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Office of the Vice President
Research & Development
The University of Montana
University Hall 116
(406) 243-6670
(406) 243-6330 fax

Getting Grants

Overview: Obtaining External Funding for Research and Creative Activities

Where to begin?

I. Determine your audience

  • Who (besides you) would want to see this become a reality? Those individuals or agencies may lead to funding possibilities

II. Plan the approach

  • Do your homework to determine the "fit"
  • Search the web pages of the organization/agency
  • Email/call for their latest annual report and funding guidelines; be tenacious (AKA "pleasantly persistent")

III. Helpful places to start

IV. Suggested references

  • Bauer, D.G. 1984. The "How to" Grants Manual. American Council on Education/Macmillan Series on Higher Education. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, NY.
  • Bowman, J.P., and B.P. Branchaw. 1992. How to Write Proposals that Produce. Oryx Press, Phoenix, AZ.
  • Conrad, D.L. 1980. The Quick Proposal Workbook. Public Management Institute, San Francisco, CA. [Note: This is Associate Vice President for Research Claire Carlson's personal favorite.]
  • Krathwohl, D.R. 1988. How to Prepare a Research Proposal: Guidelines for Funding and Dissertations in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Third ed. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, NY.
  • Locke, L.G., W.W. Spirduso, and S.J. Silverman. 1987. Proposals that Work: A Guide for Planning Dissertations and Grant Proposals. Second ed. Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA.
  • Schumacher, D. 1992. Get Funded!: A Practical Guide for Scholars Seeking Research Support from Business. Sage Publications, Newbury Park, CA.
  • Steiner, R. 1988. Total Proposal Building. Second ed. Thistletree Publications, Albany, NY.

Identifying Potential Sources of Funding

I. Types of funding sources

  • Federal: U.S. government agencies or organizations which offer federal domestic assistance programs. This list is not inclusive.
  • Private and State: Includes foundations -- non-profit, non-governmental organizations with a principal fund or endowment of its own that maintains or aids charitable, educational, religious, or other activities serving the public good, primarily by making grants to other non-profit organizations -- and Montana State agencies that participate in grant-giving activities. Again, this list is not inclusive.

II. Use the Internet

  • Office of the Vice President for Research and Development (VPRD) is a good "jumpstation" to all kinds of information and services. Many federal and private web pages are linked.
  • Community of Scholars (COS) -- a great place to begin looking for funding opportunities. Additionally, the Federal Register (FR) and Commerce Business Daily (CBD) are linked here in an easy-to-use format.
  • The Grant Advisor's TGA Plus
  • Check out the grant-related reference tools available at the Mansfield Library, which is designated as a Foundation Center Cooperating Collection. Thus, the following materials, as well as other grant-related sources, are centrally located for easy access:

    The Foundation Directory, The Foundation Directory Part 2, The Foundation Directory Supplement, The Foundation 1000, Foundation Fundamentals, Foundation Giving, The Foundation Grants Index, The Foundation Grants Index Quarterly, Foundation Grants to Individuals, Guide to U.S. Foundations, Their Trustees, Officers, and Donors, The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing, National Directory of Corporate Giving, National Directory of Grantmaking Public Charities, National Guide to Funding... (series), The Foundation Center's Online Orientation: The Grant Seeking Process

Preparing Proposal Budgets

I. Include budget details

  • Include a rounded total direct cost estimate. Budgets are divided into direct and indirect costs. Direct costs are just what the name implies -- costs that can be directly attributed to the grant-funded activity. Indirect costs are costs that the institution incurs in conducting externally sponsored projects, but which cannot be directly attributed to a particular project. Basically they pay for the infrastructure the University must have in place to manage external funds. Examples of indirect costs are the University space used by project personnel, utilities costs, the costs to maintain the functions of the research office, purchasing, accounts payable. These costs are not easily apportioned to specific projects, so the University negotiates rates with the government. These rates are based on actual expenses for a given base year, and are revised every three years. Indirect costs are real costs; the funds recovered from grants are not profit but reimbursement of actual costs. However, the University chooses to reinvest these funds into research.
  • Identify administrative (or "indirect") costs, if any. There are separate indirect rates for different types of activities (research, instruction, other) and for on-campus and off-campus activities. Items that are normally treated as indirect costs, such as secretarial time, general office supplies, basic telephone, cannot be charged to grants as direct costs unless they are justified within the parameters of the project and are approved by the funding agency. For example, if your project involves doing a telephone survey with 12 operators calling people over a short period of time, it would be justified to ask the sponsor to pay basic telephone charges because they wouldn’t expect the University to have 12 extra phone lines available. However, an individual investigator could not ask for a basic phone line because it is assumed the university provides each faculty member with a phone, so that charge is part of the basic infrastructure of the university, therefore an indirect cost.
  • Identify matching funds requirements or cost sharing arrangements (i.e., hard dollars or in-kind contributions). When determining how those requirements will be met, hold conversations early on in the process with your chair or dean before approaching the Vice President for Research.

II. Schedule an appointment

  • At least two weeks prior to the time the proposal must be sent, schedule a time to go over budget details with ORSP, (406) 243-6671.

Obtaining University Approvals and Signature

  • Sign and date the Checklist for Proposal Approval before routing it to your department chair, dean, unit administrator, and ORSP. Your proposal must be administratively reviewed and approved by ORSP before it may be submitted to a potential sponsor. Signatures of your chair and dean indicate academic unit approval. If there is more than one department involved, all appropriate chairs and deans must sign the Checklist.
  • These, and other, details are specified in the ORSP Proposer's Guide.

Negotiating Awards

  • In many cases, after your proposal is recommended for funding, you will receive word from an agency grants officer that they would like to negotiate with you concerning the grant award. This generally indicates that the funding agency either wants to alter the award amount from your initial request, or that they desire changes to the proposed work, or both. In most cases where budget changes are involved, the grants officer will be proposing budget reductions, although occasionally budget increases are proposed.
  • You are free to negotiate directly with the agency staff concerning your budget, but all budget changes must be approved by the University prior to presenting them to the sponsor. As a result, the revised budget will need to be submitted to ORSP for review and approval. Depending on the proposal change, a new Checklist for Proposal Approval may be required. Any changes in the University's contribution should be discussed with the relevant University officials in advance of the routing process.

Establishing Grant Accounts

  • An award is not official until the University receives an actual award notice from the funding agency. If you receive an award notice, check with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs to be sure ORSP has also received a copy. If not, provide the office with a copy of the notice. Once ORSP has received the award notice, an account will be established and loaded by expense category according to your proposal budget. You will receive an Authorization to Proceed (ATP) and an account number for your project.
  • In most cases, the University is paid on a cost-reimbursement basis. Thus, the institution "advances" the funds and is not reimbursed until the sponsoring agency is billed for costs already incurred. During the course of your project, ORSP will prepare any sponsor-required financial reports. You, however, will need to prepare and submit the technical reports. It is important to note that payment can be delayed if reports are delinquent.

Managing Grant Expenditures

  • It is the University’s responsibility to ensure that grant funds are expended in accordance with the budget approved by the sponsor. Generally we have some leeway to rebudget, but some changes require sponsor approval. This doesn’t mean we can’t make the change, it just requires us to request approval from the sponsor and provide adequate justification.
  • Because grants and contracts are generally awarded on a cost-reimbursement basis, the University is required by federal regulations to have procedures in place to ensure that grant funds are spent appropriately and that costs are treated consistently. Auditors look at these procedures to make sure they are adequate. They also look to make sure they are consistently applied. Failure to maintain adequate fiscal controls can result in the University being denied future awards.
  • If costs incurred are either not allowable and/or inappropriate under the terms of the award, the University cannot obtain reimbursement. Also, if federal regulations are not followed and inappropriate charges are billed to the government, University staff involved can face criminal penalties under the False Claims Act. Ignorance of the regulations is no excuse – if the government determines you should have known (based on your position) that the claim was false, you can be prosecuted and face a possible prison sentence. Therefore, it is essential that University procedures be followed to make sure costs are allowable and appropriate.

I. Regulations that apply to externally sponsored activities

  • University regulations: We are required to apply these regulations consistently
  • State regulations: Generally these are the same as university regulations, since as a state institution our regulations need to comply with the state’s
  • Federal regulations: These are outlined in OMB Circulars A-110 and A-21 and apply to all federal awards unless superceded by agency- or grant-specific requirements. Example: purchase of alcoholic beverages not allowed with federal funds. Federal regulations require that expenses charged to grants be reasonable, allowable, and appropriate to the grant.
  • Grant-specific requirements: Each federal agency can have their own restrictions that apply to all of their awards or they may place special restrictions on a specific grant. For example, the grant may not allow the purchase of equipment, which is normally an allowable cost.

    These four sets of regulations form a hierarchy – state regulations supercede university regulations, federal supercede state, and grant-specific regulations supercede all of the others. So if you need to do something that is allowed by the grant but not by normal University procedures, generally you can get approval to waive the University requirement. However, federal agencies generally assume we will follow normal University practice and we must maintain the federal requirement for consistency in how funds are used. So if you are going to deviate from normal University practice, you must be able to provide adequate justification that it is appropriate and that we are being consistent.

II. Written documentation

  • Having written documentation is essential so that you can show that costs incurred meet the requirements of reasonableness, allowability, and appropriateness. If you submit a travel reimbursement form with a $500 hotel bill for a one night stay, it will be questioned because that does not seem reasonable. If you paid for rooms for 10 people, that sounds more reasonable, but ORSP won’t know that unless you tell us. So ORSP will ask you to provide written documentation for the file that explains why this is a reasonable cost. The travel form asks the purpose of the trip – this helps assist in determining that the expense is appropriate to the grant. Looking at the grant budget tells us if the charge is allowable under the terms of the award.
  • Detailed receipts from restaurants are needed so ORSP can determine if alcohol was included in the bill. Since alcohol is not an allowable cost, ORSP needs to know for each meal receipt whether or not it is included. You should try if at all possible to get an itemized receipt that indicates the nature of the items paid for, but if this impossible, you should indicate how much, if any, of the cost was for alcohol. That part of the bill cannot be paid from the grant, but may be paid from foundation funds.
  • Generally when ORSP requests more documentation or explanation of charges, it is being done to determine that the charges are reasonable, appropriate and allowable. Written documentation is also needed for audit purposes – an auditor can come in and question expenses charged to the grant at any time during the grant period and for three or more years afterward.

III. Hot buttons: Costs likely to be questioned

  • Alcohol: Federal funds cannot be used for the purchase of alcohol. Generally university funds also cannot be used for this, but exceptions can be made under unusual circumstances. Alcohol is generally purchased with foundation funds.
  • Advertising: The use of federal funds for advertising is restricted to certain circumstances, so this expense must be well-justified.
  • Entertainment: Federal funds cannot be used for entertainment. However, some expenses related to business meetings may be allowable if approved by the sponsor. Food and room rental costs may be allowable; flowers and artistic entertainment are not, and must be paid for from other funds.
  • Fixed costs such as basic telephone, copier maintenance, network port charges: These are generally treated as indirect costs, and can only be charged to federal grants if justified and approved by the sponsor. Such costs must be consistently treated costs as direct or indirect.
  • Equipment: Federal sponsors may not allow the purchase of equipment at all, depending on the program. If equipment is allowed, it must be dedicated to the project and be justifiable as being beyond what the University would be expected to provide to its employees. Example: a general-purpose office computer generally would not be allowed, since it is not solely dedicated to the project and the sponsor assumes the University provides staff with computers. However, if the project requires a high-end computer that will be tied up all day doing simulations, it may be justifiable.

    The methods used to accomplish the goals of the grant must fall within federal and University guidelines concerning allowability. Some things cannot be done with the grant funds but can be done with course fees, membership fees, or foundation funds. It’s important to determine the appropriate pot of money to cover various costs. Some of the accounts are more restrictive than others and some require more documentation than others. Also, be sure to ask first before the cost is incurred. It may not be possible to do what you want in the way you want, but there may be another way of doing it that falls within the federal regulations. For example, paying for an outfitting expedition for a speaker is not allowable on a grant, since it is entertainment. However, paying the speaker an honorarium may be allowable. The fact that the outfitter cost may be less than the honorarium doesn’t matter: one is allowable, the other is not. If you ask first, ORSP can make sure that it is allowable before you have incurred the cost, or can suggest another way of accomplishing your goal that is allowable. This is much easier than figuring out what to do about an expense you have already incurred that is not allowable.

    ORSP will help you manage these funds and can be of more help if involved before the cost is incurred by helping you determine the best way to accomplish your goal.

Preparing Sponsor-Required Reports

The principal investigator is responsible for writing and submitting the technical reports in a timely manner. If reporting is delinquent, ramifications can be severe. Most sponsoring agencies will not pay the institution until all delinquent reports have been received. Some sponsors will not fund any future projects submitted by that particular investigator until reporting is up-to-date, while some will not fund any additional research at the institution.

Managing Compliance

  • Additional procedures and reporting requirements apply to projects that involve the use of organisms and/or substances regulated by the state or federal government.
  • Use of Animals: The University of Montana recognizes the need for the judicious and ethical utilization of animals to fulfill its goal as being an educational and research center. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) plays a key role in maintaining the University's strict adherence to relevant laws and guidelines pertaining to the use of live animals in research and education.
  • Use of Hazardous Materials: The Office of Environmental Health and Occupational Safety is responsible for the Hazardous Materials Management Program, Radiation Safety, Infectious Materials Management, Underground Storage Tanks, Industrial Hygiene, Food Safety, Oversight of the Pest Control Program, and Indoor Air Quality.
  • Use of Human Subjects: The University of Montana requires that all research projects involving human subjects be approved by the University of Montana Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to any data collection, and the necessary forms must be submitted prior to the research proposal being submitted to a sponsor for funding. The IRB meets monthly during the academic year and, as needed, during the summer.
  • Use of Recombinant DNA: The University of Montana's Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) meets as needed to discuss each project using rDNA.

Protecting Intellectual Property

The University of Montana's Office of Technology Transfer provides assistance and advice to UM faculty, staff, and students on matters relating to:

    • copyright and patent protection;
    • appropriate relationships between UM and businesses;
    • exploitation of discoveries and innovations made at UM for the public good;
    • uncovering and managing the University's entrepreneurial assets; and,
    • avoiding avoiding "conflict of interest"