External Funding at Ohio University

The majority of external funding at Ohio University comes from federal sources. The major sources are the National Institutes of Health, Federal Aviation Administration, US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, US Department of Transportation and the US Department of Defense. The institution also receives support from the State of Ohio agencies. As Ohio University looks to strengthen and increase its research profile, partnerships and funding from private entities and industry will be increasing. The research dollars brought into OHIO helps to increase the prestige and visibility of the university and are very important in the tenure process.

Tips for Getting Started< /em>
Your work thus far has most likely led you to a theory to be proved or expanded or the discovery of a need for a piece of highly valuable equipment in order to manufacture something state of the art. In either case, you most likely need to seek out someone to help fund your creative endeavor. Ohio University considers financial support from these “someones” as external funding. An initial step in the identification of funding sources to support your research, sc holarship and/or creative activity, is to ascertain which sponsors have supported endeavors in your discipline. When reading a publication in your field, for example, take note of the acknowledgements of the funding organizations. When a sponsor funds a proposal that results in a publication, you will most always find that sponsor credited directly in the article or in footnotes.

TIP: When reading publications in your discipline, look to the footnotes or in the body of the text to see who supported the research. Then go look at their website to see if they have upcoming grants.

Another way to identify a p otential sponsor in your discipline is to join or use an existing membership to a professional organization. These groups often have funding opportunities, often with deadline dates in their newsletters and/or on websites. Similarly, colleagues met through these organizations are great resources for collaborations and knowledge of potentials sponsors.

If you know that a specific company or agency funds your type of research or programs, check out their websites. O n them, you can often find abstracts of research awards, requests for proposals and deadlines for their programs. Once you have identified possible sponsors, you'll want to note whether the programs are one-time competitions or on-going programs that have annual deadlines.

Using Collaborative Relationships
A good way to get your research portfolio started is to consider a collaborativ e effort with an already successful investigator right here at Ohio University or with a mentor from another institution. Collaborations can help you build a funding track record and enable you to gain experience that will make you a stronger candidate for Principal Investigator/Project Director role on your own project. These successful researchers can also provide invaluable advice and critique of proposals based on their experience with specific sponsor. The ORSP staff can assist you in identifying those faculty members with similar research interests.

DON'T FORGET : Collaborations can help you build a funding track record and enable you to gain experience that will make you a stronger candidate for a PI/PD rol e on your own project.

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