Math Department Proposal Guidance

Fiscal Year 2015

Finding an Opportunity:

http://math.mit.edu/services/grants/funding.php

Sponsor site examples:• http://www.grants.gov• http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/funding • http://www.nsf.gov/funding/azindex.jsp

Reading the Solicitation:

Solicitations, RFP or Program Guidelines willgenerally tell you what you need to know to

apply.

Can I apply to this funding source?

Look for:• Eligibility restrictions (citizenship, career level)• Budget limits: $ and years• Required cost-sharing• Limits on indirect costs (under recovery)• Effort required/limits on effort

When to involve your Math Financial Administrator?:

• The moment you decide to propose for research funding through the Math Department

• When you have picked an opportunity• When you need help creating a budget• When you need more information about a

solicitation• When you have a question about allowable

expenses

What can your Financial Administrator not do?

Unfortunately, they cannot:• Decide which funding opportunity is most appropriate to your

research• Provide examples of previously funded proposals• Write your proposal• Choose appropriate conferences for you to attend• Edit the PDF documents you send for the proposal• Edit your LaTeX or original text documents• Review the scientific merit of your proposal • Choose reviewers to recommend your proposal to• Expedite the NSF review and award notification process

Financial Approx. #s:

• 23 PI w/ Monthly Projections• 28 PI w/ Quarterly Projections• 115 people eligible to propose in Math Dept.• Financial Administrator receives on average

over 400 emails per month (about 10-20 requests per day)

• FY14 80 proposals submitted (15 proposals in the span of 4 days)

Planning your proposal:

• Make sure to mention every part of the project that requires funding

• Will you need supporting letters?• Unfunded collaborators must commit to the project in

writing• Collaborative visits to other schools should include

letters of invitation

Determining the Budget:

What will you need to complete your proposed project?

Resource to help you:• Budget Worksheet (PDF questionnaire)

*Please email your Financial Administrator with the desired budget details and they can generate the needed budget for the proposal. Your confirmation of the final budget will be necessary.

COI (Conflict of Interest):

• You will receive an automated email once your Financial Administrator has generated the proposal in COEUS

• The completion of your COI in COEUS is required for all proposals

• Contact coi-help@mit.edu for COI ?s• Contact coeus-help@mit.edu for technical ?s• http://coi.mit.edu/

Writing your proposal:

For NSF proposals:http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf14001/gpg_index.jspDownload the NSF proposal template from: http://math.mit.edu/services/grants.html

All other Sponsors:Follow solicitation guidelines and/or contact the Financial Administrator

NSF Proposal Documents:

The LaTeX NSF templates include:• Project Summary (1 page)• Project Description (15 pages)• References Cited (no limit)• Biographical Sketch (2 pages)• Data Management Plan (1 page)

*the Data Management Plan is not part of the NSF Master File

Project Summary:

• Must include 3 sections:

OverviewIntellectual MeritBroader Impacts

Project Description:*those in bold are required sections by NSF

• Introduction• Intellectual Merits• Broader Impacts• Background• Research Problem(s)• Proposed Approach• Results from Prior NSF Support

Results from Prior NSF Support:• If you have no prior NSF support, you must indicate: “The PI has not

previously been supported by the NSF” in this section• If you have prior support you must include the following information:

a. NSF award #, amount and period of supportb. Title of the projectc. Summary of results explained in 2 subsections

• Intellectual Merit• Broader Impacts

d. Publications resulting from the NSF prior awardse. Evidence of research products (i.e. data, publications, samples,

physical collections, software, and models) f. Description of the relation of the completed work to the proposed

work (only if the proposal is for renewed support)

References:

• Each reference must include: the names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication), the article and journal title, book title, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication.

• Include website(s) (if applicable) • Follow accepted scholarly practices in providing

citations• If there are no references, send a PDF document that

states, "Not Applicable."

Biosketch:

• Professional Preparation• Appointments (in reverse chronological order)• Products• Synergistic Activities• Collaborators & Other Affiliations

• Collaborators and Co-Editors (must be in alphabetical order)• Graduate Advisors and Postdoctoral Sponsors• Thesis Advisor and Postgraduate-Scholar Sponsor (must include the

total # of graduate students advised and postdoctoral scholars sponsored)

Submission Process:Math Department Deadline is 2 weeks before the

sponsor deadline!

*Please note that if an institute holiday falls in that time, it does not count as part of the 2 weeks.

• 2 days for Financial Administrator and Administrative Officer’s compilation of administrative documents, set-up of proposal in COEUS and sponsor site, reviews and corrections

• 3 days for Dean’s review and corrections• 5 days for Office of Sponsored Programs: review,

corrections and submission

Contact Information:

Gabrielle Stump CerialesFinancial AdministratorMIT Math Department gstump@mit.edu617-452-2231

Finance Proposal Guide 09/18/2014