Multidisciplinary Collaborations
Within the Office of Sponsored Programs, the Proposal Development Officer (PDO) works with the campus to expand opportunities in UNCG’s research environment. Because multidisciplinary initiatives offer special opportunities to apply novel approaches to traditional problems, the OSP provides limited services to help faculty develop large-scale proposals and programs.
Facilitate preliminary meetings
The PDO will help to identify and set up meetings with potential collaborators and handle all the logistics, including scheduling participants and meeting rooms. To help frame initial discussions, the PDO can also provide materials such as handouts and multimedia presentations covering specific opportunities and topics.
Identify potential collaborators
The PDO will explore strategies for forming research teams across traditional disciplinary boundaries and institutions as well as the ways such teams may locate project funding and develop written proposals. The PDO helps identify researchers whose expertise and interests are likely to help an individual pursue problems on a scale requiring numerous investigators.
Assess project fit with opportunity
By carefully reviewing your proposal in terms of the agency's criteria, The OSP will explore ways to ensure that your submission suits the agency's mission and that your objectives match the sponsor's.
Review proposal drafts
To help ensure that multidisciplinary proposals are well-focused, well-written, and competitive, the PDO will critique drafts for substance, effectiveness, form, clarity, and stylistic consistency. Each section of the proposal (e.g., methods, evaluation, and budget) is considered in detail for consistency with agency guidelines.
Provide successful proposal models
To provide examples of effective proposal development, and with the permission of the principal investigators, the OSP will provide copies of funded proposals. When a funding opportunity is recurring, these proposals will be specific to the program to which the multidisciplinary team will apply. In the case of new opportunities for which successful models do not yet exist, the OSP will make every effort to provide funded proposals whose characteristics most closely match the particular opportunity or project.
Communicate with sponsors
OSP will help locate agency contacts for you-individuals who are key to building interest in a project with potential sponsors and who may ultimately influence funding decisions. While it is critical that principal investigators develop personal rapport with potential funders, we often confer with the program officers and grants management staff about specific questions
Help build inter-institutional partnerships
The OSP will assist you in locating potential collaborators at any of the other UNC institutions. We maintain close ties with our systemwide counterparts and frequently consult about specific opportunities that lend themselves to inter-institutional collaborations. In addition, UNC General Administration also supports a variety of funding programs that encourage cross-UNC interactions. The OSP can also be instrumental in identifying collaborators from other universities for projects of mutual interest.
