Chapter 1 -
Getting Started

1. Grants Office of the Graduate School

There are many steps involved in the process of applying for and winning a grant or contract. Most of the steps require specific action on the part of the grant writer or principal investigator. In many instances though, the Grants Office of the Graduate School can offer general assistance. This chapter guides you through the processes involved in completing the necessary actions.

First, identifying potential funding opportunities takes time and effort. Assistance from the Grants Office is available upon request. General grant searches can be undertaken using the Office of Federal Programs GrantSearch program. This software is updated periodically to make certain the most current grant funding information is at your disposal. Likewise, the Grants Office has a liaison person in the Office of Federal Programs, American Association of State Colleges and Universities, who will employ searches upon request.

Second, the Grants Office can aid in editing, helping to construct the budget, or assisting with forms (assurances, etc.) completion. The narrative, however, is the responsibility of the proposal writer who has the expertise regarding the subject area.

Third, each proposal must be reviewed and approved by several offices on campus. The Grants Office can expedite this process, but only if sufficient time is allowed. Every proposal needs to be reviewed for the adequacy of the budget; the allocations of faculty and staff time; and the financial, equipment, computing, and space commitments being made of and by the university. The Grants Offices’ involvement is imperative in this step. The designated Grants Officer must give their authorization before the grant application/proposal may be submitted to the funding agency.

Many proposals require review to determine compliance with the federal government, state, and university regulations on topics such as conflict of interest, the use of human subjects and the use of animals, or patent rights and copy rights. Each proposal requires full approval by the appropriate personnel on campus. It is the responsibility of the proposal writer to obtain the required approvals and corresponding signatures.

At the end of this chapter is a useful chart, "Grant Development-FHSU Grants Office," that illustrates the grant process from submission through award or, unfortunately in some cases, non-award.

2. Identifying Potential Funding Opportunities

Tracking Down Funding Sources

I. Resources Available

• Other People--Your colleagues at FHSU and at other universities
• Tools--Funding subscriptions, funding directories, electronic bulletin boards, Internet
• Places--The Grants Office, research centers at other colleges or universities, state and federal agency office and departments

II. Strategies for Seeking Financial Support

• Lead Time --Start early, 6 months to 1 year ahead of the anticipated deadline.
• Formulate Your Ideas First--Start looking for funding once you have your project design firmly in mind.
• Know Your Funding Source--Obtain annual reports, program guidelines, funding histories. Make personal contact when appropriate.
• Know Differences Between Federal Government Agencies and Private Foundations. The procedures are different and so is the proposal process. Note: Contact the Endowment Association for information on foundations.

3. General Suggestions

While some investigators are able to rely on one sponsor for several years (Continuation Grants), this is the exception rather than the rule. Most scholars find it necessary to learn about and apply to several possible sources of support. Sponsors differ not only in what topics they support but also in the size of grants they give, their geographical preferences, their schedules, and many other variables. Some sponsored programs are available only for certain kinds of investigators--perhaps minorities, women, established senior investigators, or faculty at certain kinds of institutions. Furthermore, a sponsor's interests and resources may change from time to time. Federal programs frequently change to reflect the changing national needs. Sorting through all this information takes time and energy. Assistance in identifying possible sources can come from your colleagues, the Grants Office, computerized databases, and the funding sources themselves.

Professional colleagues with similar interests will be the best source of information regarding which agencies are likely to fund your project plans. Colleagues who are currently supported by a funding source of interest to you will be particularly valuable. Ask them. In addition, you may find an opportunity to become a co-investigator or subcontractor on a colleague's larger project or as a co-investigator with an investigator or researcher at another university. Sometimes becoming associated with a principal investigator at a large research university is the only way to become successful in some cases, areas, or types of research. Check with colleagues at the research centers, such as at the University of Kansas, for advice.

The Grants Office in the Graduate School maintains a limited number of reference materials on funding sources and proposal writing, as well as copies of the forms, directions, and guidelines for many government agencies. General assistance is available upon request to help locate funding sources that match ideas developed by faculty and staff members. By contacting the Grants Office, you may save time by being directed to the likely funding sources.

There are many computerized databases that provide grants information. For example, the Department of Energy has a free database describing its grant program. Three commercial databases provide computerized key word access to the information in the published directories--the Grants database, the Foundation Directory database, and the Foundation Grants Index database. These are accessed at a direct cost to you. (Note: For foundation information, contact the Endowment Association). Many Federal agencies have grant programs online (i.e., Minority On-Line Information Service, MOLIS). These are generally accessible by anyone with a PC and a modem, and in many cases, the information is now available through the INTERNET system. The University enlists the services of the American Association of College and University’s Office of Federal Programs which also provides a "GrantSearch" which assists in your searches.

You may receive special notices occasionally from the Grants Office, either as individual items or via the "QUEST," our campus grants information publication. Using our knowledge of faculty activities and interests, we make an effort to notify individual faculty members of special grant opportunities in their indicated area of interest as such opportunities occur. If you have special topics or special sponsors that you want to have monitored, let the staff know.

Once you have selected a few sponsors who appear to be interested in your work, it is usually helpful to call or write with a preliminary inquiry. (Your search for information should have turned up the name of the proper contact person.) While some sponsors prefer a written inquiry, telephone calls are usually acceptable, even if they result in a request for a preliminary letter. You will want to present your project idea briefly and ask further questions about the sponsor's interests and policies. In most cases, you will get a response that indicates the sponsor's level of interest in your project idea and also some ideas about what would make it more attractive to them. Going through this process saves you and the sponsor the effort and embarrassment of submitting and reviewing a proposal that fails to fit their interests. Proposers are much more likely to succeed if they have these preliminary discussions. Note: Recently, it has been difficult to make contact with federal program officers via telephone. Even voicemail has proven unsuccessful. The best method of contacting a program officer is through electronic mail.

Social networks and personal visits are also very valuable. Get to know the sponsor's staff before you submit any proposal, if that is possible, perhaps through a conversation at a conference, a special visit, or a contact through a mutual acquaintance. Such contacts enable you to understand the sponsor better and increase your visibility.

Note: Frequently, grant information sessions are presented at discipline-specific academic meetings. You can make good contacts at these sessions while gaining an understanding of the specific types of grants that are available. You are also afforded an opportunity to ask questions of agency grants officers.

Caution: If you intend to approach a private foundation or corporation, always coordinate your approach with the Endowment Association. In the case of large or local funding sources, it is very likely that someone else at Fort Hays State University is already applying to the organization for funding on another project; if your additional contact is not coordinated with them first, it would make Fort Hays State University appear very disorganized and endanger both projects. In many cases, there will be no difficulty in such simultaneous requests, but you should check first.

As you look for sponsors, think about joining with other faculty or staff to form a team to develop the ideas, write the proposals, and carry out the project. There are several advantages to working as a team. The work of checking out sponsors and keeping up with announced opportunities is easier if shared. The team's wider range of talents enables you to handle more sponsors and entertain more project ideas. The process of committing to each other and encouraging each other will help get the work done.

Consider collaborating with a faculty member at another institution. Collaborative and cooperative projects usually get attention faster. Consider collaborations with K-12, private groups, or with social groups, or think about whether your concept or idea has interdisciplinary possibilities. With collaboration or cooperation, an interdisciplinary approach is viewed favorably by many funding agencies and organizations.

Another way to get started is to develop a concept paper. The following information discusses and outlines the key elements of a concept paper.

Concept Paper

Most studies of the success rate of proposal applications have shown that the major variable in getting proposals funded is contact with the program officer prior to submission of a proposal. Consider submitting a concept to the agency program office for review. The concept paper, sometimes called a prospectus or preliminary proposal, is a useful tool for getting your ideas into a form that an agency program officer can react to. It can be used to give a potential sponsor advance notice of the idea you wish to pursue, as well as to inform colleagues about your intentions. Not all agencies review concept papers, so call the agency.

After reviewing a concept paper, a program officer will be able to give advice on current priorities of the sponsor and which areas should be emphasized, state ideas that are no longer considered fundable, or advise activities that must be included in a revised proposal to satisfy requirements that may not have been clearly stated in the guidelines.

Some agencies now require that a preliminary proposal be submitted for review before a formal proposal is invited. Since the writing and review of a formal proposal can be a lengthy process, the concept paper/preliminary proposal can save time and effort for both the agency personnel and the faculty member if an idea is not considered timely or fundable.

Concept papers usually are no more than two to five pages in length. In a clear and concise fashion, they should cover the following:

Project Title. This should be short and descriptive.

Need. This section covers the importance of the problem and the timeliness and innovativeness of the project. The relevance and applicability of the project to the sponsor's priorities should also be clearly stated. Supporting statistical data may be included in the body, but it should be kept brief or included as an appendix.

Goals and Objectives. The overall goal should be stated succinctly, and the objectives should be enumerated briefly, clearly, precisely, and, if possible, quantitatively.

Methodology, Operations, or Procedures. This section should relate directly to the objectives and should focus on the most significant points. Give indications of having thought through the scope of your study and having anticipated most reasonable questions or objections.

Resources and Personnel Available. This section lists significant facilities and equipment available for your project, plus information on key personnel and their previous experience.

Budget. Only major category totals need be given. Cost-sharing contributions, if any, and indirect costs should be mentioned. (The budget, even though preliminary, should be reviewed by the Grants Development Office before being submitted since it is sometimes difficult to change a budget total once the agency has seen it.)

The above list is neither exhaustive nor inflexible; modifications should be made to suit your project or the sponsor's guidelines if a preliminary proposal is required.

* The concept paper outlined is adopted from "Guide to Services, Policies and Procedures for Proposal Writers and Project Director," CSU, Stanislaus, CA.

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