The OGSP offers a range of services and support designed to make the grant process an enjoyable one - with many opportunities to learn, develop, and achieve success as a university team. Click on the tabs below to view an explanation of services and support. While services cover general scope of work, all grants and funding agencies are unique which may require other support considerations. Contact us on any special requests so we can consider appropriate support.
Office of Sponsored Programs & Research (OSPR)
OSPR@nu.edu
The pre-award process takes place at the beginning of the grant cycle and generally includes grant project/idea conception, fund prospecting, application development and review, and final submission of the grant application to the funding agency. The OGSP offers the following pre-award services to faculty and staff. Services are designed to support the grant development process and increase the probability of receiving an award from a funding agency.
The OGSP has access to a range of research databases, tools, networks, and contacts. There will be times when you have a strong project idea but need some assistance finding a matched funding opportunity, or you may have questions about an existing potential funder. Either way, the OGSP staff can support your research and promote the thoughtful review, consideration, and match to a potential funder. If you would like to request support in finding a funding source, please complete the Research Funding Request form.
Depending on the grant opportunity, the design and development of any proposal takes time and a team effort. OGSP staff are skilled in facilitating meetings, asking questions, delegating tasks, directing activities, maintaining task focus, and documenting and summarizing details which are critical when designing a winning proposal.
The OGSP staff will assist with proposal development, writing, and editing. The level of support should be initiated by the PI/PD and depends on the needs and expertise of each team. Regardless of any consultation request, all final proposals, budgets, and interim and final reports shall be shared with the OGSP for application submission and archived for institutional record and accounting purposes.
The OGSP will obtain signatures of appropriate university personnel on all final documents. After all approvals and signatures are in place, the OGSP will work closely with the PI/PD to compile documents as prescribed by the funding agency, submit all documents in advance of the deadline, and secure files for institutional record and accounting purposes.
The OGSP provides post-award services to support faculty and staff during project implementation through grant closeout. Post-award services are designed to support successful grant implementation and management. The post-award process takes place after the grant has been awarded and represents a significant amount of work and responsibility for the PI/PD over the duration of the project. In an effort to support new and established investigators after an award notification, the OGSP will work with the PI/PD to initiate a post-award orientation and coordinate with relevant team members to review award details and conditions, budget, timeline, purchasing, hiring needs, and be available to answer questions.
Depending on the complexity of the grant, funder terms and conditions, and approved scope of work, PI/PDs are encouraged to develop an implementation plan to track activities, tasks, budget, and reporting. Faculty may consult with the OGSP for support with planning and project management.
The OGSP will provide technical support upon request from designated project PI/PDs. Services include, but are not limited to, assistance with interpreting technical discussions and directions from the funder, determining allowable and non-allowable costs, negotiating scope of work and contracts, budget requests, transfers, no-cost extensions, and/or curating responses to agency requests.
PI/PDs are responsible for writing and developing all reports. The OGSP staff will provide support with the review and editing of reports throughout the grant cycle as requested by the PI/PD. Final reports, with an accompanying budget, shall be received by the OGSP ten (10) business days prior to a submission deadline to allow for timely internal review, routing, and approval. All reports - interim and final - will be maintained in the University master file repository.
Grant/project closeout is a process that requires proper management and attention to detail. To ensure important deadlines are not missed, it is critical to consult with the OGSP ninety (90) days prior to the final closeout date. Advance notice and planning will ensure timely budget reconciliation, reporting, compliance measures have been met, and final documents have been submitted prior to the final grant term deadline. PI/PDs are encouraged to access the Grant Closeout Checklist prior to the project end date and notify the OGSP of the impending deadline.
