Applying for Funding - Department of Sociology, UC Irvine

Applying for Funding (Graduate Students)

Any time you apply for extramural funding (funding coming from a source other than UC Irvine), you will need to work with Kasey Ning (SSPB 4221; 949.824.2572; ningk@uci.edu) to get your proposal approved by the Dean's office and Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA). Our office needs three weeks prior to the due date to help get you started. For example, if you have a deadline of Oct. 21st, you should notify Kasey of your intention to submit no later than October 1st. We understand that sometimes you may not find out about an opportunity till very close to the deadline, but please try to help us out by giving us the advance notice whenever possible. If you have any questions about the process don't hesitate to contact Kasey.

PLANNING

Make an effort to identify multiple sources of funding for your project, and find out if you would be allowed to submit your proposal to multiple agencies.
Make use of campus resources, such as the Office of Research Development for funding opportunities.
Carefully read through the calls and be sure to obtain the most recent guidelines to understand the requirements and restrictions.
Seek advice from advisors and allow enough time for your proposal to be read and revised internally.

INITIAL STEPS

Begin the approval process with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) if your research project involves Human Subjects.
If you are applying to NSF for the first time and need to file through FastLane, please contact Judith Aguirre (949.824.0446) for log in account information.
Contact the Department Office at least three (3) weeks prior to the submission deadline to inform your intent to apply:

Please send Kasey the web link or email of the program announcement.
Answer the following questions:

What is your project title?
Who is your faculty sponsor/advisor?
What are the start and end dates of your projects? (paying attention to the requirement set forth in the program guidelines)
Will there be travel involved with your project? If yes, please list the destination(s).
Would your project involve human subject research? Please answer any and all of the following that applies to you:

If yes, have you started your IRB application?
What is your HS number assigned by the IRB office?
What is the approval date from the IRB office?
If exempted, what is the subcategory number?
Please provide approval letter/email from IRB office.

PROPOSAL PREPARATION

Prepare a clear, well organized proposal, following application guidelines. Agency guidelines are organized according to the topics that need to be addressed. Since reviewers must make sure that each proposal addresses each of these topics, it is usually helpful to organize your proposal around them.
Kasey can help draft a budget for you. Send her an email listing the project personnel and the initial amount you would like to allocate for supplies and materials, equipment, and travel. She can provide a detailed explanation of the cost estimation methods used in preparing the budget and work with you until you approve the final budget.
Additional forms, such as financial disclosure (Statement of Economic Interest), may be required.

FINAL COPIES AND MAILING

Preparing final copies and mailing of the proposal to the external funding agency are the responsibility of the PI.

POST AWARD ADMINISTRATION

Before any award is set up, SPA will make sure that IRB protocols have been approved and that they have received the financial disclosure forms. Be sure you have both of these items taken care of promptly so that your award is not delayed.
In most cases, SPA is the official office of record and will be notified by the agency if a proposal is funded. In some cases, the PI will be notified by the external agency directly.
SPA will notify the School and PI of the award and will set up an account number for the grant. If you have been notified personally, please forward the notification to Kasey to set up an account through SPA so that you may be paid through the university.
PI should contact the Social Science Business Office for all post-award actions including grant-related hires, payroll, expense spending and monitoring, compliance, no-cost extensions, and award closeout.