For additional information, please see the Corporate and Foundations Relations web page.

May 2008

Carleton College encourages its faculty to be active and creative within their disciplinary and interdisciplinary fields, and we encourage faculty to apply for externally funded grants to support research, creative work, and scholarly activities. Preference for internal grants will be given to faculty who have applied for external grants.

Because virtually all grant activities have an impact on others at the College, we ask that you inform and consult with the appropriate Carleton people early in the grant process. We also urge you to discuss your ideas and plans with people who might be helpful in identifying funders, talking through strategies, or refining proposals. To help you organize the process and assure us that you've made appropriate consultations, you must use and submit an External Proposal Approval Form/Sign Off for each proposal (available on the web at: http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/doc/faculty_resources/forms/, or in the Dean of the College office).

Be sure to allow yourself ample time. You will need to meet with the appropriate people and to write, circulate (perhaps among several people), and revise rough drafts of your proposal. As part of the proposal development process, you will also need to gather the necessary signatures for approval. You will probably have to make several copies of your proposal and then mail it to the granting agency to meet the deadline for applications. All of these steps take time, so be sure to plan for them. It is not unusual for an applicant to need several months to conceive, develop, and submit a viable grant proposal.

External Grant Initiatives. The College recognizes that time is a precious commodity and is pleased to be able to provide some modest support for those who seek significant external funding for their own scholarly or creative work (including work with students over the summers) or for institutional funds (such as equipment grants). This holds for all types of external grants: e.g., ACLS, Guggenheim, NEH large grants, Fulbrights, Spencer, NSF, NIH, research libraries. These incentive grants will be awarded after submission of the external proposal or application. Send a completed “External Grant Initiative Application” to the Dean of the College Office (available in the Dean of the College Office or on the Web at http://webapps.acs.carleton.edu/campus/doc/faculty_resources/forms/).

You will receive a grant of $1,200 for proposals in excess of $60,000, and $600 for grants between $17,500 and $60,000. If multiple proposals are submitted, they must be for different projects or for substantially different parts of a larger project to receive more than one External Grant Initiative. But if three or more proposals in the $17,500 - $60,000 range are submitted for the same project for a total amount of more than $60,000, then the award will be $1,200. If a faculty member is part of a multi-person project, the level of support will be proportional to that faculty member’s contributions to the grant proposal preparation and proposed project. In such a case, the levels of contribution should be specified on the application for the External Grant Initiative. The maximum award will be $1,800 in any given year. We hope this modest recognition will reflect the fact that this is an activity which benefits the College as well as the potential recipient.

External Grant Proposal Process

1. The chair of your department (and other colleagues with similar interests) may have suggestions for where to look for external support or experience with a specific foundation and can discuss departmental implications with you. Names of Carleton faculty who have received grants from various funders is available in the offices of Corporate and Foundation Relations and the Dean of the College; colleagues are usually happy to be consulted.
2. Clear your project with Éva Pósfay, Associate Dean of the College, (x4311), as early as possible. Describe what you intend to do and how your planned project relates to your long-term career development as a teacher and as a scholar, as well as how it connects with other programs and activities of the College. (Will it require new library materials, computers, or other equipment? How will it affect the curriculum of the College? Staffing in your department and interdisciplinary program?) Many proposals require institutional financial support; some call for matching funds.
3. If you are uncertain of where you might secure funding for your project, you may wish to consult with Christopher Tassava in Corporate and Foundation Relations (x5833) in Laird 115 who can suggest potential sources of support and provide information on deadlines and application procedures. He can also help you conceptualize your project in ways appropriate for funders. Copies of successful proposals are also available in Corporate and Foundation Relations. (Permission of the author is secured before proposals are shared.) Note: If you plan to apply for a federal grant from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, or other federal organization, please contact CFR as soon as you begin working on your grant. Federal grants typically involve heavy time commitments for administrative staff.
4. Write your proposal.
   1. Staff in the Corporate and Foundation Relations Office will be pleased to assist with reviewing, editing, establishing a budget, and proofreading your proposal if time permits. When applying for an NSF grant, your electronic proposal must be submitted through the CFR office. Please call x4441 for an appointment at least two weeks before the deadline.
   2. For help with the assessment elements now required in many applications, call Institutional Research (x4292).
   3. For assistance in preparing budgets, call Barbara Fowler, the College Assistant Comptroller (x4169). When preparing your budget, be sure to consider costs for library materials, computer, furniture, and remodeling. The Business Office has created a budget template to assist you in this process.
   4. For help with estimating the costs of library material, contact the Acquisitions Librarian (x5553).
   5. For assistance in estimating the cost of computing equipment, call Joel Cooper, Information Technology Services Director (x4077).
   6. To obtain cost estimates for office equipment or furniture, call Randie Johnson, Purchasing Agent (x4178).
   7. For assistance in determining the availability of space or estimating costs of remodeling, call Facilities (x4167).
   8. If you apply for a grant that includes salary, you should be aware of tax implications (consult your tax advisor; Barbara Fowler in the Business Office might also be helpful, x4169). If your grant pays salary (either regular or summer stipend) there may be an impact on your fringe benefits and you should consult Barbara Fowler. Your budget may need to include funds to cover salary and benefits, with different rates applied for academic year and for summer.
5. Obtain the appropriate signatures on the Proposal Development and Approval Form before submitting the proposal.
   1. Department Chair (or other senior colleague, if you are department chair). This indicates departmental knowledge and approval of your plan. If you are involved in an interdisciplinary program, you should also discuss your plans with its director.
   2. Associate Dean, Éva Pósfay. Many proposals require institutional financial support and the Dean’s Office needs to approve the commitment of funds.
   3. Corporate and Foundation Relations. If you plan to submit your proposal to a private funder, please clear it with Christopher Tassava in Corporate and Foundation Relations. There may be some relationship between a foundation and the College of which you should be aware, or the foundation may impose certain restrictions, such as a limit to the number of Carleton proposals it will accept in a year.
   4. Assessment/Institutional Research. Required on proposals with an assessment component; see Institutional Research for help in developing this component.
   5. Vice President and Treasurer. If your project involves the use of college facilities (any space), remodeling, the purchase of equipment, or matching funds from the College, clear your proposal with the Vice President and Treasurer.
   6. Information Technology Services. If your project includes the purchase of computing equipment or an expectation of service support for equipment, you must consult with Joel Cooper about equipment specifications and maintenance options.
   7. College Comptroller. If the College will serve as fiscal agent for the project, clear your proposal with Barbara Fowler. The College serves as fiscal agent for most grants except for some individual research projects funded by private foundations.
   8. Conflict of Interest. If you are applying for a Carleton-administered grant from a federal agency or foundation, you must read and sign the Federal Grant Disclosure Form (found on the web at http://webapps.acs.carleton.edu/campus/doc/faculty_resources/research_and_grants/external_grants/conflict_of_interest/.
   9. Dean of the College. The Dean’s signature is required for proposals submitted to federal agencies. These federal applications must be submitted through Corporate and Foundation Relations with at least two weeks’ advance notice.
6. After submitting your proposal to the funder, give one complete copy of your proposal and all supporting documents along with the sign-off sheet to Corporate and Foundation Relations. If you wish assistance in preparing required multiple copies of proposals or in preparing proposals for mailing or electronic submission, check with Corporate and Foundation Relations at least one week before your deadline. If you prefer not to submit your proposal yourself, staff there will prepare and submit the proposal, but they need lead time to plan for these tasks. Duplication and mailing costs will be charged to you or your department.
7. Submit an External Grant Initiative Application to the Dean of the College Office, if appropriate.

REPORTING

1. Please report on the outcome of your proposal to the Dean of the College and the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations. If your proposal is not successful, Corporate and Foundation Relations will try to help you identify alternative funders.
2. If your grant involves several faculty, grant management and coordination procedures need to be set up and agreed upon. A grant operations committee should be set up and a meeting held before the grant activities commence to ensure smooth management and reporting.
3. Submitting reports on the use of grant funds and the progress of projects is the responsibility of the project director (or grant manager, if a grant operations committee is formed). Corporate and Foundation Relations will be pleased to remind you of obligations and to assist in preparing reports. The Business Office will assist in the preparation of financial reports.