We want to hear your big ideas! What are your research interests? Are you looking to fund high-impact practices for your students, or improve SLCC facilities, programs, and services? Do you have ideas to improve teaching outcomes that you’d like to implement if you could get funding and/or a course release?

Sponsors like to fund projects that have measurable outcomes. If you have an idea for a project that aligns with SLCC’s mission and vision and that you think will help with student engagement/student success, we can help look for a funding opportunity that will match your objectives.

New to the world of grants? Don’t worry! Our team is passionate about grants; from doing a deep dive on complex sponsor requirements to helping draft your budget, we have your back. We will help make sure your proposal follows the 3 C’s and that your applications are Compliant, Compelling, and Competitive.

We will help create a simple checklist of the forms and documents needed, give you templates to help get you going, and a work with you to create a set of soft and hard deadlines to take the stress out of the process. We’re here to be your second set of eyes; proof reading is our jam.

Let us help you navigate our college’s grant approval system! We will help you get all the departmental and leadership approvals to submit your proposal. “But why does the institution need to know about a proposal that hasn’t even been awarded yet?” Read on!

(TLDR: Federal and state sponsors award grant funds to institutions, not individual people. We’re in your corner, so we need to know what we’re agreeing to.)

As Principal Investigator (PI) of a project, you are the subject matter expert and technical director of your project. However, the institution is the fiscal and legal awardee that enters into a contractual commitment to support the project. When we sign your grant award contract, we are signifying that the institution legally commits to 1) fulfill the terms and conditions of your scope of work and 2) maintain fiscal compliance managing grant funds.

You might be thinking, “There is a reason I chose to work at SLCC instead of a university research institution. I don’t want to have to learn about federal regulations! I just want to get the funds and work on my project.” That’s why OSP is here! SLCC is committed to federal and state compliance, and a big part of OSP’s job is knowing the regulations that may affect your project. By ensuring that your proposal follows all relevant laws and guidelines, we can help curtail future auditing headaches and make sure we all stay out of hot water.

Most federal and state sponsors require proposal creation and submission through their grants management systems. Our team has extensive experience with a wide variety of grant application portals, and we are committed to keeping abreast of new software that will affect your application.

Each department has a designated Sponsored Projects Officer who maintains your school’s grant portfolio, providing behind-the-scenes support to you and your project. We will work with our office’s Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) to get your application submitted by the sponsor deadline – earlier if possible!

Congratulations! You’ve been awarded! Once you receive a notice of award, you might be surprised by all of the legal terms and conditions in your award contract. Fortunately, we specialize in fine print! OSP is responsible for reviewing, interpreting, and negotiating changes to award terms and conditions if necessary.

We will help point out any discrepancies between what was proposed and what the sponsor outlines in your award document, and we will resolve any concerns with meeting the requirements. As the liaison between the sponsor and the project team, we will also review all terms to ensure compliance with college policy.

After you are awarded, OSP will reach out to the Controller’s office to request a grant budget index, and they will assign a Sponsored Projects Accountant to the grant. Your Sponsored Projects Accountant (Controller’s Office) is the budgetary expert for your grant. They will help manage invoicing, budget forecasting, and all financial reporting. You will continue to work with your Sponsored Projects Officer (OSP) on any technical project reporting, prior approval requests, and any other issues involving sponsor terms and conditions.

“What if there’s a change in project personnel? What if I need to adjust my proposed project scope of work? What if I need more time to complete my project than I originally thought?” OSP is here to help with any challenges that arise during your project period. Throughout the life of the award, if you have any questions or concerns, we will help dig through any sponsor requirements to make sure we stay compliant and navigate any items that require prior approval.

Is your award a multi-year project? Are you expected to submit a progress report every year in order to get your next year of funding? We want to help make sure you don’t have any surprises along the way. To ensure compliance with sponsor requirements, and that your project skates through an auditor’s review, we will email reminders, send progress report templates, and review every required performance report before submission to the sponsor to confirm that all terms have been met and that we are on track with our project goals and objectives.