The Fountain of Funding: Strategies for Securing Financial Support for your Project
February 27, 2007Keenan Dungey, Associate Professor, ChemistryDeb Koua, Coordinator, Grants and ContractsPamela Salela, Assistant Professor, Library Instructional Services& Coordinator, Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center, Brookens LibraryStacey Willenborg, Director of Development, Corporate/Foundation Gifts
University of Illinois at Springfield
Corporate and Foundation Relations
Find matches
Conduct research on funders
Set-up and attend initial meetings
Serve as a general resource to help you find funding
Proposal Preparation
Faculty and staff know their projects best
Tailor to your audience
Use your contacts
Talking points are helpful
Ask for assistance
University of Illinois at Springfield
Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center
http://library.uis.edu/findinfo/grants/index.html
Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center
http://library.uis.edu/findinfo/grants/index.html
Pamela M. Salela, Assistant ProfessorCINRC CoordinatorBrookens [email protected]
Pamela M. Salela, Assistant ProfessorCINRC CoordinatorBrookens [email protected]
Affiliations
Foundation Centerhttp://foundationcenter.org
– Publications– Training– Reference Guide for Researchers
http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/guides/research.html
Donors Forum of Chicago – Partnerhttp://donorsforum.org
– Publications– Workshops (Chicago)– 20% discount UIS
Resources
Databases– Foundation Directory Online campus only!
http://fconline.fdncenter.org/ipl.pl
– Foundation Grants to Individuals Online campus only!http://gtionline.fdncenter.org/ipl.php
– Illinois Funding Source campus only!http://ifs.donorsforum.org/
– Campus Only! – but… VPN client
Reference Materials– Directories– Manuals– Budget tools
Select Bibliography of Directories
Directory of Research GrantsAS911 .A2 D5 2005
Annual Register of Grant Support: A Directory of Funding Sources AS911 .A2 A67 2007
The Grants Register: The Complete Guide to Postgraduate Funding WorldwideAS911 .A2 G734 2007
The Europa International Foundation DirectoryHV7 .I56 2005
Grants for Higher EducationAS911 .A2 G7247 2007
Workshops
Community
Course specific
Faculty/Staff
Services provided by G&C Office
Identification of external funding sources
Interpretation of sponsor guidelines and requirements
Assistance with all stages of proposal development
Official submission of proposals to outside sponsors, including electronic submissions through grants.gov, Fastlane, etc.
Assistance with protocols for research involving human and/or animal subjects
Assistance with intellectual property issues
A webpage with links to relevant information, and downloadable forms
Where to look for funding
IRIS www.library.uiuc.edu/iris
SPIN (coming in FY09)
Association listserves, funder newsletters, etc.
Grants.gov
Colleagues
UIS Provost Funding
Summer Competitive Scholarly Research Grant Program (SCRGP)
Strategic Academic Initiatives Grant (SAIG) Program
Collaborative Project Seed Funding (CPSF)
Scholarly Presentation Support Program
UIS requirements for proposals & awards
All proposals submitted to external sponsors by UIS faculty, staff and students require internal approval using the UIS Internal Clearance Form.
All awards must be officially accepted by the campus, and must be signed by the proper authority.
Proposal Writing Tips
DO:
Follow directions
Learn as much about your funder as you can
Use language that is simple and direct
Repeat the funder’s language back to them
Include tables, flowcharts and diagrams when they are useful
Tips continued …
Proofread
Have someone not familiar with your work read your proposal
Prepare a detailed and justifiable budget
Talk to staff at the funding agency if possible
Ask for reviewer comments
Tips continued…
DO NOT: Go over the number of pages allotted
Pad your budget with items that can’t be justified
Assume that reviewers are experts in your field
Wait until the last minute – to write or to submit
Send the same proposal off to multiple funders
Get discouraged!!
How to get your project funded (1 faculty perspective)
Keenan Dungey (CHE)
University of Illinois at Springfield
Writing the Proposal
Clear hypothesis/goals– State the importance of the project
Clear statement of resources/personnel needed and timetable– Make the case that you can do the project
If your project involves students, describe their learning goals
Be considerate of the reviewers– Correct format, excellent language skills
Help for Writing the Proposal
Get copies of proposals that were funded by the agency
Volunteer to serve as a proposal reviewer for the agency
You make contacts and learn first-hand about the grants that get funded
Pre-”peer review” – Send a copy of your proposal to a colleague
before the submission deadline
Start Now
Set goals and deadlines for yourself
Contact program officers at granting agencies – find out more information about their program– learn from them what has worked in the past
Don’t wait– Submit a proposal and get feedback. – Some programs give preferences to new faculty.
Finding Funding
Resources at UIS– All of the above– Center for State Policy and Leadership
http://cspl.uis.edu/
Professional Organizations– Council on Undergraduate Research
www.cur.org
Colleagues– Attend professional meetings
What if you don’t get funded?
Don’t be discouraged by the failure rate– Some NSF programs have a 10% funding rate
Always pursue comments on why you were not funded; – even gather comments on why you were funded
so that you know what you did correctly
KED Grant Proposals Written 2000-2006Agency and Program Proposal Title Amount Funded
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation
Photochemistry of Confined Transition Metal Complexes $10,000
Research Corporation Self-assembly of Gold/ Zr(HPO4)2 Nanocomposites denied
Council on Undergraduate Research Self-assembly of Gold/ Zr(HPO4)2 Nanocomposites $3,500
UIS Summer Competitive Scholarly Research Award
Self-assembly of Gold/Zirconium Phosphate Nanocomposites $1,500
The National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation
RUI: Acquisition of a Powder X-ray Diffractometer denied
American Chemical Society Decorating the Gallery: Improving the Properties of Cobalt Hydroxide by Anion Intercalation
denied
Research Corporation Self-assembly of Gold/ Zr(HPO4)2 Nanocomposites for Optical Applications denied
UIS Summer Competitive Scholarly Research Award
Intercalating Anions into Cobalt Hydroxide $1,000
American Chemical Society Nanometal Pillaring of Inorganic Layered Compounds deniedResearch Corporation Mesoporous Transition Metal Oxides for Energy Storage denied
The National Science FoundationCourse, Curriculum, and Laboratory
Improvement Program
Integration of Powder X-ray Diffraction Throughout the Chemistry Curriculum
denied
American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund
The 2D to 3D Magnetic Ordering Transition in Layered Double Hydroxides Mediated by Polyoxometalates
denied
NCUR/Lancy InitiativeSummer Support for Exceptional
Undergraduates
Research Community for Water Literacy: Chemistry, Biology, Environment, and Policy
denied
Research Corporation Porous Heterobimetallic Oxides for Energy Storage $33,494
The National Science FoundationCourse, Curriculum, and Laboratory
Improvement Program
Collaborative Project Gemini XRD: Powder X-ray Diffraction in Undergraduate Chemistry Courses
$92,179
The National Science FoundationCourse, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement
Program
Upgrading undergraduate education by the acquisition of a Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (co-PI with Dr. Harshavardhan Bapat)
denied
Merck/AAAS Undergraduate Science Research Program $60,000
The National Science FoundationCourse, Curriculum, and Laboratory
Improvement Program
Collaborative Project Gemini SPM: Scanning Probe Microscopy in Undergraduate Chemistry Courses
pending
Suggestions for Success
Establish a track record with peer reviewed publications
Gather preliminary data on the project to demonstrate that you can do it
Show institutional support – List all available resources even if you haven’t
tapped into them yet.
Find collaborators – Colleagues down the hall, at another campus– Attend professional conferences
Finding Time for Research
Schedule your academic week into blocks for teaching and research– reserve a day, or at least an afternoon, to your
scholarship (no meetings, no committees, no classes)
Reserve summers for research
underload/overload semesters– Since contact hours are counted for the entire
year, you can underload one semester to make time for writing.
Course-related research can lead to published articles