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Find Funding
The process of finding funding is incumbent upon the research project team and principal investigator at the school/college/unit level. Grantwriting and funding requests are not written and submitted independently. Ultimately all proposals for sponsored funding must route through the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects. The federal government mandates that a central unit at universities administer research activities funded by sponsors.
How can ORSP help in this early phase of the Research Project Lifecycle?
ORSP does not handle research development and finding funding, but we can point you in the right direction. Still, ORSP plays a role in the early phases of the research project life cycle. Keep these important tips in mind.
- In early discussions with sponsors, defer discussions of indirect cost arrangements to ORSP.
- Utilize ORSP for negotiation and review of agreements and grants.
- ORSP reviews and submits all proposals seeking external funding, and has some signature authority assigned by the university.
- Be sure to plan ahead and adhere to our proposal submission deadline policy.
Where and How to Find Funding
The search for funding requires a professional staff with broad knowledge of the regulations of federal agencies and to maintain the extensive records required by federal sponsors. If you don't have a research development staff, perhaps explore these U-M resources.
OVPR-Managed Research Blueprint and Research Commons
Stay in touch with OVPR's resources. OVPR collects internal and external funding opportunities and announces them through monthly issues of the Research Blueprint. Additionally, see Research Commons, a website that promotes internal funding opportunities.
- Requests to list opportunities should be sent to fundingopps@umich.edu.
- Subscribe to Research Blueprint.
Funding and Research Development at OVPR
These Funding and Research Development pages on the Research websites contain information on the internal U-M Office of the Vice President (OVPR) for Research and lists resources for finding funding.
U-M Library Research Funding and Grants Guide
Schedule a consultation with the exceptionally skilled Informationists of the U-M Library, who offer personalized, expert funding and grant search consultation to U-M faculty and staff.
Additionally, browsing the U-M Library's Research Funding and Grants Guide which indexes university-wide listings of funding opportunities and resources with content from all units, schools, and colleges. Identify and search both internal and external funding databases (like ProQuest's Pivot) where you can create email alerts to keep you informed of new opportunities.
Work with your Research Administrator
Research Administrators, or RAs, are business professionals who manage the vast business and financial aspects of research so investigators may focus on the science and research. Once an investigator selects an opportunity, (or even before) the first point of contact should be the department research administrator (RA). If you are not sure who that is, you can find your department RA in the Blue Pages on our website.
FAQs
No. Tuition refunds are no longer covered by UMOR or ORSP. Tuition refunds for sponsored projects are the responsibility of the employee's unit.
References and Resources
Questions?
- For questions on Limited Submissions, contact Tricia McCain Ebright, (triciamc@umich.edu) at (734) 936-3933.
- For questions on working with private sponsors from Industry, contact Corporate Research Alliances.
- For questions on working with Foundations, contact Foundation Relations.