Some more resources to help with the grant process.
By acting as part of a review board, you can gain insight into the workings of a particular grant program, broaden your professional network, and improve your skills as a grant writer.
By acting serving on a grant review panel, some possible benefits might include:
If you are interested, this PDF is a good place to start if you’re looking to become a grant reviewer. It contains some basic information that can help prepare you for the process.
These articles help explain the process of becoming and acting as a grant reviewer:
How to Become a Grant Reviewer by Karen M. Markin in The Chronicle of Higher Education June 2, 2008
NSF Grant Reviewer Tells All – by Pamela L. Member in Science Careers April 11, 2003
National Science Foundation
Why You Should Volunteer to Serve As An NSF Reviewer
National Institute of Health
Why Become an NIH Reviewer
Reviewer Orientation
National Endowment for the Humanities
PRISM Peer Review System
Institute for Museum and Library Sciences
Becoming a Reviewer
Fullbright
Peer Reviewers
Alliance of Artists Communities
Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes
Foundations On-Line
(Corporate and private funding)
Google Scholar
(Focuses on academic materials)
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Brown University, The John Carter Brown Library
Duke University, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library
Emory University, Robert W. Woodruff Library
Hill Museum & Manuscript Library
Harvard University, Houghton Library
Osler Library of the History of Medicine
Southern Methodist University, DeGolyer Library
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Margaret Herrick Library
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records, Presidential Libraries
The New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
The University of Kansas, Kenneth Spencer Research Library
The University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library
The University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Center
UCLA, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library
Whatcom Museum of History and Art
Uniform Guidance: What You Need to Know
Part of ORPS’ responsibility is to keep faculty and staff at New College abreast of policies and guidelines set forth by federal, state and local government funding agencies. This section aims to highlight important changes in the federal grant guidelines called the “Uniform Guidance” (UG). The UG, written by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), went into effect on Dec. 26, 2014. Following is a summary of how the new guidance will affect faculty and research administrators.
1. The new UG applies to awards granted after on or after Dec. 26, 2014.
2. Under the UG, federal agencies must accept a university’s negotiated indirect cost rate. There can be exceptions with federal agency head approval.
3. Federal agencies must post funding opportunities at least 60 days prior to a deadline.
4. Voluntary committed cost share is no longer expected. In their Request for Application (RFA) Agencies must either require cost share or not. Language such as “cost share isn’t required but is preferred” is no longer allowed. (CFR 200.306 Cost sharing or matching)
5. The UG requires procurement methods with dollar thresholds (CFR 200.320 Methods of procurement).
6. Clerical and administrative salaries can be directly charged if they are integral to a project or activity and are also directly allocable. Such costs must be explicitly explained in the budget and/or have prior approval from the sponsor. (CFR 200.413 Direct costs).
7. There is now a clarification of the institutional base salary concept at universities under “personnel compensation”. Institutions must establish consistent written policies that apply uniformly to all faculty members, not just those working on federal grants. The requirements for effort reporting have changed, with an emphasis on strong internal controls. (CFR 200-430 Compensation-personal services)
8. Computers and computing devices can be directly charged to grants if they are essential and allocable. In below the federal Equipment threshold ($5,000) they can be counted in the budget as Supplies. There is no longer a requirement that they be solely used for the project at hand but should be used mostly for the project. (CFR 200.453 Materials and supplies costs)
9. Institutions must submit performance reports using OMB-approved government-wide standard information collections. Required information includes a comparison of actual accomplishments to those that were proposed for the reporting period, the reasons why goals were not met (if applicable), and an analysis and explanation of cost overruns. (CFR 200.328 Monitoring and reporting program performance).
10. Before issuing an award, the Federal awarding agency will evaluate the risk posed by the institution. The risk assessment will review the institution’s financial stability, the reports and findings from its audits, and its history of performance around compliance and report requirements. (CFR 200.205 Review of risk posed by applicants)
(This summary was adapted from the Amherst College Grants Office webpage)
Link to full Uniform Guidance:
The Grantspace video library. This is a collection of many videos on various topics hosted by the Grantspace organization. The videos range in subjects from crowdfunding to how to build a better grant board. The videos can be anywhere from 10 minutes to over an hour in length. So if you have some time, it’s worth it just explore what they have to offer.
The Grantsmanship center‘s youtube page offers users many videos on the subjects of grants and grant writing. The videos are generally short in length and focus on individual parts of the grant process. So if you find yourself stuck on a particular issue, you might find something helpful here.
The NIH has a series of videos detailing their peer review process on their webpage.
A short video detailing the NSF’s review process.