Colleges and universities thrive through collaboration. In the world of research development, it may look like administrators from different offices hosting a workshop or two faculty members submitting a joint proposal for an interdisciplinary project. When navigating the high stakes world of limited submissions and extramural grants, one of the best strategies can be partnering with colleagues across campus. In a recent webinar, Lynsey Fitzpatrick, Program Officer for Strategic Research Opportunities at the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) shared her recommendations for partnering strategically with other units: “One of our primary goals is maximizing opportunity for campus, meaning posting as many competitions as we identify, while also trying to streamline the administrative requirements.”
- Set up Pivot filters and subscribe to foundation e-newsletters.
- Solicit recommendations from Foundation Relations for specific announcements, as well as names of potentially interested faculty.
- Present at new faculty orientation and encourage attendees to sign up for relevant listservs.
- Distribute limited submissions calendar of deadlines with partner offices: “The more collaboratively we can work with colleagues across campus, meaning colleagues based in individual departments and schools, the more likely that we’ll be able to get targeted announcements to faculty who may be of specific interest.”
Internal Proposal Preparation
- Encourage colleagues to hold workshops geared toward specific limited submission proposal preparation. Foundation Relations at UC San Diego has quarterly meetings for this purpose.
- Be mindful of time commitments for applicants and reviewers: “We try to give a lot of thought to balancing what we request from applicants in an individual competition, so that we have the materials that the committee will need to make a scientifically credible decision, while also streamlining whatever we’re requesting from internal PI’s, knowing that they may not have the opportunity to move forward for a full proposal.” InfoReady empowers administrators to set up forms and workflows to find the right balance for all stakeholders.
- Utilize program officers, who may have specific insight based on conversations they’ve had with the sponsor. These individuals may be part of foundation relations, contracts and grants teams, etc.
- Connect internal awardees with the proper resources: “We’re working to enhance integrations, both in the tools and systems we use to streamline the workflow with partner offices for better coordination and scheduling, and with our major proposal development teams, so that applicants selected for specific, high-value opportunities are seamlessly referred for additional support.”
We want to thank Lynsey for sharing her expertise and recommendations for managing limited submissions, specifically when working with colleagues across campus.
