The Sponsored Research Office (SRO) provides services and resources to faculty and staff seeking external funding to support research, scholarship, creative endeavors, and program development.
We are ready to assist in connecting you with internal and external sources of funding and provide guidance about proposal development.
931.598.1395
psfrantz@sewanee.edu
Bishop's Common 106
931.598.1179
mamhale@sewanee.edu
If you are planning to submit any proposal for external funding, please complete the Institutional Approval Form in order to initiate the process of securing the institutional approvals required prior to proposal submission.
The University Research Grants Committee coordinates the Faculty Research Grants program and offers two competitions annually.
Coordinated by the Provost’s Office, the Alderson-Tillinghast Faculty Development Grants support chair holders and has an annual competition.
Coordinated by the Provost's Office, the McCrickard College Faculty Development Grants support projects with characteristics such as extended project scope and timeline.
The Center for Teaching offers four grant programs: Mini-Grants, Innovative Teaching Grants, Department and Program Enhancement Grants, and Back to School Grants. Find the guidelines for all four programs below.
The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship provides support for students working with faculty mentors.
Locating and evaluating funding opportunities that represent a good fit for what you want to do can be accomplished through several mechanisms.
If you would like to have a funding opportunity search conducted for you, complete this form. Please complete separate forms for multiple searches.
If you want to conduct searches on your own, check out the SPINPlus database, a comprehensive resource for funding opportunities from federal and state agencies and foundations for faculty, staff, and students:
Sewanee is a member of several consortia and other organizations which offer a variety of funding mechanisms for faculty, staff, and students. Visit these sites to learn more about available funding opportunities:
Developing competitive proposals is an iterative process, particularly when writing a persuasive proposal narrative and creating a budget sufficient to carry out the work you want to do. Fortunately, resources abound to help you navigate through the process.
Proposal writing has a style of its own distinctly different from other writing styles. Fortunately, freely available numerous resources exist that describe techniques for writing persuasive proposals. Additionally, sponsors’ program guidelines also provide specific instructions for applicants. Check out these selected resources designed to help you craft a compelling proposal narrative.
The United States Government passed the Plain Writing Act of 2010, which requires federal agencies to be more clear in written communications. Proposals should be clear too! You can download the guidelines here, or read specific sections here. See also helpful examples of ambiguous wording made more explicit and wordiness made spare. These examples can help you make every word count in your proposal, which is particularly important given frequent sponsor-imposed page limits.
Your proposal budget reflects in numbers what you’ve described using words in your proposal. These two proposal components must be closely aligned. Common budget categories include the following:
If your proposal will involve additional space allocation or alterations to existing spaces, it’s important to communicate these proposed needs to Facilities Management in order accurately determine the associated costs as well as to seek institutional approval.
If your project involves land use on the Domain for education, research, or management, a plan must first be submitted to the Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability for review and approval. You can either complete the Domain research proposal form for proposed activities on the Domain or submit your proposal via email to OESSresearch@sewanee.edu for review and approval. For more information about what projects are required to be submitted for approval via the form, please visit the OESS website or email your questions to OESSresearch@sewanee.edu.
Unless specifically required by the sponsor, voluntarily offering cost sharing either as in-kind or matching funds is discouraged. If the sponsor’s program guidelines state in writing that cost sharing is required, contact Pollyanne or Mae Anne for assistance.
The University’s indirect cost rate is 49% of Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) for on-campus grants and 28% for off-campus grants. Indirect costs are determined by applying our negotiated F&A Rate to a proposal's direct cost base, which includes all salaries and wages, fringe benefits, materials, supplies, services, travel and each subaward up to the first $25,000. Our MTDC base excludes items such as equipment (>$5000), capital expenditures, charges for patient care, student tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships, and fellowships as well as the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000. Recovered indirect costs are distributed according to the Grants Overhead Policy.
The University’s Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research Training (RECR) plan is intended to comply with the federal regulations concerning the appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research. The plan includes RECR training resources and the RECR training certification form.
The University’s Financial Conflict of Interest policy is intended to comply with the federal regulations concerning objectivity in research and applies to all Investigators employed by the University of the South who intend to pursue research funding from the U.S. Public Health Service, which encompasses the National Institutes of Health, or the National Science Foundation.
If you haven’t yet found what you’re looking for, this section may have what you need.
Data Management Plans: Many sponsors require applicants to include a data management plan describing how data will be handled during and after a research project ends. The DMPTool is a comprehensive resource provided by the California Curation Center of the California Digital Library. It offers over 36,000 examples of data management plans and includes sponsor-specific templates designed to facilitate the development of robust plans.
SciENcv–The Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) is a relatively new electronic system designed to help you create and maintain your professional profile (biosketch) in a format acceptable to many sponsors, including the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation. It’s free to use and you maintain control over what data is included in your biosketch.
ORCID–ORCID is an international resource providing digital identifiers (ORCID iDs) that uniquely identify researchers without revealing personally identifiable information. The service is free, and the ORCID iD is designed to be valid throughout your career. Read more about ORCID iD here, including instructions for creating your personal ORCID iD.
What to Say-and Not Say-to Program Officers–Michael J. Spires describes effective communication strategies for applicants to use when communicating with grant program officers.
