1. What role does the Office of Faculty Grants play when I am seeking and writing a grant? 
2. What are the benefits of writing a grant? It seems like an awful lot of work, for funds that are never guaranteed....
3. How do I deal with rejection? I have applied to a federal agency twice, and I have been rejected twice. What next?
4. Why is institutional review and approval of grants required?
5. Grants have both public and private sponsors, so when do I work with the Office of Faculty Grants and when with Corporate and Foundation Relations?
6. What is my role and what are my responsibilities, duties, and obligations as a principal investigator?
7. How confidential is my grant?
8. What are the "indirect costs" that go to McDaniel College?
9. Where can I find program announcements and solicitations?
10. Our new research project requires “cost-sharing.” What is this?
11. How long must I keep all documentation relating to the grant project?
12. The grant ceiling is $100,000, but I need at least $125,000 for my project and, ideally, I should be working with $150,000 or more. What would you recommend? 
13. Who is responsible for copying and mailing a proposal?
14. I need to include fringe benefits for all grant salaries and wages. What are McDaniel's current fringe benefit rates?
15. What can I buy with my grant funds?

1. What role does the Office of Faculty Grants play when I am seeking and writing a grant?
We play a supportive role throughout composing a complete and competitive grant portfolio. We will support you in finding, drafting, and submitting the grant proposal portfolio, and we try to be especially attentive to faculty, staff, and students who are new to applying for grants. To achieve this, we ask that you notify us of your desire to work on a grant as soon as possible. Six months before the submission deadline is ideal for your proposal to receive the amount of attention that it needs to be a highly competitive one. Experienced principal investigators often begin the conceptual work on a major grant project eight to twelve months before the submission deadline.

2. What are the benefits of writing a grant? It seems like an awful lot of work, for funds that are never guaranteed....
The rewards from a successful grant are innumerable. You will have monies to realize research, teaching, and development goals that otherwise might remain ephermeal. You will be energized and, often, find news paths and make new contributions to scholarship, while broadening and deepening your network of colleagues. These accomplishments often translate into personal ones in that they make you a more competitive candidate for tenure and promotion. There is the additional satisfaction of securing monies for graduate or undergraduate research assistants, whom you may choose to ask to co-author an article arising from your grant project. Along the way, you are gaining management experience and leadership skills and building your reputation in the field.

3. How do I deal with rejection? I have applied to a federal grant that seemed perfect for my ideas, and I have been rejected. What next?
First-time submissions have the lowest funding rates. Success increases with second and third time revisions and re-submissions. That is why sponsors will provide the principal investigator (PI) with the comments of the reviewers. If circumstances permit, certain programs even allow for review of an initial draft approximately six weeks prior to the deadline. Read all reviewers' comments with care, then revise and re-submit. Some agencies, like the National Science Foundation, encourage a "Response to Prior Review" section to ensure that a PI has done so. Revising and re-submitting a grant does not damage your chances of securing that grant in the next round; it only increases your chances. Another way to increase your chance of success is to communicate openly with the program officer for the funding opportunity. If the program officer has time, s/he will either give you advice to develop a proposal that fits well the agency's needs or refer you to a funding opportunity that better fits your own interests. 

4. Why is institutional review and approval of grants required?
The "applicant" for a grant is the institution. There are exceptions, such as grants for smaller amounts like the National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships that are awarded directly to individual faculty. Or, the Fulbright Program reaches agreements not with U.S. institutions but with the institutions overseas to which U.S. faculty go. In general, however, it is rare that a substantial award can go directly to an individual. In fact, Congress has prohibited certain agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts from awarding monies directly to individuals except in unique circumstances. The reasons range from preventing fraud to investing in permanent institutions and organizations. These are the main reasons why your grant needs to receive the approval of McDaniel College's President's Council, comprised of both academic and financial administrators. McDaniel College assumes not only responsibility for the grant, but liability as well. When you secure this approval, you are protecting your grant, for McDaniel College is not obligated to honor or accept grants that have not been reviewed and approved by the President's Council. A grant with the full support of the College is also a more competitive grant that proceeds in a smoother fashion when awarded.

5. Grants have both public and private sponsors, so when do I work with the Office of Faculty Grants and when with Corporate and Foundation Relations?
These two offices work closely with one another. The Office of Faculty Grants primarily helps faculty write grants for which they are the principal investigators, and most often these are academic, e.g. teaching and research, projects. Corporate and Foundation Relations primarily handles "bricks and mortar" gifts and endowment gifts from corporations and foundations. If you have any confusion over whom you should contact, either office would be happy to direct you to the appropriate person.

6. What is my role and what are my responsibilities, duties, and obligations as a principal investigator?
As the principal investigator (PI), your role is complex. Once a grant is awarded, you are responsible for all scholarly aspects, plus the daily management, of the project. This means that in addition to completing all pledged academic activity, you need to work with the Office of Financial Services to ensure responsible management of the grant monies and, if your research involves human subjects or animals, to work with McDaniel College's Institutional Review Board or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Your directorial responsibilities would also include drafting and submitting in a timely manner all progress, annual, and final reports.

7. How confidential is my grant?
The details of any grant are confidential. Any sensitive information such as salaries and wages are not available to the general McDaniel College community. Only the administrators directly involved in working with and approving your grant will have access to project information. That being said, your winning a grant will be a subject for praise and congratulatory announcements in our community.

8. What are the "indirect costs" that go to McDaniel College?
"Indirect costs" are college infrastructure costs that are not specific to an individual grant but to all grant activities housed within the College. Technically called "Facilities and Administrative" (F&A) costs, these are "tapping into college resources" costs. Federal agencies use the resources of any college or university to house their grant work, and so colleges and universities have pre-negotiated rates with federal agencies to cover these costs. McDaniel College's current rate is 48.9% (of operating costs). For example, if you are applying for a three-year, $150,000 grant, you have about $100,000 to directly work with as principal investigator. The other $48,900 goes to McDaniel for every time over the three years you tap into the college's infrastructure resources, from using your computer for the grant work to the financial people managing the funds, and so on.

9. Where can I find program announcements and solicitations?
The "Search for Funds" link to the right will bring you to multiple free databases. If you need additional assistance, please email Gil Harootunian, Ph.D., Faculty Grants Associate.

10. Our new research project requires “cost-sharing.” What is this?
Many sponsors of grants expect the host institution, in this case McDaniel College, to share in the cost of conducting the project's work. Sponsors interpret the extent of cost sharing as a sign of the College's level of commitment. Frequently, this requirement is met through faculty time, use of resources that constitute direct costs to McDaniel College, and in-kind contributions from third parties. All such costs must be documented for the sponsoring organization, and as PI you will need to maintain records that track the cost-sharing on your project.

11. How long must I keep all documentation relating to the grant project?
For three years after the official date on which a governmental grant ends, you need to retain all grant documentation. For a non-government grant, you should keep all records for four years. Sometimes a specific sponsor asks that records be retained longer, or we need you to retain them longer for an audit, and if so, we will inform you of this. At the end of the assigned time, such as three years, you should dispose of all records. To maintain records is to maintain liability.

12. The grant ceiling is $100,000, but I need at least $125,000 for my project and, ideally, I should be working with $150,000 or more. What would you recommend?
Our best recommendation is to adjust the compass of your project to a sponsor's available funding. The proposal that fits well the sponsor's goal to realize certain work with allocated monies is the more competitive proposal. Sometimes this means funding one aspect of your project with a primary grant, and finding supplemental money with another grant. Or, perhaps you can do planning work or initial experimentation with one grant, and then apply for other grants in the future to take that work to the next level. When you apply for the subsequent grants, you are doing so with a proven track record from the first grant.

13. Who is responsible for copying and mailing a proposal?
Few sponsors today require that you mail paper copies, but for those that do, your department is responsible for all copying and mailing costs. Many sponsors now encourage, or even require, electronic submission. Most times the Office of Faculty Grants submits the electronic proposal though, in limited cases and circumstances, a PI can ask to be designated an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) of McDaniel College and then submit the grant her/himself online. We will inform you if your circumstances allow you the choice to submit online as an AOR.

14. I need to include fringe benefits for all grant salaries and wages. What are McDaniel's current fringe benefit rates?
Full-time faculty and staff receive approximately 30% fringe benefit rates while part-time faculty receive 8.5%. Consultants, external evaluators, artists, and similar outside personnel are paid by an hourly fee and do not receive fringe benefits through the College. If you need to breakdown the fringe benefits rates in a "Budget Justification" or "Budget Narrative," contact us for help.

15. What can I buy with my grant funds?
You can buy the items, products, and services (like those of a consultant) that you detailed in your project budget. Most sponsors are generous about giving PIs a wide berth—about 10% of the entire project budget—to adjust as needed, but you should be prepared to give your rationale for this adjustment, and all documentation relating to it, to the sponsor at any time. If you read with care the sponsor's grant award conditions, you will know your full rights as a PI regarding the budget, as well as any other aspects of your project.

Please feel free to submit additional questions or comments to Gil Harootunian, Ph.D., Faculty Grants Associate (x4699).