Preparing Your Proposal
Resources & Support for Proposal Development
Human, Animal Subjects, & Biosafety
Notification & Follow-up
Grants.gov & Other Electronic Submission Systems to Federal Programs
Publicity
Rates & Useful Facts
External Funding Sources
How to Register for Grants.gov
Financial Conflict of Interest for NIH grants
Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) requirement for NSF grants
Resources and Support for Proposal Development
The Corporate, Foundation, and Government Support office in Advancement provide a wide range of support for faculty members who are preparing proposals. We can help you identify prospective funding sources, provide up-to-date facts and information about the college, and prepare any background materials requested by the funder, such as letters of support from the president or dean of the faculty.
We encourage you to get in touch with us early in the process, even if you are just at the beginning stages of your sabbatical planning or research project. Early assistance from our office typically produces a more competitive proposal.
If you intend to work with us on a research proposal, we do ask that you inform us of your plans preferrably six weeks before the due date, and that you submit your final proposal and budget at least two weeks prior to the due date, whether the application process is electronic or paper. This ensures that adequate time is available to check your proposal and that the formatting and attachments match the funder's guidelines and last minute deadline conflicts are avoided. In addition, as more application processes go electronic, heavy online traffic on the agency/foundation deadline dates can derail applications.
We have a variety of resources for finding external resources that may be a match for your project. We maintain a list of External Funding Sources. You may use these resources to identify a funder for your project, or let us research possible funders for you. Once we have identified a funder and program, we can help you develop a budget for the project and fill in forms with standard college information, using the college's current Rates & Useful Facts information.
Our office works closely with the dean of faculty, the controller, the director of computing services and the treasurer to ensure that they are consulted in a timely manner about the budget and any renovation needs or other institutional considerations. The dean of faculty, the controller, and the treasurer review all faculty research proposals and institutional proposals prior to submission. Our office facilitates this process by circulating your proposal and budget and obtaining their written approval on the grant proposal cover sheet. Copies of full proposals and signed cover sheets are filed with the director prior to submission. This ensures that 1) we can help you follow-up with the funder; 2) we can respond to any questions posed by the funder of Reed; and 3) we have a record of past applications to different programs that we can use as to guide for future applicants.
If you are interested in developing a project for curriculum or instrumentation, you will need to consult with the dean of faculty. The consultation process and institutional approval are particularly important if matching funds, renovations, or additional computer equipment are involved. If appropriate, when your idea is sufficiently developed, the proposal is presented to CAPP and senior staff.
Human, Animal Subjects, and Biosafety
If you plan to do research that involves animal or human subjects, you will need to inform either the Animal Care or Human Subjects Committees about your plans. Additionally, if you plan to work with recombinant DNA molecules, Select Agents and Toxins or other infectious agent activities, you will need to inform the Biosafety Committee. These committees are responsible for ensuring that your research meets federal guidelines.
Notification and Follow-up
Funders typically send notification letters to you or the president's office, depending on the program. If you receive a grant, your award letter must be sent to the dean, to the CFGS office (via cfg@reed.edu), and the controller. The director records the terms of award and the reporting requirements and forwards copies of award letters and funded proposals to the controller. The director of CFGS acknowledges awards and discusses any matching requirements with the dean, the vice president for college relations, the development director, the treasurer, and you.
If your proposal is declined, keep in mind that some funders permit you to request the reviewers' comments. If you prefer, the director of corporate and foundation support or faculty grants manager can request this information. We can work with you to review these comments and discuss whether to revise your proposal and resubmit.
Grants.gov and Other Electronic Submission Systems to Federal Programs
Grants.gov can be used to search and apply for federal grants. Most federal agencies now require that applications be submitted via Grants.gov, and no longer accept paper applications. Grants.gov can appear daunting at first glance, but Reed's CFGS office is experienced with the system, and is able to help faculty throughout the application process. The Grants.gov application process requires close collaboration between the primary investigator (PI) and the CFGS office. If you are considering applying for a grant with any federal agency (with the exception of NSF), please contact cfg@reed.edu as soon as possible to ensure a complication-free application process.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and eRA Commons:
In order to submit an application to the NIH, faculty members must also be registered with a second federal website, eRA Commons. eRA Commons is the website used for the electronic administration of all NIH grants. Registration for eRA Commons is simple, and can be completed by the faculty grants manager.
National Science Foundation (NSF) and research.gov:
Research.gov is the National Science Foundation's electronic web-based submission and reporting system. NSF accepts applications via research.gov, which requires submission and electronic "signature" by the institution's authorized organizational representative (AOR). The CFGS office staff serve as Reed's AORs. If you are a new user of the research.gov system, the we can provide you with other guidance in using the system.
How to register for Grants.gov
Publicity
The development office prepares a notice about new grants as soon as possible for At Reed. We also provide a copy of funded proposals to the public affairs office so that they can be written about in the next Reed Magazine. We will also add awards to the list of current funded faculty and institutional grants on the Grants and Faculty Scholarship homepage. We will also work with public affairs to see if a press release to the media is appropriate.