PIVOT DATABASE
The emergence of Pivot was born out of a need to give Faculty, Research Administrators, and Research Development Professionals the edge in connecting the right opportunities with the right people. Thus, Pivot combines both a comprehensive database of global funding opportunities and a search tool to identify researcher expertise across leading research institutions and organizations worldwide. The result is enhanced communication, monitoring, and tracking amongst individual faculty, research teams, and the Research Development office.
Create an Account
- Go to
- In the top right corner, click on “Sign up” > Enter your information (to validate your WSU affiliation please use your WSU email address)
Conducting a Search
Once you have created an account, log in with your username and password.
You will automatically see your homepage. This page allows you to view your saved funding searches and your list of Active[1] and Tracked[2] funding opportunities.
To start a search, click on the search icon near the top right of the screen.
Under the search field, click on Advanced Search.
Under the gray header bar titled “Search using these”, click on the link titled “+ More search attributes.”
Click on the links “Activity Location, Citizenship or Residency, Funding Type, Keywords, and Requirements, to activate the drop down menus.
*Note: Be sure you don’t mistakenly select these links from the “Exclude These” field.
Regarding Activity Location
- This refers to the location of where you will be conducting your research. If you are looking to collect data abroad (or out of state), it would helpful to select the specific country (or state), continent, or region to maximize your results.
Under Activity Location > Type in Washington into the search field (if you will remain in the state for the duration of your dissertation work) and select United States/Washington. Pivot will still pull up opportunities that don’t place restrictions on residency.
Under Citizenship or Residency click on United States (if you are an international student, select your country of citizenship)
Under Funding Type, select all applicable types of funding opportunities you are interested in
Under the Keywordsmenu, click on browse. A Keywords menu box appears to the right. The terms you see listed are umbrella terms that COS uses to organize more specific keywords into sub-folders. You will want to search for applicable keywords most related to your field. You can include as many keywords as you like.
Example: If I want to research social stratification in education, I would first click on the keyword/folder Education (once I have clicked on it, the keyword will appear underneath the Keywords list to the left of the box) and then I would click on the + sign next to the Social Sciences folder to expand the list of keywords, I would click on the + sign next to the Sociology folder, and then click on the keyword Social Stratification.
*Tip: If you want to search for a specific keyword, type your keyword of interest into the search field. If Pivot utilizes that keyword, it should appear in the box for you to select. This will show you the location of your selected keyword within the COS keyword tree but you can just easily click on the keyword itself from the list that COS pulls up.
Note – Pivot may not use specific keywords for concepts in your field. In this case you will have to brainstorm alternative words for the same concept or use a broader keyword (“umbrella out”).
Example: Pivot does not use “volcano” but uses “volcanology.” Other alternative/broader terms include “Earth Sciences,” “Geophysics,” and “Natural Disasters.”
After selecting all applicable keywords, close out of the keyword menu box.
Under Requirements, select any identifiers you feel are appropriate. This will filter the results you are eligible to apply for. I do not recommend selecting Academic Institution since this will pull up opportunities for working professionals.
Click Search
SAVING A SEARCH
*You can only save a search after you have created an account
If you are pleased with the results of your search and want to save it for later viewing, click on Save Your Query at the top middle of your results page.
You will be prompted to “choose a name for your search” so that you can distinguish it from other future saved searches. You will notice a box that is automatically checked to “receive a weekly email containing new or updated opportunities from this query.” This is a great way to stay informed of the latest funding opportunities that match your specific search criteria. These emails are typically sent on Sundays.
Once you have entered a name for your search, click on “Save.” Your search is now saved on your homepage underneath the headline Your Saved Searches. To view it again, click on the Home tab and simply click on the title of your search.
MODIFYING A SEARCH
Once you have logged into Pivot, identify the search you would like to modify under your Saved Searches and click on “Select a Task” and select “Edit this search.”
Follow outlined instructions above on Conducting a Search to add (or delete) additional keywords or select additional fields (e.g., Requirements, Funding Type).
TRACKING AN OPPORTUNITY
Once you find an opportunity that you are interested in applying for and has an upcoming deadline, you can track this opportunity on your homepage. On your Funding Search Results page, check the box next to the funding opportunity you are interested in and on the top right of the page, go to the gray Tools menu and click “Put opp on” and then select the appropriate tracking mechanism.
[1] When you designate a funding opportunity to be Active, it is one of primary importance – perhaps with an upcoming deadline.
[2]Tracked opportunities are those which you want to monitor but are less crucial than your Active opportunities.