Amount of Request: $122,425
Proposed Project Dates: July 1, 1996 - June 30, 1998
Project Director: Marcia L. Zuzolo
Bryan Hall Room 1
812/855-0516
zuzolo@indiana.edu
Introduction and Statement of the Problem
B. The University
A. Tasks to be Performed for Each Activity
B. Relationship to the Strategic Directions Charter
Appendix:
Letter of Collaboration (sample appendix only-not included)
Project Director Vita (sample appendix only-not included)
Abstract
The State of XYZ is ranked last in the receipt of federal funds per capita, with the federal government spending about a thousand dollars less on each XYZ resident than on residents of other states. While our state may never be a top recipient of federal funding (we lack a large population of retirees receiving Social Security benefits, for example) we can increase funding by aggressively competing for grant dollars. Even given today's uncertainty of Congressional support for many federal programs, we believe there will continue to be government and private grantmaking opportunities.
Organizations do not, however, just go out and get a grant as easily as one gets groceries. Choosing appropriate funding sources and developing competitive proposals is a sophisticated endeavor requiring knowledge of and access to internet resources, specialized computer databases, familiarity with grant-related publications, and access to experts in appropriate disciplines. Governor Jane Smith has expressed concern that the state lacks this expertise to successfully seek grant funding, and has indicated her support of state/university collaboration in this area.
The Research Administration Office already provides these services to the university. We believe we can extend our services to state agencies and the related nonprofit organizations with which they work. Through this collaboration we will:
The State of XYZ is ranked last in the receipt of federal funds per capita, with the federal government spending about a thousand dollars less on each XYZ resident than on residents of other states. In 1994, XYZ received $3,528 per capita; the national average was $4,599, according to the Census Bureau (citation). While our state may never be a top recipient of federal funding (we lack a large population of retirees receiving federal retirement, Social Security, and disability benefits, for example,) we can increase the funding coming into XYZ. We can aggressively compete for grant dollars, targeted toward state or local agencies, from the federal government and nonfederal grantmaking organizations.
Governor Jane Smith has expressed concerns with the uncertainty of Congressional support. Many programs formerly managed at the federal level will become the responsibility of the states. If funding is allotted to the states to provide the same or similar services, the general opinion is (citation) that one of two scenarios could occur, and possibly both depending on the source of federal funding.
The first possibility is that the states will have to compete for grant funds. The second possibility is that there will be an allotment to each state based on an as-yet-unknown formula. Under the first scenario, Governor Smith has expressed concern that the state lacks expertise in competing for grants. Under the second scenario, the amount of funding is likely to be inadequate to maintain programs at their current level. Either way, the State of XYZ expects to be seeking more grant funding than ever before.
If XYZ is unprepared to compete in this "reinvented" financial structure, it stands to lose millions of dollars in funding. This will adversely affect all of our citizens, from pregnant women needing low-cost prenatal care, to (further description of effects of funding losses).
The University has been criticized in recent years for its lack of responsiveness to the needs of the state. Our legislators have been looking for more accountability; more application of the university's resources to the problems of the state; more collaboration among our faculty, our students, and units within the state. Whether these criticisms are legitimate or not is not the issue. The perception is that we in the university need to be more responsive to the needs of the state and its citizens.
We believe that our proposed activity will enable the state to compete successfully for grant funding and also generate collaborative opportunities for our faculty and students with a number of state agencies.
Several of the university's centers have strong ties to state agencies and have experience working with them in developing grant proposals. Our Developmental Disability Outreach Center, for example, has recently worked with the state to submit a proposal to a federal agency. The grant has just been awarded to the state, and our Center will receiving funding (with full overhead) to conduct the project. Another university center, the Center for Prevention Education, has had a contract for the past five years to work with the state to provide, among other things, grant development services for local organizations undertaking drug and alcohol prevention activities.
We will establish an advisory committee consisting of the directors of the two centers mentioned above, the director of the research administration office, a faculty member from the department of public affairs, a faculty member from information sciences, and the director of the governmental relations office. This team will enable us to target our services to best meet the needs of the participating state agencies and to provide as many collaborative opportunities as possible for university faculty and students.
We propose to provide the following services to the State of XYZ.
Monitor grant-related funding information to identify potential federal and nonfederal grant opportunities. The Research Administration Office currently reviews print and electronic information to identify potential sources of grant support. Examples of periodicals we receive include the Federal Register, Commerce Business Daily, Federal Research Report, and Foundation News. Our library of grant-related information consists of more than 150 titles covering topics such as funding for equipment grants, foundation profiles, proposal writing techniques, and more. We routinely request and receive information on thousands of grantmaking opportunities. Our home page on the World Wide Web provides access to a database of grant possibilities as well as direct links to grantmakers with their own home pages. We will also establish a new site linked to our home page for funding opportunities of particular interest to state agencies.
Provide timely synopses of relevant funding opportunities to the state. The Governor's Office has agreed to work with us to identify those state agencies most likely to benefit from a grant information service. One or two key people in each agency will be identified as the liaison to the Research Administration Office. The participating state agencies will keep us informed of the funding needs of their own areas as well as the needs of the nonprofit organizations working with or benefiting from the services of the state agency. It is important to note that some grant opportunities are restricted to nonprofit, nongovernmental agencies; in those cases the state is not eligible to apply. However, the nonprofit organizations with which the state agency works may be eligible. This means that if a nonprofit organization received grant money to pursue its goals, it would be less dependent on funding from the State of XYZ, but the needs of XYZ citizens would still be met.
(Each service to be explained in detail.)
The director of the Research Administration Office has met with staff from the governor's office to discuss this project. Governor Smith encourages funding for this project (see her letter of support, attached) and has expressed her willingness to provide state resources to support the project (see budget and budget narrative).
B. Relationship to the Strategic Directions Charter
This project relates to Section II, "The Responsibilities of Excellence," portion of the Strategic Directions Charter. It is most directly related to number 18, "Strengthen existing partnerships and create new partnerships with...government agencies..." It also relates to number 19, "...increase external research collaboration."
Strengthening existing partnerships and creating new partnerships with the state government is inherent to the conduct of this project. Through this project we will expand the university's already existing grant information services to participating state agencies, creating very visible and very positive linkages. In doing so, we very naturally create an increase in external research collaboration as state agencies make use of the academic expertise of our faculty and students in planning and carrying out their grant-funded projects.
Monitor grant-related funding information to identify potential federal and nonfederal grant opportunities and Provide timely synopses of relevant funding opportunities to the state. The success of these activities will be evaluated through several methods. We will track the number and type of announcements that we send to participating state agencies. At least once a month, we will talk with the liaisons at each participating agency. Through these discussions we will learn if the information we are sending is timely, appropriate, and useful. During the first year of the project we will meet at least twice with as many liaisons as possible to discuss the process of information dissemination. Changes in procedure will be adopted as necessary, and ongoing evaluation of our practices will continue throughout the project. Quarterly reports will be prepared detailing contact between the Research Administration Office and state agency liaisons, including the statistics on frequency of use of the World Wide Web site for state agencies.
Search appropriate databases to identify...etc. Discuss evaluation plans for each activity.
Provided that 1) this program is successful as demonstrated by the evaluation criteria and 2) the state has an ongoing need for this service, this collaborative effort will continue beyond the first two years. The governor's office has agreed to the following arrangement (see letter of collaboration, attached). The state will support the full cost of the program by providing the equivalent of 10% of the new revenue this program helps the state to generate, up to $70,000 annually. Therefore, if this program enables the state to generate $700,000 or more in new money, the entire cost of the program will be supported by the state. If less than $700,000 is realized, then the university's vice president for research has agreed to add resources above whatever the state contributes to reach the $70,000 level required to maintain the program for a minimum of two more years. Discussion is ongoing as to the definition of and method for determining "new money," but we will have reached agreement prior to program implementation.
The Assistant Director of the Research Administration Office (10% effort) will serve as project director. She will supervise the Grants Consultant and oversee all aspects of the project. She has 10 years' experience in research administration, with primary responsibility for the office's information services. She served as project director in providing grant-related services to the state's Department of Human Services. She conducts training workshops on the fundamentals of proposal writing on campus, at other colleges and universities, and for various professional organizations. Her vita is attached.
The Grants Consultant (100% effort, to be named) will be responsible for the day-to-day conduct of the project. He/she will work with state agency liaisons, arrange meetings, coordinate information dissemination including the Web site, provide proposal development assistance, and identify and facilitate university/state collaborative opportunities.
The graduate assistants (2 at 20 hours each per week) will be responsible for implementing information dissemination, tracking state agency funding interests, conducting funding information searches, and coordinating the proposal development training program.
The Research Administration Office maintains a staff of 10 and is responsible for providing grant-related information to faculty, ensuring compliance with university and grantmaker regulations and guidelines, processing all proposals submitted on behalf of the university, receiving awards from grantmakers, managing the university's research risks procedures, and other functions related to the preaward aspect of grant and contract administration. The staff routinely interacts with federal and state grantmaking organizations, as well as nonprofit organizations and corporate funders. More than 1000 proposals are processed through the office annually, and more than $90 million in awards is received. The expertise among this group of people is more than sufficient to successfully conduct the proposed collaborative project with the State of XYZ.
Senior Personnel
The project director will devote 10% effort to the project each year. The grants consultant will devote 100% effort to the project. Salary for both positions is increased 5% in year 2.
Other Personnel
Two graduate students will work 20/hours per week during the academic year each year.
Fringe Benefits
Fringe benefits for the senior personnel are based on standard university rates for professional staff.
Fringe benefits for the graduate students include health insurance at $464 per student per year.
Permanent Equipment
Two computers will be purchased in year 1, one for the grants consultant and one for the graduate students. The workstations will include a P90 computer, with 850 meg hardrive, 24 megs of ram, a 90 mhz Pentium processor and 15" monitor.
Travel
Four roundtrips per year are anticipated from the university to the statehouse at $28/trip.
Materials and Supplies
A training workshop will be held at the university once per year for personnel at participating state agencies. The state will provide travel expenses for those attending; we will provide all training materials. Consisting primarily of handouts, we expect the cost of training materials to be $100 each year.
In year two, we expect to purchase additional reference materials and subscriptions that are targeted toward state agencies and their associated nonprofit organizations. Many of our current materials will serve the needs of both university and state grant information, but just as there are speciality publications for the university, there are also publications better meeting the needs of the state.
Fee Remissions
Both graduate students will receive fee remissions of $3,587 each year.
Other
Related to the annual training workshops, this will cover the cost of coffee breaks for 30 people at $10 each.
On to Funding