Deadline Date	Category	Opportunity Title
Open	Arts & Humanities	Pollock-Krasner Foundation
05/23/13	Science & Engineering	Samsung GRO Program
05/31/13	Arts & Humanities	Antarctic Artists and Writers Program
06/03/13	Cross-Disciplinary	Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Research
06/04/13	Cross-Disciplinary	Service Alliance Faculty Fellow Program
07/15/13	Health & Human Development	NASPA Grants for Student Affairs
08/01/13	Behavioral Science	Russell Sage Foundation Awards
08/01/13	Health & Human Development	Social Settings Research Grants
08/01/13	Biomedical	Young Investigator Award in SCA Research
08/07/13	Cross-Disciplinary	Online Resource Center for Ethics Education in Science and Engineering (ORCEESE)
09/01/13	Cross-Disciplinary	Mountaineer Foundation Grants Program
09/15/13	Behavioral Science	Research Travel Grants Program
10/01/13	Arts & Humanities	Millard Meiss Publication Fund
10/22/13	Science & Engineering	CISE Computing Research Infrastructure (CRI)

     Last week, four research administrators from Clemson University attended the regional meeting of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) in Memphis, Tennessee.  Trisha Southergill and Hagan Walker from Grant Support Services and Lynn Kunkle and Mandy McClasan from the Office of Sponsored Programs returned with some valuable guidance on the current funding environment. 

     • With fewer dollars and staff to review grant applications due to sequestration, more agencies are likely to restrict the number of applications that institutions can submit for an award competition.  These restricted competitions frequently use the terms, “limited submissions”,  or “internal coordination required” in the application guidelines.  OSP attempts to identify these opportunities as soon as they are released, but this is not always possible.  If you come across this language, please contact Mandy McCaslan in the Office of Sponsored Programs to coordinate these opportunities for you.  OSP can facilitate meetings that bring together all parties interested in an opportunity to determine whether or not different ideas can be joined into one application.  For Clemson's Limited Submission postings, visit our website.

     • In his workshop entitled, "The Other Side of Grantsmanship: Contacting the Program Officers and Thinking Like a Reviewer," Dr. Robert Porter, Director of Research Development at the University of Tennessee, notes that 50% of funded proposals at the National Science Foundation were unsolicited; otherwise, not in response to a particular solicitation.  Investigators are strongly encouraged to advance their ideas to NSF Program Officers, who are often looking for information on what new ideas are emerging in higher education.

     • In his Keynote address, Ed Chaum, M.D., Ph.D., Plough Foundation Professor of Retinal Diseases, noted that projects that are most likely to be funded by both public and private entities exhibit the following characteristics:  they are translational, multidisciplinary, important, innovative and clearly demonstrate how they will have a significant impact on a problem or issue.

     •  In a webcast with NSF, it was announced that an updated Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide is currently being drafted.  It will be posted for Public Comment in June.

 

     Last week’s edition of Research Roar featured an account of how the National Science Board is reviewing the administrative burden on principal investigators in applying for and managing federal grants.  This discussion is related to the larger effort initiated by the Office of Management and Budget to look at reforming administrative requirements on federal grants that relate to proposal preparation, regulatory compliance, and award management.  The Council on Governmental Relations (COGR), of which Clemson University is a participating member, has issued a draft response to OMB’s reform proposals.  Representatives from research administration have reviewed the COGR draft and are in the process of preparing a response, concurring with the majority of COGR’s recommendations for change, and indicating in specific areas where concern remains.  In summary, the major administrative reforms that Clemson supports include the following:

·         Direct charging of administrative/clerical support in grant budgets, but with specific guidelines on when these charges  can be in order to avoid any hidden administrative burden inherent in this change;

·         Eliminate the Faculty and Institutional Burden of Effort Reporting

·         Removal of voluntary cost-share requirements in agency solicitations, and relatedly, allow institutions to recover their full Facilities and Administrative rate (indirect costs).

·         90-Day Advance Notice for Application Submission Deadlines

·         Elimination of deadline times after local 4:59pm

     Sheila Lischwe, Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs, and Tracy Arwood, Director of the Office of Research Compliance, will attend COGR’s quarterly meeting in June, where these issues will continue to be discussed.  If you would like to read the full COGR draft response, please contact Mandy McClasan in OSP.

     The Fiscal Year 2013 competition for the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program short-term projects was announced in the Federal Register on April 17, 2013. The deadline date for submitting applications is June 13, 2013.

     The International Studies Division is pleased to annouce the following informational webinars for the Fiscal Year 2013 GPA Program short-term projects competition:

     Thursday, May 16 at 12 noon EDT
     Tuesday, May 21 at 1:30 EDT
     Thursday, May 23 at 1:30 EDT

     GPA short-term projects provides support for overseas projects in training, research, and curriculum development in modern foreign languages and area studies for teachers, students, and faculty engaged in a common endeavor. Projects may include short-term seminars, curriculum development, or group research/study.

     To register for these webinars, and for additional information on how to apply to the program, please go to http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpsgpa/applicant.html.