NIU’s Office of Sponsored Projects will offer two workshops in October to help researchers with collaborative proposals and managing change while working on federally funded scholarship.
Both sessions are part of the Fall OSP Faculty and Staff Chat Session.
Presentation slides and other related hand-outs for each of these sessions will be available on the OSP website within one week after each session. Those materials are found under the Activities and Training link.
For more information, call (815) 753-1581.
Effective Strategies for Developing Large Collaborative Proposals
Thursday, Oct. 4, 11:50 a.m. to 1 p.m.
La Tourette Hall 300
Funding agencies from the National Institutes of Health to small private foundations are focusing their funding efforts on more collaborative, cross-disciplinary (multi/inter/transdisciplinary), and team based programs.
More than being momentarily trendy, these strategies can strengthen the science and translation of the science to intervention.
However, these team based proposals can introduce a series of complexities not normally seen with a traditional single investigator project due to the need to coordinate multiple external partners who will often span multiple universities and can even cross national borders.
These proposals also can involve non-profit entities, small businesses and private partners who require special attention at the proposal stage.
This session will provide an overview of the best practices for developing a collaborative proposal; discuss strategies for successfully navigating the complexities of team based proposals, and highlight the OSP support available to faculty and staff in developing these proposals.
Managing Project Changes on Federal Awards
Thursday, Oct. 18, 11:50 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Altgeld Hall 315
Federal funding agencies have very specific rules regarding how to manage certain program changes that might occur during the award period.
Some program changes, such as no cost extensions, can often be approved at the University level while others, such as an absence of a key person, require prior agency approval. Principal Investigators are responsible for understanding these rules and an awareness of how to handle certain program changes can help PIs in successfully managing their federal grant programs.
This session will highlight the program changes that most often require prior agency approval and changes that can be made without agency approval.
The session will also cover the internal support available from Grants Fiscal Administration and the Office of Sponsored Projects for managing project changes and will walk through the institutional prior approval system.
New Faculty Workshop: Navigating the Sponsored Programs Process at NIU
Thursday, Nov. 1, 9 a.m. to noon
Holmes Student Center University Suites
This event is intended for new faculty, but will be useful to any faculty looking for a refresher on how to navigate the sponsored funding process at NIU.
The workshop will provide a comprehensive overview of the life cycle of a sponsored program and will focus on finding appropriate funding opportunities, working with industry partners, proposal development strategies including budgeting, compliance, and project management. The OSP staff will also outline the wide range of support available to assist faculty and staff at each stage of the funding life cycle.
Due to space, RSVP for the New Faculty Workshop is required. RSVP by Friday, Oct. 26, by calling (815) 753-1490 or emailing sbergman@niu.edu. Refreshments will be provided at this session.
Tips for Strengthening Your Proposal
Thursday, Dec. 13, 11:50 a.m. to 1 p.m.
HSC University Suites
Writing a grant proposal can be a challenging, and seemingly mysterious, process.
In this session, OSP staff will discuss the challenges of writing a grant proposal and offer tips in how to get started. This discussion of grant-writing fundamentals will consider the competitive nature of the grants process and how to develop effective approaches to writing proposals.
