Research Process

As the new grants administrator in the College of Social Work, Beth Herron is available to help reduce the workload associated with seeking external funding.

Beth will:

• Serve as a resource and support for faculty engaged in research.

• Assist faculty in searching for and identifying a variety of funding sources.

• Offer guidance in drafting and preparing proposals.

• Assist faculty in strengthening and creating cooperative partnerships and collaborations with other researchers and institutions.

• Collect and disseminate data on COSW expertise and funding awards.

• Manage grants and contracts awarded to the COSW.

The Grants Administrator will help faculty in the following areas:

• Helping with proposal preparation, including assembling boilerplate documentation; proof-reading proposals; and editing proposals.

• Developing Project Budgets

• Researching Funding Opportunities

• Coordinating Collaboration of Interdisciplinary Grant Teams

• Working with Sponsored Awards Management and Contract and Grant Accounting in the Pre-Award and Post-Award Process

• Managing Grant Awards

• Offering Opportunities for Cross-disciplinary Interaction and Collaboration

Preparing Your Application

Once a potential funding source has been identified, the Grants Administrator is able to offer assistance with the preparation of research proposals. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare a proposal – the following guidelines will help you plan:

1. Let Beth know that you are thinking about submitting an application:

a. 6 – 8 weeks before submission date: tell Beth about your plans

b. 3 – 4 weeks before submission date: meet with Beth (301 DeSaussure; 7-1326)

c. 5 – 10 days before submission date: begin USCERA routing process

2. Information Beth needs to assist you in the application process:

a. The Program Announcement/Request for Proposal/Application Guidelines

b. Your general ideas about budget, including personnel and equipment needs

c. The project deadline date!

3. What Beth can do for you in the application process:

a. Advise on budget issues and prepare the proposal budget and budget narrative

b. Assist with completion of grant forms (such as the Face Page, etc.)

c. Collect information from on-campus collaborators

d. Help collect and update boilerplate information

e. Check the budget and application for compliance with funding agency and University guidelines

f. Edit and/or proof-read your proposal

g. Assist with on-line submission systems such as Grants.gov and NSF FastLane

h. Communicate with Dan Christmus, our SAM liaison

i. Answer any questions you might have!

Please call me at 777-1326 or e-mail me at herronb@sc.edu.

Managing Your Award

You’ve found out that your proposal has been funded. Congratulations! It is important to manage awards in accordance with all applicable guidelines and procedures.

Beth will work closely with Dan Christmus, our Sponsored Awards Management liaison, Gina Hambrick, our Contract and Grant Accounting liaison, and Beverly Simmons, the College’s Business Manager, to manage your grant award.

Hiring Personnel

Beth will work with Beverly, Deborah Duvall, and Frances Spann to make sure paperwork is completed for graduate assistants, temporary staff, and faculty compensation (whether summer salary or course buy-out). It is important to remember that if you are teaching summer school, you can not also be paid summer salary from a grant project. Please use the form for graduate assistant hiring now available on our website.

Conducting Transactions (Purchasing, Travel, Check Requests, Etc.)

Funding agencies and programs support or allow different types of expenses in their grant or contract budgets. Please work with Beth to make sure your expenses are allowable before you make them. She will track your grant budget to ensure that you are spending in the appropriate categories, and she can work with SAM, Contract and Grant Accounting, and your funding agency if you need to re-budget or request a project extension. Also, please work with her to make sure that all travel and purchasing is done in compliance with University of South Carolina procedures. In the final ninety days of a project, she will work with you on the project close-out, so that any remaining funds are spent appropriately.

Reporting

Most grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts require periodic reporting. Almost every project requires a final report. Beth will work with you to make sure you meet these requirements, as often receipt of funds is tied to the timely submission of progress reports. Additionally, some reports have to be submitted through SAM, which she can help facilitate.

If you have questions about your funding, please contact Beth at 7-1326.