Research Funding in the Arts

Research Analyst Christina Waters is available to assist ladder-rank faculty in researching and applying for extramural support. As Administrator for the division’s Arts Research Institute, Dr. Waters will notify faculty about upcoming ARI funding rounds, and is available to strategize on ARI and other intramural funding competitions.
Research Analyst Waters provides the following services:

* technical assistance on finding grant opportunities
* updating of guidelines for proposal writing
* reviews and edits of grant applications
* Grant compilation assistance, help with OSP
* grantwriting workshops, on request

Please contact the Research Office (ext. 9/2256 or [email protected]) for assistance or information on upcoming funding opportunities.

• How You Can Help Get the Funding Process Started

* Develop a 1-2 page outline of your project with key research questions and budget needs - see format section below.
* Email the outline to Christina Waters: [email protected] so that she can help match your project with funding opportunities

• When Your Proposal is Ready for Review

If you would like to request a proposal review for clarity, presentation, adherence to the guidelines and grammatical accuracy, please send your draft electronically to Research Analyst Waters at least 5 working days before the deadline.

Definitions and Policies: This section defines the different types of research support principal investigators (PIs) can apply for at UCSC.

Gifts
External funding for endowments, gifts for capital construction, irrevocable gifts, and awards with no contractual or reporting requirements are accepted and administered by University Relations, and are directed either to the UC Santa Cruz Foundation or the UC Regents. Gift funds are then transferred to the campus service center associated with the unit that will expend the funds.

Grants, Contracts
Training, public service, and research at the University of California can also be supported through grants and contracts to the Regents from both private and governmental agencies. Grants and contracts are appropriate for awards that have terms and conditions that reference a precise scope of work, carry indirect costs, are revocable, or involve proprietary products or patents. Award letters specifying the use of the funds and any reporting requirements, are sent directly to the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP), who in turn notify the principal investigator (PI) and appropriate campus offices. The extramural funds office sets up a fund assigned to the appropriate campus service center. Funds are expended by the principal investigators (generally faculty members) under the supervision of the service center. The OSP is responsible for ensuring that necessary reports, both programmatic and financial, are forwarded from principal investigators to funders.

• Policies on Submitting Proposals and Receiving Awards

The following University of California Office of the President (UCOP) policy explains the rationale for requiring submission of proposals through the Office of Sponsored Projects. This policy is located in the UCOP Contract and Grant Manual, http://www.ucop.edu/raohome/cgmanual/chap02.html:
Prior to submission or acceptance, all proposals and awards for either extramural or intramural support must be reviewed and approved by the campus or Laboratory Contract and Grant Office or other formally designated office for consistency with campus or Laboratory and Universitywide policies and procedures. This does not apply to: construction grants and contracts to the extent that such awards are subject to the policies and procedures of the University Facilities Manual; work-study programs or awards for student aid grants, scholarships, or loans which are within the scope of campus and Office of the President Student Financial Support Offices; or agreements which establish or modify programs with the Education Abroad Program.

• Who May Submit Proposals

The Principal Investigator policy, which describes who is eligible to submit proposals, is reprinted in the Faculty Handbook. Members of the Academic Senate and appointees in other eligible title groups listed in the policy may submit proposals. With the approval of a Chancellor, Vice President, or the Dean of University Extension, University personnel with other faculty and staff titles not listed may submit proposals, subject to certain conditions.

• Planning your research activities

* Identify a project
* Assess project fit with overall personal goals or organizational purpose
* Think the plan through to the end
*Assess your expertise, resources & strengths to approach the project
* Involve collaborators in planning
* Know the competition: Once you have identified a funding source, check with OSP or Research Analyst Waters to ascertain the campus’s funding history with the organization before contacting them. Some organizations accept only one proposal a year per institution, or require that proposals come under the signature of a chancellor or dean. It is helpful to know if other projects are already submitted to a targeted organization, and to find out what has succeeded or failed in the past. It is very rare at UCSC for a proposal to be queued, so this requirement is not intended to delay the proposal, but rather to improve it.
* If you are planning to apply for extramural funding, please read the Handbook for UCSC Principal Investigators on the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) website. http://www.ucsc.edu/osp

• Working with the Office of Sponsored Projects

The Office of Sponsored Projects is UCSC's institutional office
responsible for reviewing, endorsing and submitting all proposals to extramural sponsors for research, training and public service projects. Other institutional responsibilities include:
* negotiating and accepting awards on behalf of The Regents;
* drafting, negotiating and executing subawards;
* ensuring institutional compliance with Federal and State regulations, sponsor policy and University policy;
* representing the campus and The Regents when interacting with sponsors;
* coordinating pre-award and post-award actions that require either institutional or sponsor prior approval including award close-out;
* preparing research activity and associated reports; and,
* resolving problems related to sponsored projects.

The OSP contact for the Arts Division is Kate Aja, Senior Research Administrator.
Phone: 9-2341, [email protected]

When you contact OSP, begin by providing the name of the funder, the deadline for submission or receipt of the proposal, and the rough outline of the budget. The OSP staff will then begin the process to ensure that the proposal will be submitted in a timely fashion. It is important to report in early and be sensitive to staff workloads at OSP. Again, don’t wait until the last minute to contact OSP!

• Budget Development

OSP http://www.ucsc.edu/osp/ will help prepare budgets for applications to both federal and private sources. The office developed and maintains Robobudget, an Excel spreadsheet. Robobudget includes personnel information that can calculate salary and benefit amounts based on employee classification and can project expenditures for all years of the grant based on anticipated cost increases. Robobudget also tracks the latest figures for GSR costs, including fees and tuition remission. OSP staff are knowledgeable in all areas of proposal preparation and have the forms required by UCSC and by federal agencies. Budget forms for federal funders such as the National Science Foundation are online and can be downloaded via the internet with the appropriate software.

Contact Kate Aja, x-9-2341 for post award budget questions related to award negotiation, agency contact, allowability of costs, dispute resolution and reporting requirements.

• Personnel & Sabbatical Credits

If a proposal includes release time for yourself, other UCSC academic personnel, or involves appointing staff with academic titles, including post-docs, please discuss these needs with the division academic personnel analyst. Asst. Dean Cloud is the Arts Division’s contact person for academic human resources, and can counsel researchers as to their sabbatical credits, leaves-of-absence and course relief options. Prior review of your potential commitments is advised regardless of the pay status of any academic personnel who will be in residence at UCSC.
Assistant Dean Jan Cloud, x 9-3272
[email protected], Porter D-262

• Facilities & Space

Creative projects often involve special space considerations – theaters, screening rooms, rehearsal space. If additional space is needed, the box on the Extramural Data Sheet must be checked indicating that additional space and equipment are required. You must negotiate these needs in advance of applying for the award. The provision of space and equipment is typically a departmental responsibility. If you needs exceed the resources of your department, please contact:
Business and Operations Manager x9-2534

It is important that space and needs are negotiated with the department chair and division prior to submitting the proposal. All discretionary space in the division has been assigned to departments and many departments have allocation policies in place. Receipt of a grant does not require the department nor the division to provide space or equipment tat has not been negotiated in advance. When developing the budget, be sure to consider the space and equipment needs of any staff to be hired.

• Post-Award: Grants Administration

One role of the Arts Business Office is to process grant transactions quickly and accurately, to provide PI(s) with up-to-date information regarding expenditures, and to assist in projecting future expenditures. Staff are responsible for ensuring that your proposal expenditures comply with the terms of your gift, grant, or contract.
When the grant is funded, the campus accounting office will assign a FOAPAL (account number) to the grant and allocate funds to the spending categories referenced in the approved budget. Arts Business Office staff will assist principal investigators in expending their grant funds. The main contact person for the PI(s) will be Business Assistant Aimee Frye.
For help with grants administration issues:
Research Analyst x9-5646
Adrienne O'Hanlon [email protected]

• Format for Two-Page Query

1. Need: What is the need or background for this project?
2. Objectives: Please list three or less objectives or research questions this project will explore.
3. Methodology: How will this project occur? Please answer who will do what, when, and how the objectives will be measured and evaluated.
4. Personnel: Who will be the main PI on this project? Will there be any Co-PIs?
5. Budget: How much will this project cost? Please provide a 1/2 page line item budget with as much detail as possible in the space allowed.
6. Funding Opportunities: What research or contacts with potential funders have you completed already, if any?
7. Deadline: When is the deadline for potential funders you have identified?
8. Development Team Assistance: With what specific tasks can we assist you?

• Datasheet for Extramural Proposal

The Data Sheet for Extramural Proposal, must accompany the completed proposal when it is submitted to the Office of Sponsored Projects. Data sheets are available at the Office of Sponsored Projects website.

The intent of this sheet is to certify that the proposed scope of work is consistent with the mission and regulations of the University of California and with the specific goals of the division or ORU which will forward the proposal. The signatures of the PI(s), department chair, business officer, dean, ORU director/s, and sponsored projects commit UCSC to comply with the terms of an award and to provide progress and financial reports. The data sheet is for internal campus use only and does not need to be typed.

Following are explanations of a few of the terms on the data sheet:

A. Exceptions to Policy: Faculty who are not members of the academic senate must have on file at the Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research an Exception to Policy form. This must be signed by a member of the academic senate who will verify that the PI requesting an exception is capable of carrying out the project. The form must be accompanied by a letter of support from the sponsor describing the qualifications of the applicant to administer a project and conduct research.
B. Administering department/ORU/unit: Usually the Arts Division
C. Statement of Economic Interest: Form 730U This form must be filed when a non-governmental agency sponsors a contract or grant or gives a gift to support research in an amount over $250. Obtain copies from the Office of Sponsored Projects. If a financial interest is disclosed, a campus committee must decide whether the contract, grant or gift can be accepted.
D. Disclosure of Financial Interest: Government Support: Until July 1, 1997, all principal investigators applying to the NSF, or the Public Health Service, must disclose significant personal financial interests related to the project. After July 1, 1997, the policy will apply to all grant proposals to a federal agency. This policy may later be extended to all extramural projects. Disclosure of Financial Interest forms are available from the Office of Sponsored Projects.
E . Indirect Costs: While developing a budget, an indirect cost rate will have been assigned to the project by the Office of Sponsored Projects.
F. Requested Total Costs: This is the total of direct and indirect costs.
G. Cost Sharing/Future Commitment of Resources: Enter the amount allocated to cost sharing in the budget. The grant analysts in the Social Sciences Service Center will look carefully at cost sharing to ensure that the division will be in compliance with government regulations or UC audit provisions.
H. Additional Space or Facilities Requirements : This box must be checked to indicate that additional space and equipment are required, and previously negotiated, in advance of applying for the award. Neither the department nor the division guarantees the availability of space or equipment that has not been negotiated prior to the submission of a proposal.
I. Signatures: The principal investigator is responsible for signing the data sheet, and for obtaining the signature of co-principal investigators and the department chair. Be sure to check the availability of the department chair and the dean well in advance of the proposal's deadline. Signature authority cannot be delegated to staff, so it is important that you verify the availability of the chair and dean.
Once the signatures are obtained, and the rest of the data sheet is complete, take the form along with the narrative and final budget to the Research Analyst, Christina Waters, Porter Faculty Services. She will review the budget, and obtain the business officer's and dean's signature (assuming facilities, space and computing requirements with staff are completed). If time is short, it will be necessary for the PI or designee to hand deliver the application packet, including required copies, to the Office of Sponsored Projects.
Some agencies now require electronic submission of proposals. Please consult with the research administrator in OSP if you have questions about making an electronic submission.