Curry School of Education | University of Virginia

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The Curry School Office of Research Administration assists faculty and graduate students in developing grant proposals for external sponsorship of research-related projects, submitting the applications to the appropriate federal agency or foundation, and in managing awards. We also work with Curry School staff engaged in the day-to-day administration of funded projects to ensure compliance with University, state, and sponsor guidelines and regulations.  Our goal is to help you write the best possible proposal, and if a grant is awarded, to assist you in managing it efficiently and effectively. The diagram below depicts the steps involved in this process, beginning with the development of your idea and ending with the management of your award.

To begin with, we want to underscore that different entry points into this process are permissible depending upon your experience at proposal preparation and your need for assistance with any of the various elements of the pre-award process, such as finding funding opportunities or developing an idea.  Having said this, it is also important to inform you that some steps in this process are required, such as obtaining appropriate sign-offs prior to the submission of your grant application, in addition to other pre-award components that are delineated below.

Your first step will be to develop an idea for a research project that you believe may be worthy of funding. You can do this on your own, with colleagues at Curry, other UVa schools or departments, or elsewhere; and, you are welcomed to consult with the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development early in this process. Then you should write up a one-page document outlining your research proposal and submit it to the Associate Dean (AD) for his review, consultation, and support. Although this step is not required, written documentation of your proposed idea will permit the AD along with others in the Dean’s Office to assess the likelihood of obtaining alternative forms of support for your project, such as gifts from private donors.  Next, if you need assistance in exploring possible funding sources, you should schedule a time to meet with the AD. If after this meeting (or independently) you decide to move forward with developing a proposal, you should inform your Department Chair that you will be applying for a research grant and consult with her/him about such matters as the potential need for research space, other departmental support, or release (i.e., buy-out) from teaching.

 
After consulting with your Department Chair, you should schedule time to meet with Curry's Research Administrator.  The Curry Office of Research Administration helps with over 100 proposals every year; as such we have a wealth of experience in communicating with sponsors from numerous federal agencies and private foundations.  Please consider us as your collaborative partners in preparing your proposal and managing your grant. We will help you in as many ways as possible, including: formulating your budget, meeting administrative requirements, obtaining signatures, scheduling, explaining any unique sponsor or University requirements that may apply to your proposal, and discussing as well as providing feedback on the structural, stylistic, and substantive elements of your grant application.

 
In developing your proposal, equipment and technology (e.g., video cameras, computers, specialized software) as well as desired research space (e.g., to house personnel or for secure data storage) frequently emerge as the most crucial elements for which thoughtful pre-planning and a detailed account of your anticipated needs can significantly reduce the likelihood of major problems arising downstream if you are awarded a grant. If your proposal includes a comparatively sizable technology component (e.g., remote recording, video acquisition, database development), we highly recommend that you consult with Curry’s Educational Technology Office (ETO) early on in the planning stages of developing your proposal http://clove.edschool.virginia.edu/stream/currysupport/). In addition to being able to advise you about your equipment and technology needs as you prepare your application, ETO staff will work with you and our office to ensure that after receiving your award, the appropriate infrastructure is in place to get your project up and running smoothly and efficiently.

It is equally important that you delineate your anticipated space needs in advance of submitting your grant proposal. To assist both you and our office in this process, we are preparing a brief Research Space Request Form for you to fill out and then get signed off by your Department Chair. We hope you will view this process as a vital aid to your own planning, rather than as another hoop to jump through in preparing a grant application. In other words, the value of this document is that it can serve as a tool for helping you estimate the size, type, location, duration, etc., of the space requirements for your project, at the same time that it aids the Dean’s office in developing an inventory of future research space needs.

Deadline dates and proposal requirements will vary from sponsor to sponsor and program to program.  Once you have identified possible funding sources, we recommend that you review the sponsor’s requirements for submission due dates. The Research Administrator can help you formulate a schedule for finalizing specific portions of the proposal so that it is compliant with all applicable guidelines and arrives at its destination on time. The Curry School has a long tradition of conducting significant research that contributes to solving pressing problems in educational policy and practice, and the research project for which you plan to seek funding may well be of vital importance both to Curry and the region.  Nevertheless, as the Office of Research Administration needs sufficient time to read, carefully review, and provide feedback on your proposed budget and narrative, it is imperative that you notify us in advance of your plans to submit a grant application. If circumstances do not permit you to give us advance notice, for example because a solicitation provides only a limited time frame to prepare a submission, we will do our best to accommodate you. However, please be apprised that depending upon the complexity of the proposal (e.g., if it includes subcontracts or cross-unit collaborations) and the number of other applications in the queue at the time of your request, we may not always be able to oblige you in a timely fashion.

Principal Investigators should submit all proposals and pre-proposals to Marianne Lampert, the Curry School's Research Administrator.  Marianne will work with the Curry Chairs and Deans and the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) in submitting your proposal to the granting/funding agency.  Sufficient time is needed so that OSP can:

1. review the proposed budget to ensure accuracy and completeness
2. check that all sponsor requirements are fulfilled and all necessary accompanying documents are routed to the appropriate University offices for required endorsements, signatures, and certifications
3. in the case of paper proposals, ensure that all documents are returned promptly to Curry in sufficient time that copies can be made for mailing to the sponsor, or
4. in the case of electronic proposals, ensure that the submission is made in a timely fashion.

In October 2008, because of several problems experienced with electronic proposal submissions, OSP revised its guidelines for electronic proposal submissions.  They now ask that complete, final proposals arrive in OSP no less than two business days (48 hours) in advance of the submission deadline.  You can see a copy of the memo setting out their rationale and procedures here. Proposals must also be reviewed by your Department Chair and the Associate Dean before they are sent to OSP, and if your proposal includes investigators from outside the Curry School, or outside the University, this can further complicate and lengthen the review process.

For all paper submissions, final grant proposals must be submitted to OSP five business days prior to the sponsor’s deadline. Regardless of who prepares your budget, all proposals must also go through the Curry Research Administrator. S/he will help obtain signatures in the Curry School (and other UVA Schools, if needed) as well as take your proposal to OSP for their review.

If you are particularly interested in NIH funding, this "Grants Process At-A-Glance" chart provides a sample timeline for an NIH sponsored project:  from writing, submission and sponsor review to award negotiation, project completion and close out.

Click on these links to the specific steps from the diagram above for more information on each topic:

• Develop an Idea
• Create a One-Page Document/Outline for Associate Dean
• Meet with AD to Discuss Research Idea and Find Funding Opportunity
• Meet with Research Administrator to Discuss Proposal
• Develop Narrative, Design, etc.
• Work with RA for Submission
• Manage Award

Contact Information

last updated 8/28/2009; mbl