contact, but may also bring out some essential details about the proposal and the review criteria.
Support for Innovative Use of Mobile Technology in Education
Based on outcomes of previous projects funded through the Hewlett Packard (HP) Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative, HP has announced that the initiative may offer some grant recipients additional, higher-value grants in the upcoming 2008 competition.
This initiative is designed to support the innovative use of mobile technology in K-16 education, and to help identify colleges and universities that HP might support with future grants. For the 2008 Teaching Grant in Higher Education, HP invites teams consisting of at least two faculty members to propose a course redesign project for one or more undergraduate courses that are part of an accredited degree program in one or more of the following eligible disciplines:
- Mathematics
- Science (physical, environmental, computer)
- Engineering (electrical, computer, mechanical, environmental, materials)
- Information Systems/Information Technology
In 2008, HP will award nearly $7 million in cash and equipment. Proposals for the Higher Education grants must be submitted online by February 14, 2008.
Adding Journal Citations to Your COS Profile Using Medline
COS has recently updated the Medline citation builder feature of the COS Expertise database to enable you to quickly add your articles to your COS expertise profile. Now you can search the latest Medline data by your name, journal name, article title, or PubMed ID, and then upload your new citations. Follow these steps:
- Login to your COS Workbench.
- See the Manage Your Profile menu (left column of the Workbench).
- Go to the Publications section and choose Journal Articles.
- Click on Add a Medline Publication to call up the mini-search box, where your name will appear.
- Enter other information such as journal, year of publication, or title, and search.
- Click on the correct entry in the results to add it to your COS Expertise profile.
For assistance in updating your COS expertise profile, contact the GrantSource Library at 962-3463 to schedule a consultation with one of the GrantSource Librarians.
Interpreting NIH Activity Codes
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) uses activity codes (e.g. R01, R21, K01) to differentiate the wide variety of research-related grant support mechanisms. The general categories can include research grants, contracts, training grants, and fellowships. The different types of grants have different purposes and characteristics, including funding amounts. For example, R21 is the code for new, exploratory, and developmental grants which support the early stages of project development, up to $275,000 over a two-year period.
NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) may vary in the way they use activity codes; not all ICs accept applications for all types of grant programs, or they may apply specialized eligibility criteria to some. Look closely at the NIH Funding Opportunity Announcements to determine which ICs participate and the specifics of eligibility.
For a comprehensive list of all activity codes and their definitions, or to search for specific codes, click here.
New NC Biotech Center of Innovation Awards
The North Carolina Biotechnology Center has a new Center of Innovation (COI) award program which focuses on the identification, development, and commercialization of research within strategically-selected biotechnology-dependent industries of North Carolina, including the following:
- Natural biotechnology and integrative medicine
- Marine biotechnology
- Biotechnology applications in biofuels and alternative energy
- Nanobiotechnology applications
- Biotechnology applications in functional foods
- Other areas relevant to increasing North Carolina 's competitive advantage in innovation and commercialization
A Phase I award will consist of a 12-month $100,000 planning grant. Phase I funding is a pre-requisite for Phase II funding, although the award of a Phase I Center of Innovation request does not guarantee that a COI will be established.
Only invited applicants may apply. If you are interested in applying and think you have a collaboration in place that is capable of meeting Phase I requirements, contact Virginia Deluca at the Biotechnology Center.
New RWJ Research Program on Health Game Design
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ) has launched Health Games Research, a national program to support research to enhance the quality and effectiveness of interactive games to improve health behaviors and outcomes. The first Health Games Research call for proposals will award up to $2 million to support studies that investigate principles of effective health game design. The proposal deadline is January 29, 2008.
Beyond building the evidence base, the $8.25-million program also will support the Games for Health Project, which brings together game developers and health experts to collaborate and share best practices. It is part of RWJ's Pioneer Portfolio which supports novel, high-return ideas.
To subscribe to e-mail alerts about this and other RWJ Pioneer programs, click here.