Research Foundation Liaison to NSS

Jessica Berg is our new Research Foundation Liaison to NSS (although Carol Darstein is still involved in proposal preparation and submission). Her contact information is

Jessica Berg, CRA

GrantDevelopment Specialist, Pre Award and Contract Services

Research Foundation of SUNY/Buffalo State College

Bishop Hall B-24

Phone716/878 3047Fax716/878 4039

In what ways can Jessica help NSS faculty and staff? Here are some examples:

  1. Searching for funding opportunities, especially by adding individuals to SMARTS
  2. Downloading and printing voluminous RFPs
  3. Getting permission for individuals to read awarded grant proposals (as examples)
  4. Assistance in preparation of grant proposals:

  1. Filling out forms
  2. Assurances
  3. Proofreading and reviewing proposals for compliance with guidelines
  4. Interpreting Grant Proposal Guide
  5. Preparing checklist of “things to do to finish the proposal”
  6. Budget preparation
  7. Help with budget forms
  8. Making copies of proposals
  9. Submitting proposals

Why should a faculty or staff member write a grant proposal?

  1. Grant proposals count as scholarship for promotion, tenure and discretionary decisions (funded grants count “more,” but simply submitting a grant proposal is considered scholarship)
  2. One can include in a grant proposal support for course release(s), secretarial support, equipment acquisition, research assistants (either graduate or undergraduate), travel support, etc.
  3. A portion of the “overhead” in a funded grant proposal comes back to the PI as unrestricted funds.

Back

What other support for grant writing is provided?

  1. The Research Incentive Program provides up to $7000 to help do the groundwork research that may be needed to increase one’s chances of getting funded in the future. Recipients promise to submit a large grant proposal (for 10 times the amount of the incentive grant).
  2. The dean’s office has a limited pool of money to support activities that enhance research funding eligibility. Typically, this money is used to support research-related travel, but the dean will consider other uses proposed by faculty and staff.
  3. The Scholarship Support Programhas been established to help faculty and staff members with all stages of the research and grant-writing process, including conceptualization of scholarly ideas, project design, questionnaire development, development of program evaluations, statistical design, and data analysis. For more information, visit
  4. Workshops will be offered periodically by the Research Foundation to assist faculty and staff members with various steps of the grant preparation process.