Community of Science (COS)

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Community of Science publishes databases useful to the research community funding opportunities, in expertise, funded research, patents, and others. UM faculty and staff may search many of these databases free-of-charge.

COS Funding Opportunities

If you have questions on how to search the COS Funding Opportunities database, or if you need assistance, contact Marifelice Roulo at 763-5587; or mroulo@umich.edu.

Quick COS Searching Tips

(Please read the COS Funding Opportunities Instructions for a thorough guide on how to best conduct a COS search. http://fundingopps2.cos.com/docs/help_toc.shtml is the site for the instructions. )

Choose Main Search Option, to take advantage of some useful search criteria. Keep the search simple. Unless you have a special need that suggests using one of the other fields, use just the following five fields: Keywords, Requirements, Funding Type, and Location of Activity. If you get too big a pool of results, you can add another field(s) to further narrow the search.
In the Requirements list, choose all that apply, including both those that refer to the individual applicant, e.g. "Ph.D. or M.D. or Other Professional" and those that refer to the institution, such as "Academic Institution".
In the Funding Type list, choose all that apply to your project (e.g. Artistic Pursuit, Research, Travel, Publishing or Editorial)
In the Activity Location list, choose United States, Michigan, North America, and include "Unrestricted" and "Unspecified."
Including Keywords in your search will help focus your search, but there may be situations in which you would not want to use keywords. For instance, if you want to know all the private foundation fellowships targeted to minorities.
It really helps to get a broad view of the entire COS keyword list and to become familiar with its various topic areas. To view or print a copy of the entire COS keyword list, go to the COS Funding Opportunities database (see list of COS Databases above). Choose "Search by Keyword". Click on "Entire COS Keyword List".

Other databases available through Community of Science:

COS Expertise (an on-line inventory of 440,000 expertise records at leading universities and R&D organizations)
Direct Link to UM Expertise database [will open in new window]
UM encourages researchers to participate in the expertise database of COS. To add your profile to the COS database, or update an existing profile, visit the COS Expertise page.
Listings of Federally Funded Research (including National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, US Department of Agriculture, and the Advanced Technology Program of NIST)
US Patents Citation database (contains approximately 1.7 million patents issued since 1975)
Commerce Business Daily
Federal Register

Subscribers to COS include multi-national corporations, small to mid-size firms, start-up companies, government agencies, economic development groups, and other organizations seeking university expertise. Since access is limited to authorized subscribers, any inquiry made to the University or the faculty as the result of a search should be a serious request to discuss research support or collaboration.

Find what you were looking for? Let us know at: UMresadmin-web@umich.edu

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