Laker Extramural Proposal Development Support (LEPDS)

The Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence is pleased to announce a new grant opportunity for Grand Valley faculty. The Laker Extramural Proposal Development Support will provide small grants of up to $2,000 to help faculty make their external grant proposals and applications more competitive and fundable. It is expected that faculty who receive LEPDS funding will apply for an external grant or fellowship from a major funding agency within one year of receiving their grant.


About the Award

ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS
Full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty are eligible to apply for a Laker Extramural Proposal Development Support grant.

Individual faculty members have unique needs regarding the kinds of investments and professional development that will help them become better positioned to apply (or reapply) for and receive external grants and fellowships. In order to ensure that faculty are requesting the best possible form of funding for their individual needs, faculty are strongly encouraged to discuss with the Office of Sponsored Programs activities for which they plan to seek support. Below is a list of possible activities for which faculty can seek LEPDS funding:

  • Travel support to meet with possible grant collaborators (estimated support per request: $1,000)
  • Travel and registration support to attend well-regarded grant-writing workshops, ideally sponsored by funders (estimated support per request: $1,000 - $1,800).
  • Funds to hire an expert to review and critique a proposal prior to submission.
  • Funding to engage an evaluation expert to help develop a proposal’s formative and summative evaluation plan and assessment tools.
  • Funding to attend writing workshops or retreats to prepare manuscripts for submission and thereby improve one’s publication record.

Upon successful submission of a faculty member’s grant proposal to a major funding agency, the individual will receive $1,000 to be used as additional research incentive funds. Salary supplementation is not an acceptable use of incentive funds. For the purposes of this program, a major funding agency is defined as a federal, private, or corporate grant-maker that is national or international in scope and uses a peer review process to review proposals and make awards.


How to Apply

APPLY
Submit your application online.

APPLICATION MATERIALS
The following materials are required to be considered for a Laker Extramural Proposal Development Support grant:

  1. A summary (2,000 words or less) of (a) your research or scholarly project; (b) the proposed proposal development or improvement activity, timeline, and associated costs (not to exceed $2,000), and; (c) how this grant will enhance your professional development and promote future grant activity.
  2. A brief description of the external grant or fellowship program for which you plan to develop a proposal, its deadline, and your estimated budget amount.
  3. A one-sentence statement of willingness to share what you learn with other faculty members.
  4. A copy of your current CV.

DEADLINE
Proposals will be accepted and awards will be made on an ongoing basis throughout the year contingent upon the availability of funds. LEPDS funds are made available through a portion of recovered indirect costs on federal grants received by the University. Continued support is contingent upon receipt of additional awards with indirect costs.

EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
Funding will be determined through a competitive process conducted by a three-person committee consisting of the Vice Provost for Research Administration, the Director of Sponsored Programs, a representative from the applicant’s Dean’s Office. Proposals will be judged on the completeness of the application, the quality of the research or scholarly project and perceived value of the work, the likelihood that the applicant will complete and submit an external proposal in the timeline provided, and the faculty member’s record of scholarship.


BUDGET INFORMATION

Each grant recipient is allocated a budget for their project. This budget is determined by the application process and varies depending on the needs of the research or creative project. Grantees are responsible for monitoring their budget and initiating any payments/reimbursements. We do not order supplies, make travel arrangements, etc.

You may (1) use the CSCE worktags in Workday when creating your requisitions, (2) use the CSCE worktags in Workday when initiating a reimbursement expense report, or (3) work with your Department Coordinator to initiate a department transfer request (a.k.a. Budget Amendment for Organization) through Workday. GVSU's Workday system should allow faculty to make purchases via department Expense Cards, etc., so that the faculty do not need to have out-of-pocket expenses. We will then reimburse the faculty mentor's department from the project's budget.

USING CSCE WORKTAGS IN WORKDAY
Your project may require that a lab order supplies, your department purchase equipment, the grantee have out-of-pocket expenses reimbursed, etc. You will need to process your expenses through Workday and send to the CSCE Worktag. Go to Workday Job Aids & Demo Videos - Finance and follow the appropriate Job Aids. Please use the following Worktag/FDM information: 

  • FUND: FD100
  • COST CENTER: CC0195
  • PROGRAM: P22200
  • DESIGNATION: DS0297

Please use the "DESCRIPTION" field to include the faculty member's first and last name, the specific grant, and the fiscal year. Use the following formatting example: Bruce Wayne CSCE Laker Extramural Proposal Development Grant FY24

The awarded faculty's department may also submit a Budget Amendment for Organization in Workday to have your grant funds returned to the department. See the Job Aid for the Budget Amendment for Organization process. Have your department coordinator attach copies of the award notification, processed receipts (i.e. invoices, department purchases, etc.) to the Budget Amendment. Per GVSU policy, any services performed (editing, page publication, transcription, etc.) MUST be paid directly by a GVSU department via an invoice or purchased using your department p-card. Purchase of services using personal credit cards will not be reimbursed.

Please note: any services performed (editing, page publication, transcription, etc.) MUST be paid directly by by your department via an invoice or purchased using your department p-card. Purchase of services using personal credit cards will not be reimbursed.


Recommended Grant Workshops and Other Activities

CUR Grant Dialogues is designed to bring faculty and administrators to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to interact with federal agency program officers and other grant funders. Attendees will also have the chance to engage in several networking opportunities.”

  • Typically a 3-day workshop in mid- to late February
  • The CUR Dialogues typically includes half-day grant development and writing workshop

National Science Foundation Grants Conferences

  • These typically have ½-day grant writing workshops.
  • Also have break-out sessions in wide range of program areas (biological sciences, geosciences, CAREER, etc.)
  • Generally held twice a year

Live seminars or recorded webinars by Academic Research Funding Strategies, LLC

  • "Competing for Funding from the National Science Foundation” – 3 hours
  • “Competing for Funding from the National Institutes of Health” – 3 hours
  • “How to Write Successful Grants for Instrumentation” – 2 hours
  • “How to Write Successful Proposals for NSF CAREER, DoD Young Investigator and Other Grants for Early-Career Researchers” – 3 hours

NIH Regional Seminars

  • “Each year, the Office of Extramural Research (OER) sponsors the NIH Regional Seminars on Program Funding and Grants Administration. These seminars are intended to help demystify the application and review process, clarify Federal regulations and policies, and highlight current areas of special interest or concern. …The seminars are appropriate for grants administrators, researchers new to NIH, and graduate students.”
  • Always include ½ day workshops on best practices and nuts and bolts of putting together NIH applications.

CUR Grant Writing Support

Our reviewers have a wide range of expertise. They can assist you in the following:

  • Provide feedback on your concept, presentation, and styling to fit the open call
  • Expert guidance to strengthen the story your proposal is telling
  • Managing any weaknesses in your proposal
  • Increasing the likelihood of your proposal being competitive

Serve as a grant reviewer for a major funder, such as the NEH, ACLS, or NSF. Please note that, contrary to popular opinion, previous experience as a grantee is NOT required to be a reviewer.

Ask another faculty member or expert in the field who has been successful in securing research grants to serve as a mentor during the external grant application process or read your grant proposal and provide comments and suggestions. Be sure to discuss with your potential collaborator your expectations for their role.



Page last modified March 18, 2024