Services available from the Office of the Vice Provost

Although the Office of the Vice Provost has the primary legal responsibility to ensure compliance with all Federal regulations surrounding grants and contracts, the mandate of the office includes promoting, and providing relevant services to researchers at Tufts. These services are intended to help advance research at Tufts and to improve the research environment. They are generally administered through the OVP and include:

• Communicating funding opportunities
• Coordination of the limited submission process
• Professional editing and grantsmanship assistance
• Writing assistance for large, multi-investigator or institutional grants
• Acting as a liaison with funding agencies

Communicating Funding Opportunities
The most frequent means for communicating funding opportunities to faculty is through Opportunities in Research (OIRs). These summary sheets contain a brief profile about the funding program and the sponsor's contact information. OIRs are based on a comprehensive review of numerous information sources including:

• Community of Science Funding Opportunity Database
• GrantsNet Database
• The Federal Register
• The Commerce and Business Daily
• NIH Guide
• NSF Program Guides
• Department of Defense program announcements
• Other publications and announcements

OIRs are sent to department chairs and administrators via email. There are also commercial and subscription-based electronic resources provided by the Office of the Vice Provost. These include the Community of Science (COS) and the IRIS database, which are a national subscription services accessed by the Web. They provide keyword-searchable, timely and comprehensive information regarding both public and private funding sources. Our staff can assist individuals in developing a customized computer search for support and will input COS profiles for faculty. To use these services, please contact 617-636-6550.

Coordination of the Limited Submission Process
While a good number of funding agencies have no restrictions on the number of applications they will accept for a particular program, there are some that do. The consequence for submitting proposals without regard to the limit, whether knowingly or unknowingly, may result in the automatic rejection of all proposals from Tufts. The Office of the Vice Provost centralizes the limited submission process in order to ease the application process for interested candidates and to ensure that submission restrictions are met.

The Office of the Vice Provost receives mailings, newsletters, and email notifications about and actively searches on the Community of Science (COS) database for limited submission funding opportunities. Once appropriate opportunities are found, an internal deadline date is established. This date is typically three or four weeks before the actual due date of the proposal. This time slot allows for a committee selection process and for the selected nominee(s) to prepare his or her application. An informative notice of each limited submission opportunity is forwarded to appropriate department chairs and managers who, in turn, inform the faculty of that department. Each interested applicant must turn in his or her CV, an abstract of his or her proposal no more than 1-2 pages in length, and a letter of nomination from their department chair. These materials must be sent to the Office of the Vice Provost, where staff members confirm the eligibility of each applicant. A selection committee then reviews the applications and chooses the nominee(s). The Office of the Vice Provost notifies the applicants of the decision and provides the selected nominee(s) with application instructions and materials. Office staff, having also been notified of the decision, ensures that only a selected nominee's packet will be signed for approval.

Proposal Editing and Grantsmanship Assistance
The Office of the Vice Provost has retained the services of a professional grant writer and several professional grant editors and technical writers. To use these services, please contact our office at 617-636-6550. In addition to these resources, staff members can read draft proposals and provide effective feedback to Principal Investigators who request it. This feedback can address:

• clarity and completeness of exposition
• conformity of the proposal to agency guidelines (format and focus)
• substance of the project itself (in areas of staff expertise)

Writing assistance for large, multi-investigator or institutional grants
Large, multi-investigator grants can be difficult to coordinate. In addition, applications for funds for institutional advancement, such as construction or planning grants, often require a great deal of time from an individual investigator. The Office of the Vice Provost can provide professional writing assistance to help develop a complete narrative for such applications.

Liaison
The Office will act as liaison with state and federal agencies. When appropriate, directors will work directly with program and contract officers on behalf of the PI or help arrange meetings between prospective applicants and program personnel.