NIFA Centers of Excellence
If you submitted USDA NIFA grants this year, you probably remember the Centers of Excellence designation: “…in fiscal years 2015 and 2016, NIFA allows eligible applicants to request consideration for Centers of Excellence (COE) designation as part of their grant applications. Requests for applications describe the criteria applicants must meet.”
A little more information is now available to help you work through this designation in upcoming proposals.
NIFA COE page: nifa.usda.gov/centers-excellence
Of particular note are the Webinars now available for review. You can watch the entire webinar or read the transcript at links from the site.
Research Development & Grant Writing News
go.osu.edu/grantwritingnews (OSU login required)
Topics this month include:
- Win Your Grant on Page 1
- NSF's New Public Access Plan
- The Proposal Editor's Checklist
- Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research
- Proposals for Basic Research: Why You Need a Theoretical Framework
- Agency News, Reports, and New Funding Opportunities, etc.
Public Access of Publications and Scientific Data
This topic will become more popular with the new year as more policies are scheduled to go into effect (see article above about NSF's plan). This is all part of a federal public access initiative that started with a memo in 2013 to all federal funding agencies. If you are awarded a grant, you will need to make sure your project is in compliance per the agency's directions. However, even at the proposal stage, you should be aware of the requirements, as they may need some budgeted funds to implement. We'll visit this topic more in the future. In the mean time, bring yourself up to speed by visiting OSU's Research Commons blog post for a summary page about the different agencies.
USDA is holding "Listening Sessions on Public Access to Scholarly Publications and Digital Scientific Data" November 23 and December 4. Click here to link to more information (pdf). Also see the fact sheet (pdf) for additional information.
Proposal Success Rates across Agencies
Federal agencies report on number of proposals received and number of proposals funded across their funding areas. A spreadsheet posted on Buckeye Box (see below) summarizes these statistics or directs to links to the information for USDA, NSF, and NIH. This information can be useful as you consider where to submit your research ideas for funding.
File = Funding_Summary: Buckeye Box >> Animal Science Employee Internal Resources >> Pre-award Resources
You are Not Alone!
If you have a question about being a faculty or staff member at The Ohio State Unversity, chances are the university has someone to help you. The privilege of working at a large university like Ohio State comes with numerous resources, which means you never have to feel alone. In the grant-writing arena, a list of some of these resources is taking shape on the department website: Proposal Development Resources. Feel free to offer suggestions.
As far as your other questions, just ask around. You may be surprised.