“How to Find Funding for the Social Sciences” Questions & Answers Wednesday, April 5th, 2006 The following are answers to questions submitted by faculty who attended the “How to Find Funding for the Social Sciences” session on Wednesday, April 5 th, 2006. Panel members included: Scott Snyder, Alan Schreier, Ernie Marshburn, Marti Van Scott, Melody Bentz and Sharon Hamilton. Question #1: Should a young faculty member start small and work up to NSFtype grants, or aim at federal grants from the beginning? Answers: Faculty should have a no-fear attitude when pursuing federal grants such as NSF. However, it is important to ensure that there is a realistic and logical fit between your project and the goals/mission of the agency/program to which you are applying. This rule applies, no matter what agency it is: federal, state, corporate, private foundation, etc. Some mix between federal and state-level funding is a good idea throughout one’s career. Ensure projects are related so they build upon each other (develop a research agenda). The amount of work for a small grant is about the same as it is for a large grant. Large grants are not necessarily more competitive than small grants – in fact, more often than not small grants are probably even more competitive now. Emerging faculty are encouraged to seek opportunities to be a Co-PI on a large application. Look to your colleagues, your PhD director, or postdoctoral mentors for such opportunities. This will help you get your name known to the agencies and help you establish a track record as well as collect preliminary data for future applications. Read the RFP – know what experience level the sponsor is looking for. If you can submit proposals in a multi-investigatory approach, this can help establish your identity as an investigator. Take advantage of special grant programs for young investigators. Examples: NSF career awards and NIH new investigator awards. Be sure to allow time to develop a comprehensive proposal. Start early. Allow at least 4-6 months. Question #2: Is it good to include pilot data in your funding application and write about the adjustments you plan to make?
Answers: By all means! Pilot data is desirable to build upon. You can acquire data through internal competitive grants that ECU has to offer. The intent is not to make a career out of these grants – they are seed grants intended to lead to external funding from a competitive granting agency. Part of your job as a grant seeker is to demonstrate your capability to do the research described. Your pilot data will go a long way toward demonstrating your ability. Question #3: Is it worthwhile to pursue funding when you do not have a good track record of publications, or would it be better to pursue publishing first and then focus on finding funding? Answers: As a young faculty member, you will not have an extensive publication record. However, you will definitely need to establish some sort of track record. There is a tendency for sponsors to want to see some publishing. Joint publication with your former thesis sponsor or a post-doc mentor is a possible way to start. Build a relationship with the prospective funding agency. They like to counsel and give advice. Ask them what they are looking for – what they advise you to do. Build your credibility as a researcher in the mind of the program officer. A good way to get established with granting agencies is by teaming with more senior researchers, first as a Co-PI. Build on experience as Co-PI to move into the PI role. Be sure to follow through with a funded project and publish the results. Nothing will kill a fledgling funded research agenda faster than failure to publish results from a sponsored project, but the publication record can be built as you go. Question #4: How can one identify and develop relationships with colleagues in one’s field of expertise who will provide honest feedback on proposals? Answers: This is a basic responsibility of every young faculty person. One of the best ways is to talk with people in your field at professional meetings. Don’t be shy – introduce yourself and discuss research. This is where connections can be established and nourished.
You may get funded to go to meetings in order to deliver a paper, but often the most important business of such meetings is done in hallways, during lunches and dinners, or over a drink in the evening. Get to know the leaders in your field through publications. Don’t be afraid to connect with them – they expect it! OSP and Research Development folks can help identify experts on campus. Use the Community of Science’s Expertise Profile module to find experts in your field and make those connections. www.cos.com . Take advantage of the Grant Reviewer Services provided by the Divisions of Research and Graduate Studies. Collaborative proposals have a lot of strength – take the time to make connections. Question #5: How can one develop communication channels with funding agencies? Answers: YOU MUST!! Make a connection – it will make your grant seeking life easier. Sponsors/program officers expect you to call them and ask them for advice. They want to get to know you – that’s their job – to be there for you. Ask your department to fund a visit to a program officer. Call, make an appointment – just don’t try and visit a program officer during a deadline time. This will only annoy them. Make the visit “At their convenience!” Prepare well before making these trips. Have your ideas well developed and be able to lay them out in a convincing manner. A Program Officer’s contact information is normally readily available on the website. However, it may take you a few transfers to get to the right person. Be patient. Remember, however, that you should go through Sharon Hamilton in the Corporate and Foundation Relations Office to connect with a program officer at a corporation or foundation. She has more than likely already made this connection. She is willing to make the initial contact with you. OSP is also available to help you connect with the appropriate program officer in federal and state agencies. Email is also a way to start a conversation; however, the phone or face to face interaction is preferable (for the initial contact). Introduce yourself and your work to agency representatives at meetings. They want to talk to you. Program directors want you to succeed – it ultimately makes their program successful as well. Question #6: What are the most common characteristics of successful proposals in social sciences?
Answers: The same as those in almost all disciplines. A good project that parallels the goals of the program/agency to which one is applying (the “fit”). Solid background research and preliminary data from smaller projects. A well-organized and convincing presentation. Ask successful PIs for copies of their grant applications – learn from those who have achieved success. Names of awardees with their contact information are usually listed somewhere on the sponsor’s website. Persistence (develop thick skin – few proposals get funded the first time they are submitted). Hang in there. Learn from your mistakes, and show constant improvement with successive submissions. You can do this by making sure you request “Reviewers Comments” when you receive the fatal “rejection letter”. Take this information and use it to build an even stronger proposal for the next time around. Foundations/corporations normally expect that your proposal be written as though it were a business plan rather than in academic language. Present the proposal in the manner that is wanted by the sponsor – format, structure and content. Unique to the social sciences is the social relevance component. Question #7: If all else is equal, will under-budgeting raise the chance for funding? Answers: A resounding NO! Over-budgeting and under-budgeting are both detrimental. Develop a logical and reasonable (realistic) budget that demonstrates you know what you are doing. Along these same lines, including unnecessary or exorbitant institutional matches will not give you any advantage. An unrealistic and inappropriate budget for your project can give reviewers the idea that you don’t really know what you’re doing. Propose a realistic and comfortable budget for your project. Remember, if they want to fund your project, they will negotiate with you. However, a word of caution: if a sponsor offers less money, renegotiate activities and tasks with them for the money they are willing to give you. Don’t commit to a project just to get the money if it is not doable and you are setting yourself up for failure. Some faculty members believe that including no F&A in their budget will make their proposal more competitive – this is not the case. If the program allows for overhead – you must include it in the budget. OSP is the only office that is able to negotiate the F&A rate. If a foundation does not allow F&A (recovery of indirect costs), you can still submit - we only need a copy of their written policy.
Question #8: How can one find out about funding sources for collaborative international projects involving partners outside of the U.S.? Answers: A quick search in COS will identify dozens of potential funding sources for research of an international (including opportunities related to specific countries). Register on COS – www.cos.com . Customize COS to do a keyword search – set it up so you receive notices as funding announcements are released. Again, talk to colleagues – they are a great resource – the folks at the International Programs Office at ECU in particular. Many European countries have specialized programs for their scholars and American scholars. Question #9: Are there grants or fellowships to support research and writing in Europe and specifically in Germany? Answers: Talk to the cultural attaches at the country embassies about possible programs in their countries. Their job is to promote the knowledge of their countries abroad and bringing in foreign scholars is a way for them to do this. The European Union (EU) or NATO may have such programs. NIH international center - promotes travel to foreign countries for research. NSF has an international program that they promote as well. Again, consult COS. Question #10: How can one find information about funding sources that are specific to one’s area of interest without having to constantly look through many different sources of funding? Answers: Use the Alert Services of COS and SPIN (Sponsored Program Information Network). Both are accessible on the OSP Home Page @ http://www.research2.ecu.edu/osp Conduct a keyword Google search. This king of search engines will not only provide you with access to funding links, it will also allow you to read through press releases which can provide you with a wealth of information about projects, funding sources, etc. -- the who, what, where, when, how, and why!
Sharon Hamilton, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations has access to the Foundation Directory on line. Question #11: How can one find out about sources for extended research off campus (say 6 months to a year)? Are there sources other than a Fulbright, for example research centers or institutes or libraries here in the U.S. or abroad? Answers: Again, try COS and SPIN. Find out who has been funded by whom, by accomplishing keyword search. The Social Sciences has social relevance which allows for tangible applications at the regional level. Tap into sources of funding that are not traditional sources of funding by adding a regional development component or a partnership with the school system.
Office of Sponsored Programs 2906 Greenville Centre 2200 S. Charles Blvd. Greenville, NC (252) 328-9540 Fax: (252) 328-4363 osp@ecu.edu