Grant Criteria

Once a faculty member has either (1) developed a project idea for which s/he would like to seek external funding, or (2) identified an RFP for which s/he would like to develop a sponsored research project, s/he should call the Grants Officer at x8795 to dicuss the following criteria and the feasibility of moving forward:

Need for the Project

• What is the evidence of a need for this project (e.g. research, reports, statistics, etc.)?
• What will be the difference at the end of the project?
• Is the timeline for the application reasonable?

Benefit to Institution

• Why should Lesley support this project? (e.g. who is already doing similar work and what would be our special niche if we were to do it?)
• How does the project fit within the institutional mission?
• Do the strengths of the institution fit the RFP?
• How will the project enhance current programs (e.g. moving a program to a new level, opening up a new market or audience, recruiting for a current program, providing positive publicity for the program or institution?)

Impact on Institutional Resources (Budget)

• Is there a matching or cost-sharing requirement in the grant? If so, how will this requirement be met?
• What school or university resources will be required that are not specifically covered in the gran budget (e.g. office space, support personnel, etc.)?
• What systems will be affected (e.g. technical support from UT, marketing/enrollment and registration, etc.)?
• What are the expectations regarding continued support of the project after funding has expired?
• Are there partnership or outreach requirements for the grant?

Personnel Issues

• Are there workload or staffing issues within the program that might prohibit the release of faculty to do this work at this time?
• What evidence is there that the project director/principal investigator(s) will be able to manage a grant of this size and scope?
• How will this project enhance the careers of the faculty involved (e.g. professional development, national exposure, etc.)?
• What are the workload implications for the faculty involved in the project (i.e. what activities will the faculty members be released from in order to do this work?)

Most of these criteria will beed to be addressed in the proposal narrative and budget, so faculty can look at these criteria as an opportunity to develop their ideas further in ways that will ultimately assist them in preparing their grant application. The Grants Officer is available to consult with and assist faculty members in developing their proposal application and budget.

The proposal application and all supporting documents should be completed and submitted to the Grants Officer no later than one week before the due date. The Grants Officer will forward copies of the application narrative and budget to appropriate administrators for final approval and will obtain necessary sigantures for forms.