…ensure compliance with sponsor guidelines

Posted on by Marcia Day
Peer Institution Sponsor information site Type of site
Indiana University – Bloomington  http://www.researchadmin.iu.edu/GrantContract/gc-propprep/gcs_guidelines.html Links to sponsors’ websites
Iowa State University http://www.vpresearch.iastate.edu/en/funding/external_funding_sources/ PI toolbox for admin detail.  Has links to sponsors’ websites
Rutgers, The State University http://researchportal.rutgers.edu/grant List of opportunities, link to sponsors’ websites
Stony Brook University http://research.stonybrook.edu/research-process/research-cycle-overview Describes process, links to funding opportunities

(“Page Not Found”)
University of California Santa Barbara https://www.research.ucsb.edu/toolbox/ Describes process, links to funding opportunities
University of Colorado Boulder

http://www.colorado.edu/ocg/faculty-toolkit

http://www.colorado.edu/ocg/prepare-proposals/sponsor-resources

 Describes process, links to funding opportunities
University of Connecticut Storrs http://research.uconn.edu/sps-proposals/proposal-preparation-guidelines/ Describes process, refers to sponsor sites but no link…
University of Delaware http://www1.udel.edu/research/researchers/index.html

http://www1.udel.edu/research/preparing/funding.html

 Describes process, links to funding opportunities
University of Maryland College Park http://www.ora.umd.edu/proposal-development/locating-funding

http://www.ora.umd.edu/proposal-development/quick-reference-guide

 Describes process, links to funding opportunities
University of Oregon http://research.uoregon.edu/

http://orsa.uoregon.edu/index.cfm?topLevCat=proposals

http://rds.uoregon.edu/

 Pre-award services don’t include sponsor links.

“Find funding opportunities “: Research Development Services
Umass Boston https://www.umb.edu/orsp/find_funding#panel_left_11

https://www.umb.edu/orsp/find_funding#panel_right_3

 “PI Toolkit” describes process & resources.  “Find Funding” links to sponsor sites.
Umass Lowell https://www.uml.edu/Research/ORA/default.aspx

https://www.uml.edu/Research/ORA/funding.aspx

 No Proposal Preparation page. Funding Opportunities links to sponsor websites.
Umass Worcester (Med ) http://www.umassmed.edu/research/funding/prep/ Sponsored Programs site has NIH proposal info.
Umass Dartmouth http://www.umassd.edu/spa/howto/proposaldevelopment/ Sponsored Projects proposal development doesn’t link to sponsors.

…know which 9 Questions to Answer in a Grant Application

Posted on by Marcia Day

Project managers, researchers, entrepreneurs of all kinds can use Heilmeier’s Catechism for planning:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Heilmeiers-Catechism&id=4061935by Suat Eman

  • What are you trying to do? Articulate your objectives using absolutely no jargon.
  • How is it done today, and what are the limits of current practice?
  • What’s new in your approach and why do you think it will be successful?
  • Who cares?
  • If you’re successful, what difference will it make?
  • What are the risks and the payoffs?
  • How much will it cost?
  • How long will it take?
  • What are the midterm and final “exams” to check for success?

…number pages in Acrobat!

Posted on by Marcia Day

With several Word and Excel documents compiled into one PDF, there’s a new development: we need a Table of Contents, and none of the source documents were numbered.

How to do it? Thanks to an Adobe forum user Steve Werner here’s the answer: go to Document, then Header&Footer, then Add or Update depending on the situation.

Voila! a place to add page numbers like magic. Saved, again.

…find things fast!

Posted on by Marcia Day

You’re reading the grant guidelines again (oh, so carefully) but the proposal must be submitted in 20 minutes and there is still 40 minutes of administrative processing to do.  Quick: where is that policy on 8% indirect costs?

CTRL-F brings up the “Find” window.  Type in “indirect” and get to the policy fast.

Or, do ALT-E for “Edit”, then F for “find”.

Of course ~ there is no substitute for actually reading a document.   This is just a way to locate words and phrases within it when you are pressed for time.  Hope this helps!

…compare file versions

Posted on by Marcia Day

Q: I was handed a budget and asked to analyze to be sure the final version is correct.  Time is of the essence, and large sums of money are involved.  How do I compare this with the original version and ensure accuracy – but fast!?

A: You could print out the documents, use a ruler and read through line by line to find where they deviate.  This will 1) take more time, 2) take up more space and 3) use more paper.

Instead, take advantage of a little-known feature of MS Word and MS Excel:         “Compare Side-by-Side”.  Here’s how it works:

Open both versions of your document.  Go to “Window”, then “Compare Side-by-Side”.  You can choose vertical or horizontal orientation.   Now scroll through one document – the other will scroll with you.  You can do a quick visual check and spot the differences in budget or text.

For long documents with only minor changes you need to spot right away, “you can” compare the versions quickly and efficiently.  I hope this helps!

…become an Excel power-user

Posted on by Marcia Day
Get the right answer faster.

My favorite function of Excel is “Goal Seek”. Let’s say you’re developing a budget that can’t exceed $100,000.  One line item is flexible, while the rest are not.  All the budget items are interdependent on each other.  You need to adjust that one item (“supplies”, for instance) until everything totals $100,000.

You could plug in one number after another to see how it affects the bottom line.  With a large spreadsheet you will be 1) losing precious time, 2) jumping all over the screen and 3) increasing your chances of error.

First, make sure the “supplies” item is a value rather than a formula.  Any value, really, because this number will change like magic.   Then go to “Tools” and select “Goal Seek”.

Select the cell that is the bottom line for your budget.   Enter your target figure ($100,000), and then plug in the cell containing your “supplies” value.  Excel will figure out what the supplies category needs to be in order to obtain $100,000 for the bottom line…saving you time and aggravation.

Do you have Excel secrets you’d like to share?