{"id":129,"date":"2019-04-23T14:01:05","date_gmt":"2019-04-23T14:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/laptop.tarheelcode.io:8888\/fundingguide-php\/"},"modified":"2024-10-23T16:57:11","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T16:57:11","slug":"funding-guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chass.ncsu.edu\/intranet\/research-office\/proposal-services\/search-for-funding\/funding-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide: Funding and Proposals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Why should I write grant proposals?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many good reasons. Winning a grant proposal is a significant scholarly achievement and reflection of the excellence of your work. Furthermore, few institutions have the large amounts of funds necessary to do major research projects or to support long-term scholarly projects.  Most public universities rely on a combination of state funds, external research funding, and philanthropy to support the institution. Of these, external funding is most important for the research and scholarly enterprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fundamentally, if you want to undertake a complex project that will require time (yours and that of others), travel, data gathering and analysis, or equipment and people, you will want to apply for external grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

External resources provide you with greater resources for more intensive study than can be provided by institutional resources. They support graduate and undergraduate researchers, and, while such students serve as personnel for your project, they also gain a great deal of experience that classroom instruction alone cannot give them. External resources will allow you to undertake the kinds of projects that truly influence your discipline. A winning proposal is also a form of external validation of your ideas, and can be prestigious in and of itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But there\u2019s no money in my field” <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is a common belief in the humanities and social sciences. When invoked, this usually means \u201cthere\u2019s very little money in my field\u201d or \u201cit\u2019s really competitive.\u201d It is true that external funding has become more competitive and that some funders\u2019 budgets are flat or declining. But someone wins these competitions–it can be you! After all, NC State is a major research university, with a reputation for excellence in all the disciplines this university contains—including those in our college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is true that the competition for funding is stiff. But since you\u2019ve shown your ability to compete and succeed in academia, you should be confident you can compete for funding. And we\u2019re here to help you capitalize on your knowledge and talents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You keep saying ‘research’ and ‘grants,’ but I am a humanist<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The language of \u201cgrants\u201d is most typical of sponsored research offices, because the infrastructure around the support of external funding is generally oriented to grants (and contracts) and the like. This terminology is not intended to diminish the importance and value of the humanities. Where the term \u201cresearch\u201d is used in this guide, it also means \u201cscholarship\u201d more generally. I like this discussion<\/a> (and this<\/a>) of the distinctions between \u201cresearch\u201d and scholarship. For the purposes of this guide, I will use the term interchangeably. And, in this guide, a \u201cgrant\u201d can mean any form of external support for research and scholarship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are differences between the sorts of activities in which humanists, social scientists, and behavioral scientists engage. We realize that humanists will often seek support for time, in the form of fellowships. Fellowships and similar opportunities are managed differently than other types of research grants. In most cases, we don\u2019t even ask scholars to accept their fellowships through the university, and some fellowship sponsors will not even route funds through the university (see the College policy on fellowships<\/a>).  That\u2019s OK! We work with faculty on nearly any sort of external funding opportunity–grants, contracts, fellowships, and the like. What\u2019s the best way to know if we\u2019ll help you? Ask us! We\u2019re here to serve you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You only help faculty who write big grants that come with lots of overhead, right?”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is another concern we often hear. Overhead–or, in the jargon of grants administration, F&A, for facilities and administration–is the amount the University adds to grants to cover the expenses that a grant cannot directly pay for, such as the cost to maintain research space, offices, labs, our IT infrastructure, and the like. The full F&A rate is currently 52% (and you get really get into details at this site<\/a>). Some of that F&A money does come back to the college and the department to help support the research enterprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But our office\u2019s primary concern is the promotion of excellent scholarship. We will work with you on any project, no matter the size. Many of our funders pay far less than the full overhead rate, and some of them pay none at all. We welcome all scholars in the college to work with us to seek the resources needed to support excellent scholarship. Indeed, if you apply for external funding that would come to the University, you must work with our office to properly prepare that proposal–regardless of its overhead rate, and even if that rate is zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“OK, then. Where do I apply?<\/strong>“<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The research office is often asked \u201cwhere can I find funding?\u201d There are many ways we can help you find funding, but we cannot do much to help unless you have a research or scholarly project in mind. A general sense that \u201cI\u2019d like some money to do research\u201d or \u201cit would be good for me to seek external funding\u201d is not likely to be part of a successful strategy for finding support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Research Office can assist you in preparing grant proposals, matching funders to your interests, and managing grants once they have been received. Later in this guide you\u2019ll see ideas for sources of funding. But the research office cannot replace your expertise in your particular field.  So the best sources of information about who is most likely to fund your scholarship are your colleagues and your professional and disciplinary groups. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, here are some steps you can take to start finding potential sources of research and scholarly funding, and to prepare research proposals. You don\u2019t have to do each of these, nor do you need to do them in any order, but the more resources you draw on, the more you\u2019ll be able to hone your ideas and find the best possible funders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n