Frequently Asked Questions
The following FAQs are provided to address commonly asked questions from researchers about Research Development. Select question to see answer.
Services
How can I learn about funding opportunities?
Please visit our Find Funding Page. We also encourage you to set up a profile on Grant Forward for funding searches tailored to your interests. If you would like further assistance with identifying relevant funding opportunities, please contact our office for support.
Are resources available to assist me with locating potential collaborators?
Yes. Since our office assists investigators from departments/colleges across the university, we are familiar with areas of expertise and are happy to help establish connections and collaborations. Our office is also involved in a statewide consortium of universities in Florida, and our staff participate in national organizations, so assistance with identifying external collaborations is also a possibility.
If investigators would like to identify their own collaborators, another important resource in Florida is ExpertNet.org
Does the Research Development Office offer workshops?
Yes, our office offers a number of workshops on a variety of topics (such as grant writing, NIH proposals, NSF proposals, etc.) for investigators at various stages in their careers.
Does the Research Development Office write proposals?
No, our office will not write grant proposals; investigators are responsible for writing their own proposals. However, our office does provide editing assistance to strengthen the proposal and to proofread for grammar and syntax errors. Further, we do not review for scientific or intellectual merit; however, our office offers a "Proposal Development Series" program that provides prospective PIs with reviews from funded researchers; see this
page for further information.
Does the Research Development Office provide boilerplate text?
Yes, we provide boilerplate text that investigators may use for common proposal sections. Please visit our
Canvas site to access boilerplate text.
Does the Research Development Office provide templates?
Yes, we provide a variety of templates for common proposal sections that investigators may use.
Please visit our
Proposal Resources page as well as our Canvas site.
Will your office help me to prepare proposal forms, compile budgets or complete information in Novelution?
No, our office is focused on strengthening the quality of a proposal. Other proposal components, such as forms, budgets and Novelution, are available through an investigator’s college or through FAU’s Sponsored Programs Office. In rare cases, for large scale proposals, we may provide some administrative assistance.
Timing
At what stage in the proposal process should an investigator contact your office?
To ensure we can provide you with the best possible service, contact our office early in the proposal development process. We recommend that investigators contact our office at least 2 weeks before a proposal is due, but sooner is better. Keep in mind that the closer to the proposal deadline, the degree of possible services our office will be able to offer will diminish and in some cases no proposal support will be possible.
Please note, there is an internal deadline for the Sponsored Programs Office, which submits your proposal (See submission policy)
Confidentiality
Will my proposal ideas be kept confidential?
Absolutely. We will always keep investigator proposals confidential and will not share with anyone else (including, and especially, other investigators). In the very rare circumstance that an investigator may want a copy of a proposal, we will instruct such investigator to seek out proposal examples from his/her colleagues directly.
Do I need to share my proposal reviews (after evaluation by the sponsor) with your office?
No, proposal reviews always belong to the investigators involved in a proposal and there is no requirement to share with us. Yet, if an investigator(s) is seeking to re-submit a proposal, we may ask that investigator(s) to share a copy of his/her/their proposal review with us in order to help improve the quality of the resubmission. It is often helpful, when providing feedback on a resubmission proposal, to keep the reviewers’ prior evaluations in mind. However, there is no requirement for investigators to provide their reviews.
How may an investigator access your services?