Transcript Thoughts on Development/Partnerships
Thoughts on Development/Partnerships
Mary Sandy Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting, 2006
How We Have Grown
• Started with 2 Space Grant FTE’s in 1990 • Negotiated agreement in 1991 as Enterprise Center with ODU Research Foundation for IDC cost allocation. ▪ Enables discretionary funding pool. ▪ Use primarily for staff costs.
▪ Allows cushion for NASA funding delays.
• Began seeking external funding in 1991.
• Sources have been primarily federal and state. Limited foundation and industry funds.
• Still have 2 FTE’s in our Space Grant budget plus 8 on site staff and 3 off-site personnel on grant, contract or discretionary funding.
Pros and Cons of Our Approach
Pros --Allows for program growth.
--Allows the Consortium to undertake projects at its own discretion/go beyond Space Grant constraints.
--Builds staffing and capabilities.
--Builds contingency funding.
Cons --Development is hard work and very time intensive. --Constant pressure to ensure that the dollars continue to flow in to continue to support existing personnel.
--Be careful to know when to say no!
Some Sources of Discretionary Funding • Indirect Cost Allocation • Registration Fees • Firm Fixed-Price Contracts • Contributions • Space Grant Foundation Accounts/Projects • Fees for services • What else?
Typical Proposal Components
• Project Summary • Goals and Objectives • Evaluation • Project Description • Project Management Plan and Timeline • Team – Roles, credentials, biosketches or resumes • Sustainability • Budget and Budget Justification • Others: Innovation, intellectual merit, impact, prior relevant work, references.
• Letters of support
Proposal Tips/Lesson Learned
Gauging Potential for Success/Help in Refining Concept • Gauge probability of success so your time is not wasted.
• Be sure your idea fits the funder’s goals.
• Talk to program manager. • Take advantage of preliminary proposal opportunities.
• Talk to people who have served on funder review panels. • Be knowledgeable about what has been funded.
• Request copies of successful proposals through FOIA.
• Volunteer to serve on review panels. Great experience!
• Get help from your Sponsored Programs office.
More Proposal Tips/Lessons Learned
Manage the Process
• Write the abstract first! (roles, measurable goals and objectives, clear deliverables).
• Address everything the RFP asks for.
• Follow all guidelines. Call or email funder when uncertain.
• Use the MS Word tracking tool in a coordinated way.
• Do everything you can to engineer the proposal process (set schedule, do outline, assignments to each partner, meetings/audiocons, plan for inevitable deadline workload).
• Give your team all the lead time possible.
• Nice when can get professional help.
• Conduct a “red team” review.
Yet More Proposal Tips/Lesson Learned
• Build on existing programs/play to demonstrated success wherever possible. --Document previous success. --Use good impact data.
--Play up relevant previous products, services, and partnerships.
• Use formatting that makes your proposal easy to review.
• Some funders, such as NSF, can take several submissions to be successful. Use the critical feedback • Even unfunded proposals have value.
– Process builds partners and relationships.
– Can often recycle proposal elements.
Additional Proposal Tips/Lesson Learned
• Proposals are almost always challenging.
• More partners means more logistical challenges.
– Bureaucratic partnerships are more cumbersome but often worthwhile. Allow more time and patience!
– Like to limit core number of partners except for organizations like our Space Grant network.
Finding Partners
• Choose them carefully. Your reputation will be coupled with theirs.
– Don’t do wholesale “who wants to participate” approach.
– Select for mutual interests, capabilities and ability to deliver.
• Partnerships always have to be win/win for all.
• Build networks in your niche areas of interest – Affiliate interests and capabilities – State agency interests and needs – Tie to national or state goals/trends – Statewide committees, advisory committees, boards • Communication among partners is key and so is recognition.
• Incorporate minority serving partners when you can.
• Build relationships --Leverage resources --Partner on proposals --Seek funding from appropriate partners
Some Niche Interest Areas for VSGC
• STEM educator professional development – teachers of blind and deaf – Institutes and workshops/with VDOE and others • Center and industry internships • Student mission opportunities • Geospatial and remote sensing technologies for classroom use, applications and workforce development • Research collaborations • Encouraging girls and underrepresented minorities in STEM • Distance learning programs with NASA and other partners • STEM Workforce Development
FUNDING SOURCES: Community of Science: http://fundingopps.cos.com/ Grants.Gov: http://www.grants.gov/ FedGrants DoD: http://www.dodtechmatch
Fed BizOpps: http://www.fedbizopps.gov/ NASA-NSPIRES: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/ National Science Foundation: http://www.nsf.gov/ NASA Innovative Partnerships Program: ipp.nasa.gov
U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/fund/landing.jhtml?src=rt U.S. Department of Energy: http://www.energy.gov/forresearchers.htm
National Center for Environmental Research (EPA): http://es.epa.gov/ncer/ Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA): http://www.darpa.mil/baa/ U.S. Department of Agriculture: http://www.usda
SBIR World: http://www.sbirworld.com/ National Institutes of Health: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/index.cfm
Strategic Environmental Research & Development Program (SERDP): http://www.serdp.org/