A meticulous review of the guidelines will help you tailor your project to a funding source's specific interests and will increase the likelihood that you will be funded. Gathering background information on the funding source, such as recently funded projects, can give you hints about their specific interests and objectives. Proposals are most often funded based upon how well your project and the funding source's interests "match". A careful review of guidelines and a little background research will help you demonstrate the relevance of your project to the funding source's interests and objectives.
In general, it helps to think about your proposal from a wider context. Take time to consider the general or long term implications of your research and why your project could potentially impact a wider audience. Attempt to incorporate these implications into your proposal.
Remember that allotting an appropriate amount of time to develop your proposal is of utmost importance. Contacting the OFCGR as soon as possible will help clear as many administrative "hurdles" as possible. Anticipating the unexpected, particularly during a busy semester, will help you avoid the last minute crises often experienced by proposal writers.
Keep in mind that those who review proposals are often reading a number of proposals in a short amount of time. Therefore, write for clarity. Further, its best to avoid overusing jargon. As with academic papers, enlisting the help of colleagues to read your drafts can prove invaluable. Colleagues from within your field are, obviously, most appropriate to review content, but invite colleagues from outside your discipline as well. Because they may be less familiar with your subject area, you will be forced to write in the most straightforward terms to convey your ideas. As always, the OFCGR is ready and willing to review your draft and provide commentary.
Often times the best reviewer is the actual funding source. Program officers are often willing to review drafts if they are given a sufficient amount of time. If they are unable to review your entire proposal, you should consider contacting the program officer and discussing the basics of your proposed project. Most program officers are more than willing to clarify an agency's agenda and can prove to be an invaluable resource.
Keep in mind that not all proposals succeed when they are first submitted. In some cases it is common to approve only the most exceptional proposals on first submission. Therefore, you should not get discouraged if your proposal is denied for funding. However, most grant programs will offer their applicants the opportunity to receive reviewer comments. You should take advantage of this information. In most cases, careful review of the comments will help not only in your current attempt at obtaining funding, but in your future attempts as well. Even those program officers who do not explicitly offer this service may be willing to explain why your application did not succeed via correspondence or a phone conversation. Above all, be persistent in your attempt to find funding and remain open to the suggested revisions. Doing so will dramatically increase the chances of your project being funded in the future.
The following are links to on-line proposal writing guides and resources. Many of these links provide agency specific advice and can be extremely helpful. Keep in mind that, while there may be better way to write a proposal, there is no single "right" way. Following the funding sources guidelines may be your best advice.
Tips on Preparing Your Application (Courtesy of NIH)
Quick Guide for the Preparation of Grant Application-National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Information for Preparing Grant Applications - National Cancer Institute
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National Council of University Research
Administrators (NCURA)
The Grant Advisor
University of Wisconsin - Madison, Grants Information Center, A Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center Library Network Proposal Writing: Internet Resources
Proposal Writing Short Course
Grantwriting Tools for Nonprofits
Grantseeker's Checklist
Do's & Dont's for Fellowship Applicants
Some Reasons Proposals Fail
A Guide for Proposal Writing
Policies and Procedures for Management and Reporting of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Funds
ARRA awards and proposals are subject to the same policies and procedures as other Hamilton College contracts and grants.
ARRA awards are also subject to additional requirements that are addressed by the following policies and procedures.
Quarterly Reporting
The College is following all guidance issued by the Office for Management and Budget (OMB) and the sponsoring agencies from which it receives ARRA funds. The reports required under Section 1512 of the Act will be submitted beginning in October 2009 and will contain detailed information on the projects and activities funded by the Recovery Act. The College has registered at www.federalreporting.gov for submission of these reports.
The Office of Foundation, Corporate, and Government Relations will be responsible for completing the appropriate data elements and submitting reports no later than the 10th day after each quarter.
Expenditure data will be posted in and reports will be derived from the College’s financial accounting system (My Grants) in the same manner as with other sponsored projects. University jobs data, if applicable to that grant and contract in question, will be calculated from payroll and other data in the University’s payroll/HR system. Subrecipient, and any qualifying vendor/ jobs data will be obtained from that entity’s administrative contact. To ensure accuracy and timely submission of data, the best available financial and jobs data will be reported. This data will primarily be as of the quarter end for which the College is reporting. In cases where quarter-end data might be incomplete or inaccurate, the most current, accurate data available will be reported. As reports are cumulative, any information for the previous quarter not reported by the 10th day after the end of that quarter will be included in the next quarterly report.
Subrecipients are informed of reporting requirements in the subaward from the College. Subrecipients delegated reporting authority will provide job data (see above) directly to the College and will enter “Subrecipient Data Elements” at Federalreporting.gov. This data will be subject to the same day 11-21 review as the University’s data. Subrecipients to whom the College does not delegate reporting authority will be required to submit the best available data to the College, which will be included in the College’s quarterly reporting.
“Project Status” and, when appropriate, “Quarterly Activities/Project Description” will be updated based on information received from each project’s Principal Investigator (PI). The Office of Foundation, Corporate, and Government Relations will be responsible for contacting the PIs prior to the end of the quarter and will receive assistance from the Dean of Faculty’s Office if information is not received in a timely manner. PIs may also be contacted for assistance if the Office of Foundation, Corporate, and Government Relations does not receive timely information from its subrecipient(s) or if information provided by a subrecipient does not correspond to the subrecipient’s awarded budget, including personnel categories.
During the ten day correction window, the data will again be reviewed by the Office of Foundation, Corporate, and Government Relations. Any needed adjustments will be made by the Office of Foundation, Corporate, and Government Relations or the delegated sub and rechecked and by OFCGR before the 21st.
If an agency identifies an issue during its day 22-29 review and opens a report for edit, the College will make corrections to the report as instructed. Any data issues identified beyond the date of publication (day 30) will be corrected or addressed in the next quarterly report.
Training:
The Office of Foundation, Corporate, and Government Relations is responsible for monitoring sources for OMB, State, and Agency guidance related to ARRA funding. The College’s ARRA policies and procedures are maintained by the OFCGR its website, https://my.hamilton.edu/ofcgr and are reviewed and approved by the Dean of Faculty’s office.
The Office of Foundation, Corporate, and Government Relations will read the guidelines for all proposals before submission to ensure the College’s compliance. The OFCGR is responsible for identifying when the potential funding source for a proposal is the Recovery Act. The OFCGR flag ARRA proposals in its grants tracking spreadsheet and inform the PI of the special requirements.
When an ARRA funded award is received, the Academic Business Manager will identify new ARRA in the College’s opening memo, usually noting ARRA in the formal title. The OFGCR will contact the PI and direct him or her to the College’s ARRA policy and will act as the point of contact for ARRA issues. The OFCGR also contacts the PI directly to provide a reminder of the additional requirements, including the importance of conducting the ARRA funded project in a timely manner to meet the objectives of job creation and economic stimulus.
ARRA Segregation:
Each ARRA award will have a separate set of accounts that has been established within the financial accounting system.
PIs are responsible for all aspects of management of their projects, including financial oversight.
Subrecipient Monitoring:
The College is responsible for ensuring that its subrecipients comply with all the requirements of the prime funding source including, when applicable, ARRA reporting requirements. Along with these policies and procedures, for ARRA funded subrecipients the College will:
1. If reporting is delegated, OFCGR will request the financial information prior to the subrecipient’s federal reporting, via e-mail or fax. This will allow a review of the financial information, giving the College an opportunity to compare to invoices and other information for reasonableness.
2. If it is not delegated, subrecipient and any qualifying vendors will be required to report financial and jobs information to OFCGR. OFCGR will review this information for reasonableness, consulting with the PI as needed, and will include this information in its quarterly reporting.
William Billiter, Director
(315) 859-4384
Amy Lindner, Associate Director
(315) 859-4678
