Presented forMississippi State University

byLaura Letbetter

Research Administration Consultantlauraletbetter@yahoo.com

Thin-slicing: A Method for Approaching a Request for Proposals

Information Overload! Grants.gov has over 1,000 announcements for approximately

$500 billion in awards annually. FedBizOpps has over 32,000 active opportunities. The Foundation Center lists over 108,000 foundations and

corporate donors. There are numerous opportunities to contract with industry

located near your university. Many responsibilities besides grantsmanship compete for

faculty’s time: research, teaching, publishing, professional service, etc.

What is thin-slicing? Thin-slicing can be defined as the process of making a quick

decision based on specific information. Thin-slicing can help you sift through a lot of information to

determine which RFPs might work for you. Thin-slicing can also help you focus on key factors as you

work on your proposal. The trick to making thin-slicing work is knowing how to

choose the correct information.

Which slices are important? Eligibility Fit Submission limits Program officer contact Deadline Submission process Budget (direct & indirect costs) Cost sharing Signature requirements Format

1. EligibilityThere are two kinds of eligibility: Institutional Eligibility:

Your institution must be eligible to apply. PI eligibility:

You must be eligible to serve as principal investigator.

Institutional Eligibility Example:NSF CAREER PROGRAM

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11690/nsf11690.pdf

In this example, the rule is simple, clear, and straightforward:

PI Eligibility Example:NSF CAREER PROGRAM

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11690/nsf11690.pdf

Institutional Eligibility Example: NSF Research at Undergraduate Institutions

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2000/nsf00144/nsf00144.htm

This example illustrates why institutional eligibility should be your first “slice”:

Institutional Eligibility Example: Kaiser Permanente – Community Based Interventions to

Increase HIV Testing and HIV Care Utilization Grant

http://www.oaadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/KP-2012-RFP.pdf

Sometimes institutional eligibility is not immediately clear:

2. Fit Is your research a fit for the sponsor’s needs? Look for synopsis or purpose statement. Look for award type: is it a grant, a contract, a

cooperative agreement? Look for review criteria.

3. Submission Limits The term “limited submissions”

means the sponsor has placed a limit on the number of proposals that can be accepted from a single institution.

When there is a limit, it is usually just one or two proposals.

Most institutions have internal rules about how the internal selection process will take place. Yours is here https://www.usm.edu/research/limited-submissions-and-internal-competitions

Limited Submissions Example 1 The National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge

Grants are capacity-building grants, intended to help institutions and organizations secure long-term improvements in and support for their humanities programs and resources:

http://www.neh.gov/files/grants/challenge-grants-may-2-2012.pdf

Limited Submissions Example 2 The National Science Foundation’s Major Research

Instrumentation program awards grants for research instrumentation for shared use by universities, museums, science centers, etc.:

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5260

Limited Submissions Example 3 The American Honda Foundation awards grants for youth

education with a specific focus on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects in addition to the environment:

http://corporate.honda.com/america/philanthropy.aspx?id=ahf

A few final notes about limited submission opportunities: Limited submissions are seen in both public and private grant

programs. Most basic research programs do not limit submissions. Limited submissions often apply when a grant is for

instrumentation, when a program requires a significant institutional investment, or when a sponsor needs to control submission volume.

If the RFP is silent on limits, there probably isn’t a limit. Most universities have a process for handling limited submissions programs. Yours is here https://www.usm.edu/research/limited-submissions-and-internal-competitions

4. Program Officer Contact The PO is the liaison between the sponsor or agency and the

research community. Guidance from the PO is essential. Most are helpful and collegial. Scan the RFP to determine (1) Is program officer contact

encouraged? And (2) Whom should you call?

Program Officer Contact: Example 1 Look for contact information and guidance on whom to call:

for what:

http://www.oaadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/KP-2012-RFP.pdf

Program Officer Contact: Example 2 Sometimes you get not just one but multiple contacts! This is

for NSF’s Discovery Research K12 program, which focuses on educational research in STEM fields:

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11588/nsf11588.pdf

Program Officer Contact: Example 3

http://universityengagement.usaidallnet.gov/sites/default/files/rfa_-final.pdf

There are times when an agency limits contact with the PI. This example is from USAID’s University Engagement Program:

A few points to remember about program officer contact: If the RFP gives you contact information, use it! NSF is widely known for the saying, “Call early, call often!” Emailing first to make a phone appointment is often

effective. The only good reason NOT to call when you have a question

is if the RFP specifically discourages it, or if your question is already answered within the RFP.

Good reading: “What to Say—and Not Say—to Program Officers”

http://chronicle.com/article/What-to-Say-and-Not-Say-to/131282/

5. Deadline! If paper, is it a postmark date or a receipt

date? If electronic, who controls the process? Does the RFP give a cutoff time in addition to

a deadline date? Consider your institution’s internal deadlines:

10 days prior: send SPA your RFP5 days prior: send budget & justification to SPA; start IAS form3 days prior: send final proposal to SPA for review and submission.

6. Submission Process Electronic submission for federal grants: Most go through grants.gov. You prepare

the package and your sponsored research office submits it.

There is often a backend system you must learn to navigate: FastLanefor NSF, eRA Commons for NIH, GMS for NIJ, EHBs for HRSA, etc.

Other types of submissions: Paper applications: most sponsored research offices copy, mail, and

track the final package for you. Email applications: sponsored research office should usually do the

transmittal email Proprietary systems require special attention.

What about registration?Many RFPs contain instructions about registering your organization. For example:

• You rarely have to register your institution! It’s already done.• Pay attention if the instructions say you need an individual

registration, and contact SPA for assistance.• Rely on your sponsored research office if you need clarification about

any registrations.

7. Budget: Direct & Indirect Costs How much is the award? Are there any special rules about

what categories of direct costs the grant will pay for?

Does this funding opportunity allow you to include indirect costs (i.e., F&A) in your budget?

How much in indirects will come back to my unit?

Examples of full F&A:

Examples of Limited F&A:• This example is from the USDA Agriculture and Food Research

Initiative’s Childhood Obesity program:

• This example is from the U.S. Department of Education’s Veterans Upward Bound:

Example of No F&A Allowed: This example is from the American Chemical Society’s

Petroleum Research Fund:

http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_TRANSITIONMAIN&node_id=627&use_sec=false&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=0b4341e5-249d-4d7f-810a-5c1bbd82d6bc

What does F&A mean to me? Your university’s rates are published here

http://spa.msstate.edu/budgeting/

How much of the F&A will come back to my unit? 37% if Division of Research; 50% for most of Division of

Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine, 40% for College of Veterinary Medicine: http://www.msstate.edu/dept/audit/8012.html

For Research on campus: 44.5%For Research off campus: 26.0%For Instruction on campus: 50.9%For Instruction off campus: 26.0%For all other sponsored activities on campus:

31.1%

For all other sponsored activities off campus:

24.0%

F&A Example You are a faculty member in the Division of Research. The RFP

says you can request $200,000 total for directs & indirects. Your direct cost target is therefore $200,000/1.445=$138,408 Your indirect costs are therefore $61,592 . If the return to your unit is 37% of the F&A, your unit gets

$22,789. Handy formula: if you are doing on campus research, your unit

will get back a maximum of 11.3% of the total grant. These figures are approximate because they vary based on things

like equipment requests, but good for ballparking!

What to remember about F&A:

Use the find key to search for the words “indirect,” “F&A,” “overhead,” or “operating costs.”

Read these “slices” of the RFP to find out whether the sponsor allows full F&A, limited F&A, or no F&A at all.

Do some quick math to determine how much of the F&A will go back to your unit in the event of an award.

Educate yourself about the internal practices or policies that govern F&A distribution at your institution.

8. Is there cost sharing?

Cost sharing or matching means that portion of project or program costs not borne by the funding agency.

Most universities do not provide cost sharing or matching funds unless a grant absolutely requires it.

Examine the language of the RFP to see if cost sharing is required, and if so, how much.

Cost Sharing Example 1: Not required! This example is from Congressionally Directed Medical

Research Programs (CDMRP) Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research Program:

http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/pa/12dmdrpiira_pa.pdf

Cost Sharing Example 2: Prohibited! This example is from the National Science Foundation’s

Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program:

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11690/nsf11690.pdf

Cost Sharing Example 3: Required at a Specified Level

This example is from the National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program:

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5260

Cost Sharing Example 4: Minimum specified, maximum not specified.

Example from the U.S. Dept. of Education’s Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program:

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpsugisf/index.html

Cost Sharing Example 4, continued:

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpsugisf/index.html

Cost Sharing Example 5: Encouraged, but not required.

Example from the U.S. State Department, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Future Leader’s Exchange Program:

http://exchanges.state.gov/media/pdfs/rfgps/fy13_flex_rfgp_final_formatted.pdf

Cost Sharing Example 6: Required, but no guidance on how much!

Example from USAID’s University Engagement Program

http://universityengagement.usaidallnet.gov/sites/default/files/rfa_-final.pdf

III.7 Cost-sharing and Leveraging Cost- sharing is an important element of the USAID-recipient relationship. In addition to USAID funds, applicants are required to contribute resources from own, private or local sources for the implementation of this program. There is no minimum or maximum amount of cost-sharing, but some amount must be provided. The more in-kind and/or cash contributions from non-USG sources included in the application, the more competitive an applicant will be since cost-sharing demonstrates a strong commitment to the planned activities. Applications that include more in-kind and/or cash contributions from non-USG sources will be more competitive, since cost-sharing demonstrates a strong commitment to the planned activities

How to slice up cost sharing quickly: Use the find key (Edit – Find) or CTRL-F to search for

“match” and for “shar.” If it is not required, don’t consider it further. Move to the

next slice of the RFP. If it is required, what percentage? Does the RFP state a percent of the REQUEST or a percent

of the PROJECT? Does the RFP say that cost sharing will be considered in

review? Does the RFP give contact information so that you can seek

clarification?

9. Signature Requirements The applicant is the institution, not the individual. The application must be signed by someone who is

authorized to commit the institution (AOR = “authorized organizational representative”)

Who signs for your institution? Does the sponsor require ink? Is the signature electronic? Most federal applications are signed

electronically in the grants.gov submission process. Signature requirements impact your timeline, especially if

out of the ordinary.

Signature Requirement Example 1: Ink! This example comes from the European Union’s Getting to

Know Europe program, which makes grants to promote knowledge of the European Union in the United States:

http://www.eurunion.org/eu/Delegation/How-to-Apply-Getting-to-Know-Europe.html

Signature Requirement Example 2: sign, scan, and upload

This example comes from the National Security Agency’s StarTalkprogram, which makes grants to expand the nation’s capacity in the teaching and learning of languages critical to U.S. security:

http://www.nsa.gov/academia/early_opportunities/startalk/index.shtml

Signature Requirement Example 3: “Highest Ranking Official”

This example comes from the Korea Foundation’s Establishment of Professorships program:

http://www.nsa.gov/academia/early_opportunities/startalk/index.shtml

10. Format Does the RFP give a template for the narrative? Are the formatting instructions in the RFP, or are there

additional instructions to follow? What are the page limits? What other pieces must you write besides the narrative?

RFP Workshop Exercise: Scan and mark up your RFP for the ten slices:

1. Eligibility: both institution and principal investigator2. Fit: what is the purpose of the funding?3. Submission limits: is there a limit on the number of proposals?4. Program officer contact: who is the PO and is there contact info

5. Submission process: electronic or paper? Anything unusual?6. Cost sharing: required? If so, how much?7. F&A (indirect costs): allowed? If so, what %? Benefit to unit?8. Signature requirements: electronic? Ink? Anything unusual?9. Format: given in the RFP? Or does the RFP direct you elsewhere?

Report to the group

Problem SolvingWhat do you do when the RFP is unclear or contains conflicting instructions? Look online for related FAQs. Contact the program officer. Ask SPA staff to post a question on a research administration

listserv