Information Sources, Sponsors, and Proposal Development

Types of sponsors Federal government State and local governments Executive Branch Independent Federal Agencies State and local governments Private foundations Associations and societies For-profit organizations International organizations

Federal Government: Executive Branch Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Department of Defense Office of Naval Research (ONR) Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Army Research Office (ARO) Defense Advanced Research Projects (DARPA) Cabinet positions that report to the President

Federal Government: Executive Branch Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Energy Department of Homeland Security FEMA Department of Education Department of the Treasury Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Violence Against Women

Federal Government: Executive Branch Department of the Interior Department of Agriculture (USDA) Department of Commerce NIST Department of Labor Department of Housing and Urban Development Department of Transportation Department of State

Federal Government: Independent Agencies National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) National Endowment for the Humanities National Endowment for the Arts National Science Foundation National Agency for International Development Small Business Administration Independent agencies that report to Congress

Types of Federal Assistance Discretionary Awards Mandatory Awards Block Grants Formula Grants

Modes of Support Assistance Agreements Procurement Agreements Grant Cooperative Agreement Procurement Agreements Contract

Where to find funding opportunities Federal Register: the daily official publication of the US government for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other Presidential documents. Contents Rules and Regulations: most rules and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations Proposed Rules Notices: This is where grant application deadlines are presented. OE solicitations are published here. Presidential documents: proclamations and EOs. Compiled annually and issued in Title 3 of the CFR. Sunshine Act meetings: all notices of meetings to give the public fair warning. Reader Aids Corrections

Where to find funding opportunities Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA): provides a full listing of all federal programs available to state and local governments; federally recognized Indian tribal governments; Territories of the US; domestic public, quasi- public, and private profit and non-profit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; individuals. It is a five digit number where the first two numbers represent the agency and the last 3 numbers represent the program (xx.xxx).

Where to find funding opportunities Grants.gov Conceived in the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 A common website for federal agencies to post discretionary funding opportunities to find and apply for them. 26 federal grant making agencies participate. Since November 2003, ALL federal agencies required to post competitive grant opportunities here. Not all applications for financial assistance need to be submitted through grants.gov.

Where to find funding opportunities Agency/organization websites and agency policy manuals Foundation Center: resource for finding non-government grantmaking information Foundation Directory Online: subscription database of more than 100k foundations, corporate donors, and grantmaking public charities Subscription database: Community of Science, InfoED/Spin, GrantsNet (searchable database of funding opportunities in the biological and medical sciences), Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, PIVOT FedConnect.net: free service to find funding opportunities, submit responses to funding opportunities, receive awards, and message/communicate with officers at the funding agency. FedBiz Opps: federal contracts

Where to find funding opportunities Newsletters Personal contacts Internal funding supplied by the institution— GURs, etc.

How to disseminate funding opportunities Newsletters produced by OSP Email/listserv established by OSP Personal contacts Faculty attending conferences and meeting with program officers

Proposal Development Unsolicited proposals (rolling submission dates) PA: Program Announcement—NIH FOA: Funding Opportunity Announcement—NIH RFA: Request for Application BAA: Broad Agency Announcement (DOD) Solicited Proposals (targeted submission dates) RFP: Request for Proposals RFQ: Request for Quotation (contract) RFB: Request for Bid (contract)

Reading the RFP Limitations or restrictions number of applications per PI number of applications per institution performance period Budget F&A rate cap allowable costs unallowable costs submission deadline Content requirements of the application package Formatting requirements of the application package Submission system (grants.gov, FastLane, emailed, mailed, sponsor online system, etc.) Other application guidelines not included directly in the solicitation

Parts of an application Abstract Project Narrative References Cited CVs Current and Pending Support Budget Budget Justification Resources Letters of Support/Commitment Subaward documents Compliance documents

Characteristics of a successful proposal Meets stated needs of sponsor Follows directions/guidelines Directed to reviewers Persuades/justifies the need for the work Documents achievable deliverables Narrative written clearly and concisely Budget consistent with work and well justified

Budget Preparation Budget is the financial expression of the proposal and it needs to be accurate and reasonable to the proposed scope of work. Types of Budgets NIH Modular SF424 R&R non-construction budget DOE EERE Budget Justification workbook NSF budget pages Other sponsor-specific budgets Non-sponsor specific budgets

Budget Requirements Reasonable Allowable Justifiable Supports mission of the project Allowable Expenses are project related Compliant with university, sponsor and UG Cost principles Justifiable Reasonable basis of costs Compliant

Budget Components Salary & Wages (includes fringe benefits) Actual with escalation (if allowable) Effort commitment Supplies & Equipment Contractual/consortium Travel Participant Support Facilities and Administration Cost share

Cost Share Mandatory Voluntary, committed Voluntary, uncommitted Required by sponsor in solicitation Voluntary, committed Offered, budgeted and quantified in proposal Voluntary, uncommitted Offered but not budgeted or quanified

Budgeting Pitfalls Does not reflect actual work plan Animals, Participant incentive Supplies not included Non-compliance Results: Proposal rejection Rebudget and audit scrutiny

Take Home Message Read the Solicitation!

Questions & Follow up