May 2007

 

The methods section of a grant proposal describes your project activities in detail, indicating how your objectives will be accomplished. The description should include the sequence, flow, and interrelationship of activities as well as planned staffing for the project. It should present a clear picture of the client population, if any. It should discuss the risks of your method, and indicate why your success is probable. Finally, tell what is unique about your approach.

Here are some key questions to answer.  Does your proposal

  • Explain why you chose one methodological approach and not another?
  • Describe major activities for reaching each objective?
  • Indicate the key project personnel who will carry out each activity?
  • Show the interrelationship among project activities?
  • Identify all project data that will be collected for use in evaluating proposal outcomes?

Data Collection. You will probably need to collect some data as a part of your project. Common data collection methods include achievement tests; psychological tests; role-playing exercises; clinical examinations; personal diaries; ratings by program staff, management participants, or experts; interviews; observations by program staff or evaluators; daily program records (telephone logs, tracking slips, referral forms); historical program records and archives; government records; searches of news media; questionnaires; and surveys.

Writing Tips for Methods Section. Begin with your objectives. Describe what precise steps you will follow to carry out each objective, including what will be done, who will do it, and when it will be done. If you have trouble writing this section, assume the sponsor's check just arrived in the mail. What is the first thing you will do? Hire additional staff? Order equipment? What will you do next? Keep asking and answering the "What's next?" question and you will lead yourself through the methodology section (sometimes called procedures in other proposal guidelines).  Once you have determined the sequence of events you will follow in completing your project, cast the major milestones into a time-and-task chart. In graphic form, it segments your total project into manageable steps and lets your reviewers know exactly what you will be doing--and when. It says to the reviewers that you are organized and have thought out the major steps of your project. It lets them know you have done significant planning and are not just proposing on a whim. It gives them a road map of the territory you plan to cover. Finally, the time-and-task chart represents a clear, one-page, visual summary of the entire methodology section.

(--sections reprinted by permission, Miner and Associates, Inc.)

Next month.....Evaluation.....

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at ext. 5849.

Have a great month!             

   Amy Summerlin                 

In this issue:

 

Mathematics and Science Projects

National Science Foundation

USDA:  National Research Initiative -

Competitive Grants

Collegiate Inventors Competition

Leaky Foundation

Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences,

& Education Projects

National Endowment for the Humanities

National Endowment for the Arts

University of Edinburgh

Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences

Education Projects

American Educational Research Association

U.S. Department of Education -

Institute of Education Sciences

Multidisciplinary Projects

Surdna Foundation

Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

Guggenheim Foundation

Canadian Embassy

 

PLEASE REMEMBER:

ALL TYPES OF EXTERNAL FUNDING REQUESTS, INCLUDING GRANTS, SUB-CONTRACTS, AND FELLOWSHIPS, MUST RECEIVE INSTITUTIONAL APPROVAL PRIOR TO SUBMISSION. 

 

Click on program titles for additional information

Mathematics and Natural Sciences Projects

 

National Science Foundation -

Upcoming Deadlines, June & July, 2007

 

USDA:  National Research Initiative - Competitive Grants

Animal Growth and Nutrient Utilization

Suboptimal nutrition and growth are limiting factors in animal productivity. Basic information regarding these processes in agriculturally important animals, including aquaculture species, is lacking. The primary objective of the program is to increase our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying normal animal growth, development of skeletal muscle, lactation, and nutrient digestion and metabolism. Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the entire Program Description section for current priorities and additional information relative to the programs of interest. This program accepts a wide range of applications, please carefully review the budget guidelines to ensure application acceptance.

Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs -- Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship Grants Program

This program awards grants to train students for master's and/or doctoral degrees and provide additional postdoctoral training for Fellows who have completed their doctoral degrees at colleges and universities that have demonstrable teaching and research competencies in the food and agricultural sciences. Grants are specifically intended to support fellowship programs that encourage outstanding students to pursue and complete their degrees or obtain postdoctoral training in areas where there is a national need for the development of scientific and professional expertise. Applications are being solicited in the following Targeted Expertise Shortage Areas: 1) agricultural genomics and bioinformatics; 2) natural resources and the environment; 3) agricultural systems and natural resource engineering; 4) agricultural management and economics; 5) food science; 6) human nutrition; 7) sciences for agricultural biosecurity; and 8) training in sustainable sciences.

Human Nutrition and Obesity

This crosscutting program addresses the complex problem of obesity prevention. Projects funded by this program are intended to lead to a better understanding of the behavioral and environmental factors that influence obesity and to the development and evaluation of effective interventions to prevent obesity. Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the entire Program Description section for current priorities and additional information relative to the programs of interest. This program accepts a wide range of applications, please carefully review the budget guidelines to ensure application acceptance.

Agricultural Markets and Trade

Success of the U.S. economy in general, and the agricultural and rural economies in particular, is increasingly dependent on maintaining and expanding domestic and international markets It is also dependent on the development of new products, production practices, and business and marketing tools and information that enhance efficiency and correspondingly, the competitiveness of the producer. The Agricultural Markets and Trade program is designed to maintain and expand domestic and international markets and to identify public policies and private strategies that may be employed to enhance marketing efficiency and the competitiveness of agricultural producers. This program accepts a wide range of applications, please carefully review the budget guidelines to ensure application acceptance.

Deadline:  All programs listed above, June 1, 2007

Collegiate Inventors Competition

For 15 years, the Collegiate Inventors Competition has recognized and encouraged undergraduate and graduate students on their quest to change the world around them. With over $120,000 in prizes awarded to top student inventors and their academic advisors, the Competition is one of the most prestigious honors available to college and university innovators.

For a video on this program, and more information, please visit their website.

Deadline:  June 15, 2007

Leaky Foundation

The Leakey Foundation was formed to foster research into human origins. Recent priorities include research into the environments, archaeology, and human paleontology of the Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene; the behavior, morphology, and ecology of the great apes and other primate species; and the behavioral ecology of contemporary hunter-gatherers. Other areas of study have been funded occasionally. Priority for funding is given to the exploratory phase of promising new projects that meet the stated purpose of the Foundation. The majority of the Foundation's General Research Grants to doctoral students are in the $3,000 to $13,000 range; however, larger grants, especially to senior scientists and postdoctoral students, may be funded up to $22,000.

Deadline:  July 15, 2007

Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences Projects

 

National Endowment for the Humanities - Upcoming Deadlines

Interpreting America's Historic Places:  Planning Grant

Planning grants are being offered as part of the Interpreting America's Historic Places program, which supports public humanities projects that exploit the evocative power of historic places to address themes and issues central to American history and culture. Projects may interpret a single historic site or house, a series of sites, an entire neighborhood, a town or community, or a larger geographical region. The place taken as a whole must be significant to American history and the project must convey its historic importance to visitors.

The goals of Interpreting America's Historic Places are to:

 

  • enhance lifelong learning in American history by connecting nationally significant events, people, ideas, stories and traditions with specific places;
  • foster the development of interpretive programs for the public that address central events, themes and issues in American history; and
  • encourage consultation with humanities scholars and history organizations in the development of heritage tourism destinations.

Interpreting America's Historic Places projects should:

 

  • interpret a place that played a significant role in American history;
  • enrich the visitor experience at one or more historic places by interpreting these places in light of broader themes in American history;
  • make use of the specific features of one or more historic places--the site, its location, buildings, or other natural or built features--as integral parts of the proposed interpretation;
  • be based on sound humanities scholarship;
  • involve humanities scholars in all phases of development and implementation;
  • approach the subject thematically, analytically, and interpretively through an appropriate variety of perspectives;
  • interest broad audiences; and
  • employ appealing and accessible program formats that will actively engage the public in learning.

NEH encourages efforts to expand the number of people reached at historic places using means such as multiple venues, creative collaborations, outreach to new or underserved audiences, or effective models that can be emulated.

Deadline:  September 5, 2007

Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions

Grants for Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions (FPIRI) support fellowships at institutions devoted to advanced study and research in the humanities. NEH fellowships provide scholars with access to resources that might not be available at their home institutions.

Fellowship programs may be administered by independent centers for advanced study, libraries, and museums in the United States, or American overseas research centers or other organizations that have expertise in promoting research on foreign cultures. Individual scholars must apply directly to the institutions themselves. A list of currently funded institutions is available.  In evaluating applications from centers for advanced study, libraries, and museums located in the United States, priority is given to programs at institutions where library holdings or special collections, available either on-site or nearby, will be used by NEH-funded fellows in their research.

Deadline:  September 4, 2007

 

National Endowment for the Arts: 

Grants for Arts Project - Access to Artistic Excellence

The purpose of the Access to Artistic Excellence is to encourage and support artistic excellence, preserve our cultural heritage, and provide access to the arts for all Americans. This category supports projects that provide short-term arts exposure or arts appreciation for children and youth as well as intergenerational education projects.  Grant awards will range from $5,000 to $150,000. All grants require a nonfederal match of at least 1 to 1.  Support is available to organizations for projects that do one or more of the following:

  • Provide opportunities for artists to create, refine, perform, and exhibit their work.
  • Present artistic works of all cultures and periods.
  • Preserve significant works of art and cultural traditions.
  • Enable arts organizations and artists to expand and diversify their audiences.
  • Provide opportunities for individuals to experience and participate in a wide range of art forms and activities.
  • Enhance the effectiveness of arts organizations and artists.
  • Employ the arts in strengthening communities.

Deadline:  August 13, 2007

University of Edinburgh - Postdoctoral Bursaries

The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at The University of Edinburgh is calling for applications for postdoctoral bursaries. Applications are invited for postdoctoral bursaries from candidates in any area of the Humanities and Social Sciences, whose work falls within the scope of one of the Institute for Advanced Studies' current Research Themes. The Institute runs a rolling programme of Research Themes across four interconnecting strands: (a) a theme related to a cross-School initiative within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences; (b) a theme drawn from an appropriate current Funding Council programme; (c) an Enlightenment theme; and (d) a theme related to the university and the wider world. Each theme will run for three or four years. Current themes are: (1) Life Writing, Testimony and Self-Construction; (2) Diasporas, Migrations and Identities; (3) Institutions and Oppositions of Enlightenment; and (4) The Humanities in the Twenty-First Century University.

Deadline:  July 13, 2007

Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences: 

Residency Program

This program provides support for creative work in literature, visual arts, ceramics, dance, music, composition and photography.  Artists who qualify for a residency are working at the professional level in their field. We encourage artists from all artistic disciplines to apply for admission. Artists who wish to work collaboratively may apply (comprising of two or three people). Each person will need to apply separately and note on the application with whom you intend to work collaboratively.

Deadline:  May 15, 2007

Education Projects

American Educational Research Association

With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the Institute of Education Sciences, the AERA Grants Program announces its Research Grants Program. The program's goals are: (1) to stimulate research on issues related to U.S. education policy and practice using NCES and NSF data sets; (2) to improve the educational research community's firsthand knowledge of the range of data available at the two agencies and how to use them; and (3) to increase the number of educational researchers using the data sets. Underrepresented minority researchers are strongly encouraged to apply. AERA invites education policy- and practice-related research proposals using NCES, NSF, and other national data bases.  Awards for Research Grants are up to $20,000 for 1-year projects, or up to $35,000 for 2-year projects. In accordance with AERA's agreement with the funding agencies, institutions may not charge indirect costs on these awards.  Research Grants are available for faculty at institutions of higher education, postdoctoral researchers, and other doctoral-level researchers. Applicants for Research Grants may be U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, or non-U.S. citizens. Applications are encouraged from a variety of disciplines, such as but not limited to, education, sociology, economics, psychology, demography, statistics, and psychometrics.

U.S. Department of Education-Institute of Education Sciences

The full Education Research RFA containing information about all of the research topics can be downloaded here. For your convenience, we have also provided links to the individual research topics, which will allow you to download only information that is relevant to each particular research topic. For FY2008, the Institute invites applications for research projects that will contribute to its education research programs in Reading and Writing; Mathematics and Science Education; Cognition and Student Learning; Teacher Quality: Reading and Writing; Teacher Quality: Mathematics and Science; Social and Behavioral Context for Academic Learning; Education Leadership; Education Policy, Finance, and Systems; Early Childhood Programs and Policies; High School Reform; Interventions for Struggling Adolescent and Adult Readers; Postsecondary Education; and Education Technology.
PDF File Download, view and print the full RFA as a PDF file (687 KB)
MS Word Download, view and print the full RFA as an MS Word file (621 KB)

Deadline:  Letter of Intent, September 6, 2007 - Full Proposal, November 1, 2007

 

 

Multidisciplinary Projects

Surdna Foundation

The Surdna Foundation is interested in fostering catalytic, entrepreneurial programs that offer viable solutions to difficult, systemic problems.

Art Program:

Surdna's Arts Program is a national initiative focusing on arts and education. Their goals are to: contribute to the ability of young people to explore their own identity and their relationship to the world through high-impact, long-term experiences creating art with accomplished professional artists; and deepen the ability of artists and arts organizations to contribute to the artistic expression of young people.

Community Revitalization:

The Community Revitalization Program seeks to transform environments and enhance the quality of life in urban places, increase their ability to attract and retain a diversity of residents and employers, and insure that urban policies and development promote social equity. In cities that are experiencing population growth, a surge in economic activity and strong real estate markets, they seek to maintain affordability and improve the lives of all residents by preserving diversity and mitigating the negative effects of unbalanced growth. In cities that are losing population, jobs, and wealth, their aim is to abate population loss and consequent economic and racial isolation by catalyzing efforts to make these places communities of choice by attracting a wide range of residents and businesses.

Effective Citizenry Program:

The goal of the Effective Citizenry Program is to support young people to take action with others to address meaningful problems in their schools, neighborhoods and the larger society. To accomplish this goal, the Surdna Foundation funds efforts that: help young people (ages 13-29) become effective, problem-solving citizens; improve practices and performance of organizations that help young people move through leadership development and into productive action; and develop networks that can anchor and expand a field of effective citizenry through building and advancing theory, research, documentation, training, technical support, and policies.

Environment:

A healthy natural environment is the foundation upon which human communities flourish. Today, the environment is at great risk due to the interrelated threats of global climate change, biodiversity loss and unsustainable levels of resource consumption. To address these threats, Surdna's Environment Program has chosen four focus areas where we feel we can make a meaningful contribution in the United States: Biological Diversity and the Human Communities That Depend On It; Realigning Human and Natural Systems; Transportation and Urban/Suburban Land Use; and Energy. The Foundation's goals are to prevent irreversible damage to the environment and to promote more efficient, economically sound, environmentally beneficial and equitable use of land and natural resources.

Charles Stewart Mott Foundation-

Pathways out of Poverty Program

The mission of the Pathways Out of Poverty program is to identify, test and help sustain pathways out of poverty for low-income people and communities. This mission summarizes our goal of seeing people move along a road to self-sufficiency. It is based on our vision for the nation's educational, economic and social systems to be just and effective so that access to meaningful opportunity is shared fairly, giving all children, adults, families and communities a chance to live free of poverty. We believe education, economic participation and community action are critical to moving low-income Americans toward greater prosperity. These three areas are the pillars of our plan to address poverty in the U.S. The program consists of four grantmaking areas: Improving Community Education; Expanding Economic Opportunity; Building Organized Communities; Special Initiatives.

Deadline:  August 31, 2007

Guggenheim Foundation

The Harry Frank Guggenheim (HFG) Foundation sponsors scholarly research on problems of violence, aggression, and dominance. The Foundation welcomes proposals from any of the natural and social sciences and the humanities that promise to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence, aggression, and dominance. Highest priority is given to research that can increase understanding and amelioration of urgent problems of violence, aggression, and dominance in the modern world. Particular questions that interest the foundation concern violence, aggression, and dominance in relation to social change, the socialization of children, intergroup conflict, interstate warfare, crime, family relationships, and investigations of the control of aggression and violence. Research with no useful relevance to understanding human problems will not be supported, nor will proposals to investigate urgent social problems where the foundation cannot be assured that useful, sound research can be done. Priority will also be given to areas and methodologies not receiving adequate attention and support from other funding sources. The Foundation awards research grants to individuals for individual projects and does not award grants to institutions for institutional programs.

Deadline:  August 1, 2007

Canadian Embassy

The Canadian Government provides support for teaching, research, conferences and program activities that further the knowledge and understanding of Canada in the United States. We are particularly interested in projects that focus on the diverse aspects of Canada-U.S. relations. Priority topics include bilateral trade, Canada-U.S. border issues, security cooperation, environmental and natural resources issues, and cultural relations.

Click below for more details

Individual Grants

Institutional Grants

Office of Faculty Research and Sponsored Programs
P.O. Box 5006
Mount Berry, GA 30149
Phone: 706-238-5849
Fax: 706-238-5910

Staff:
Donna Davin, Director
706-290-2163
ddavin@berry.edu

Amy Summerlin,
Grants Coordinator
706-238-5849
asummerlin@berry.edu

http://www.berry.edu/academics/
services/Faculty_Research

 The Office of Faculty Research and Sponsored Programs promotes externally-funded research. It is a central source of information on major government agencies, foundations, and corporations which support research and scholarship. We provide assistance to faculty members, administrators, and students from conceptual development and planning through implementation and management of funded projects.

Assistance is provided in identifying potential extramural funding sources; developing proposal narratives and budgets; completing standardized application forms; assuring compliance with all applicable federal and state regulations; negotiating grant awards and contracts; and administering funded projects.