Office of Research Development On-Demand Workshops

Who Wants to Fund My Research? - Understanding the Federal Budget Process

Each year the federal government manages a multi-phase process of budget planning, appropriations and program implementation. Understanding the cycle and the process by which research funding programs are established and expanded can reveal potential funding opportunities before they are publicly announced. In this workshop, Loren Walker, Director of the Office of Research Development, will provide an overview of the federal budget planning process and discuss how this information can inform your search for funding and help you write more competitive proposals. These workshops are held on an on-demand basis. Click here to request.

DoD Prospecting, Army Research Laboratory

The Department of Defense is the largest federal sponsor of research and development spending >$70B for R&D in FY16 including ~$2B for basic research, so-called 6.1 research in DoD parlance. In this workshop, Loren Walker, Director of the Office of Research Development, will provide an overview of DoD funding opportunities and discuss prospecting strategies, with particular emphasis on Army Research Laboratory. Drawing on several years of prior experience with DoD prospecting by the Office of Research Development, this workshop will describe methods for identifying current and future DoD/ARL research priority areas, finding and engaging program managers and potential collaborators, and proven methods for pitching your research ideas to a DoD audience.

These workshops are held on an on-demand basis. Click here to request.

Worldwide Universities Network

The Worldwide Universities Network is a global higher education and research network of 18 universities engaged in over 90 active research initiatives. It involves more than 2,000 researchers and students in a diverse range of collaborative projects, which address some of the world’s most urgent challenges: cultural understanding, climate change, public health, and global higher education. UMass Amherst’s membership in the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) provides faculty with funding opportunities to lead and/or participate in these international and interdisciplinary research partnerships. In this workshop, Leyla Keough, Ph.D., of the Office of Research Development, offers an overview of these opportunities, focusing particularly on the Research Development Fund (RDF). Through this fund, the WUN provides up to $16,000 (matched by partnering institutions) for early-stage collaborations aimed at launching sustainable research programs with WUN universities, among others. The workshop aims to generate discussion of how such collaborations can support your wider research, publication, and outreach goals

These workshops are held on an on-demand basis. Click here to request.

Writing Specific Aims and Research Objectives

Specific Aims, as required by NIH, and Research Objectives, as required by NSF, are the most important parts of a research proposal – and often the most difficult to write. In fact, all hypothesis based research proposals require well-articulated aims or objectives. Mary Fechner, Ph.D., from the Office of Research Development, will discuss the structure, logical flow, and elements essential to drafting compelling aims and objectives statements. Workshop registrants should be currently working on a hypothesis-based research proposal and submit a draft of their aims or objectives page one week prior to the workshop. Drafts need not be polished, but should be reasonably complete so participants can benefit from critique. Enrollment for this workshop will be limited, but other sessions will be scheduled as needed. Faculty members new to writing aims or objectives statements or those who are having particular difficulty are especially invited. Participants must be willing to discuss their proposals with others in the workshop and have them critiqued by the facilitator.

These workshops are held on an on-demand basis. Click here to request.

Research Proposal Basics: Building Capacity Before You Write

The ability to craft an award-winning research proposal requires more than a good idea. The goal of this workshop is to orient faculty to the proposal development process. Mary Fechner, Ph.D., from the Office of Research Development, will discuss five steps in building the capacity to prepare the best possible proposals. Learn how to: assess your research idea, search for funding, use the budget as a planning tool, identify campus research development resources, and respond to reviewer comments and funding decisions. This workshop sets the foundation for future workshops that focus on the details of proposal writing. Faculty members at all levels are invited to attend – whether you are new to the process or seeking a refresher.

These workshops are held on an on-demand basis. Click here to request.

Strenthen Your Proposals with Effective Broader Impacts

Responsibility for implementing and sustaining broader impacts (BI) of research proposals is shared by the Campus and individual PI's. This workshop aims to showcase campus resources that PI's can and should use in developing BI plans, with a special focus on broadening minority participation, integrating research and education, and promoting scientific literacy on campus and in society at large. Emphasis is placed on how PI's can take advantage of Campus resources to make their BI components more competitive and more effective.

After an overview of the basic guidelines for BI (and tips to make your proposal stand out), several faculty members with ongoing integrated research and outreach projects will share their experience and ideas. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from and meet leaders of campus programs that can help them leverage their own efforts to broaden the impact of their research. Examples of such programs are the College of Education Diversity Programs Office, The STEM Education Institute, Eureka!, Civic Engagement and Service Learning (CESL), the STEM Diversity Institute, STEM Ambassadors, and others.

These workshops are held on an on-demand basis. Click here to request.

Preparation for NSF CAREER Grants

Part I. General Preparation

ORD will organize a panel of recent awardees to share the highlights of their process (successful and unsuccessful). ORD Broader Impacts specialist facilitates discussion including the following points: the different between CAREER grants and regular NSF applications; a proposal timeline; choosing the right directorate; advice on framing objectives and other grantsmanship relevant for CAREER; education plans; broader impacts, and other non “Intellectual Merit” parts of the proposal (how to frame collaborations in the narrative, tips for the chair’s letter).

Part II. Mock Review Panel (Optionally with an outside facilitator.)

ORD organizes materials for attendees to review and judge. Materials are prior submissions from a variety of fields, including, when appropriate, two applications from the same applicant, one unsuccessful and one successful for the same project. Attendees review the materials in advance and come prepared to discuss in small.

These workshops are held on an on-demand basis. Click here to request.

Investigator Initiated Workshops (IIW)

The Office of Research Development (ORD) offers capacity-building programs to increase faculty competitiveness for external research funding. A new ORD program, Investigator Initiated Workshops (IIW), supports faculty-driven collaborative research projects. The aim of IIW is to catalyze collaborative research.

The ORD IIW program will provide seed funding for activities and events geared to explore or develop collaborative research projects with good potential for future extramural support. ORD will fund a range of activities including focus groups, luncheons and travel for invited speakers, travel for campus faculty visits to other institutions, research slams, group seminars, and other activities that enable faculty with common interests to explore specific extramural funding opportunities or interdisciplinary research themes.

These workshops are held on an on-demand basis. Click here to request.

Office of Research Development On-Demand Workshops

Research Administration and Compliance

Research and Engagement

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