Grant Writing Basics: Finding Funding Opportunities

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Grant Writing Basics Finding Funding
Opportunities

• Kari Whittenberger-Keith, Ph.D.
• Proposal Development Services
• Office of Sponsored Projects
• Office of Research, UW-M

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Thinking about Funding

• Specific persuasive form
• Specific physical form
• Audience-centered
• Dating game

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Universe of Funders

• Internal

• External

• Colleges and schools
• Centers and institutes
• Systems

• Federal
• Foundations
• Professional associations
• Institutions

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Award Types

• Grants

• Individual Awards

• Multiple people
• Multiple years
• Equipment and supplies
• Larger award size
• Physical/biosciences education some social
  sciences large scale humanities
• Award made to institution

• Single researcher support
• One year or less
• Salary support or travel/access
• Smaller award size
• Humanities arts some social sciences students
• Award made to individual

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Funding Sources

• Individual sponsor Web sites
• Federal, state, foundations, corporations
• Free databases
• Grants.gov, FedBizOpps (mostly federal grants)
• Topic-specific
• Paid subscription databases
• Pivot (UWM)
• Wide net (govt national foundations global)
• Extensive customization
• Other Services
• OSP Research Updates
• The Grants Library URL http//guides.library.uwm.
  edu/grants

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Finding Federal Opportunities

• Sponsor Notification Emails
• Free
• Typically just a list with no functionality(e.g.,
  no searching, sorting, bookmarking)
• Pre-determined frequency (weekly or bi-weekly)
• Reliable, easy to use, accurate
• Hands-free approach

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Finding Federal Opportunities

• Types of Free Sponsor Notifications
• Government-wide
• Federal Register
• Grants.Gov
• FedBizOpps
• Federal Agency-specific
• Dept. of Education, National Institutes of
  Health, National Science Foundation,
  Environmental Protection Agency
• Public Service
• ScanGrants
• Foundations
• No free databases

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Grants.gov Notice
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NSF Notice
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Finding Federal Other Opportunities

• Pivot Grant Opportunity Database
• Formerly Community of Science (COS)
• Most comprehensive, editorially maintained
  database of global funding opportunities
• By governments, private/corporate foundations
• For research, fellowships, scholarships
• Search one database for funding in any discipline
  and country, rather than multiple sources or
  across Internet
• Receive weekly updates on saved searches you
  organize in your own folders
• Receive alerts when new matching opportunities
  match your saved searches

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Pivot Notice
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Call for Proposal

• Request for proposal (RFP)
• Broad agency announcement (BAA)
• Funding opportunity announcement (FOA)
• Request for information (RFI)
• Information for bid (IFB)
• Invitation to bid (ITB)
• Request for quote (RFQ)

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Purpose of Calls

• Define the research need and the purpose of the
  solicitation
• Research expectations
• Project scope
• Expected outcomes/deliverables
• Schedules
• Outline competitive information
• Eligibility
• Number and size of awards
• Conditions of award
• Review process and timeline

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Purpose of Calls (cont.)

• Application instructions
• Deadlines
• Content requirements
• Format requirements
• Page length
• Margins/fonts
• Headers/footers
• Page numbers
• URLs
• Completion of required forms
• Sponsor contact information
• Program officer and technical support
• Conditions of award/reporting requirements/deliver
  ables

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Analyzing a Call

• Before you think about writing a proposal
• Define project and funding needs
• Determine fundable components
• Research funding agencies and funding
  mechanisms/calls
• Analyze specific calls and requirements
• Funding priorities
• Agency goals
• Audiences
• Deadlines and application process
• Requirements, including page and form limits
• Past recipients
• Proposal examples
• FAQs and program officer contacts
• REMEMBER Specifics vary by agency and program

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Is This Opportunity Right for Me?

• Can my work fit the call?
• Can I do it in the timeframe?
• Can I look competitive?
• Do I have enough experience?
• Do I have publications or other evidence?
• Do I need collaborators or other team members?
• Can my project match the level of innovation?
• Revolutionary not evolutionary
• Breakthrough not incremental
• Basic research
• Can I show I have the resources to accomplish the
  work?
• On campus
• Collaborations
• Travel to resources

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For More Information

• Kari Whittenberger-Keith
• kariwk_at_uwm.edu
• [phone]
• Michelle Schoenecker
• schoene7_at_uwm.edu
• [phone]