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Workshop offers insight into preparing grant proposals
By TIM HARTIGAN
Reporter Contributor
Despite a sneaky, late-winter snowstorm, more than 50 UB faculty and staff members received some insight into the fundamentals of getting grants to support projects during a workshop, "Preparing Grant Proposals: An Introductory Workshop," held on March 17.
The workshop, which was held simultaneously in the DEVO classrooms on the North and South campuses, was sponsored by Millard Fillmore College. Featured speakers were Anne Dunford, assistant vice president for corporate and foundation relations in the Division of University Advancement, and John H. Stone, director of the Center for International Rehabilitation Research and Information Exchange (CIRRIE) in the School of Public Health and Health Professions.
Dunford began her presentation by defining the criteria that a project must have in order to gain private institutional support, stressing that foundations make awards to further their own missions, visions and goals. She also spoke about the economic landscape for foundations in the near future.
Dunford summarized the preconceptions of novice grant writers in the "Five Deadly Myths" of proposal writing, and explained to workshop participants what to avoid when preparing a proposal.
She also introduced participants to the "Foundation Proposal Tool Kit,' a planner offered by University Advancement to help writers prepare a successful grant application. The tool kit can be accessed online at http://giving.buffalo.edu/docs/Foundation%20Proposal%20Toolkit.doc.
During his presentation, Stone told participants that time management is essential for obtaining grants from government agencies. He suggested grant writers and principal investigators hold an organizational meeting well in advance of the request for proposal (RFP) submission date to allow time for task identification, budget development and revisions. He then went on to pull apart the general proposal process, and concluded by explaining how investigators and grant applicants should follow up if their projects aren't funded.
Although much of their presentations relayed what appeared to be common-sense information, Dunford and Stone both stressed the importance of following the established protocol when preparing grant applications, peppering their talks with anecdotes of what and what not to do when applying for funding.
Streamed video of the presentations may be viewed at http://devo.buffalo.edu/streaming/streaming_mfc.htm.