Grantopedia

Stand With Science: Share Your Story

Cayuse believes in the importance of funding scientific and medical research. The Stand With Science site makes the appeal to Congress for preserving federal research funding.

In the next few weeks Congress can choose other deficit reduction measures and avoid the cuts to federal science and engineering R&D. We are reaching out to Congress via the letter to demonstrate how federal science funding is an essential source of American prosperity that cannot afford to be cut.

 

Red Hill Studios designs physical therapy computer games

Cayuse customers Red Hill Studios and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) are using NIH funding to collaborate on building computer games that assist patients with Parkinson's disease improve their gait and balance.

UCSF and Red Hill were the first research team in the United States to receive federal funding in the burgeoning field of low-cost computerized physical therapy games. Unlike off-the-shelf computer games, these specialized games encourage scientifically tested specific physical movements to help people with functional impairments and diseases.

Read more at the Red Hill Studios site.

FDP Presentation on the Health of the Academic Research Enterprise

The closing speaker at the September meeting of the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) was Dr. Brad Fenwick. His presentation, entitled "The National Assessment of the Current and Future Health of the Academic Research Enterprise" revealed an amibitous scope and strong relevance to the FDP audience.

Recognizing that academic research is going through a lasting transformational change of historic scope, the Assessment seeks to provide objective results that can help provide a framework for navigating the coming changes. The Assessment is currently in an interview process at 25 universities in the U.S., an approach modeled after a related study that was done in the U.K.

The FDP promises to share results from Dr. Fenwick's work. Grantopedia will provide a link to the presentation here when it's available.

GRC Hosts the External Funding Conference

The Grants Resource Center is hosting their External Funding Conference August 21 - 24 in Washington, DC. Representatives from many federal funding agencies will be making presentations and will be available for individual meetings.

A number of Cayuse customers rely on the GRC for their expertise in sponsored funding.

Science Funding in 2012 Budget Request

Against the backdrop of Washington DC politics and budget wrangling, it's useful to see where science and research spending fits. The graphic here at Live Science shows that science agencies combine for about 2% of the total budget, with details on the funding levels over the past three fiscal years.

NIH and NRSA funding levels

NIH announced at the Federal Demonstration Partnership meeting last month that overall appropriations for the balance of the fiscal year are set at $30.9 B, a 1% decrease relative to last year's funding. However, the National Research Service Awards (NRSA) program recieved a 2% increase in funding.

Two other notes from the NIH regarding research grant applications:

• The Personal Statement in teh Biosketch can now be used to explain a hiatus or reduced productivity.
• No Cost Extensions (NCEs) can now be requested for 1 to 12 months, previously it was only 6, 9, or 12 months.

Sponsored Research Steps

The Binghamton University Magazine featured an excellent overview of the sponsored research process. Their "Anatomy of a Grant" article follows an example from their campus. Concise and informative. Targeted to audiences who don't know about the administrative side of research.

(Author's note: as a Binghamton U alumni, the hard copy magazine showed up in my mailbox.)

GRC Workshop Story: Picasso Project

Last month's  GRC Proposal Development Workshop, at which Cayuse was a sponsor, afforded the opportunity to meet people in the front lines of research and sponsored project management.

I had an interesting chat with Enrique Mallen, a professor at Cayuse customer, Sam Houston State University. Dr. Mallen oversees the Picasso Project, which is so well known that it's the top listing in a Google search on its name. Dr. Mallen offered the story of how he started the Picasso Project, how it's funded and supported, and some of the challenges it faces. It was a reminder that sponsored research applies to the arts and humanities, as well as to the sciences.

Research Funding and the Federal Budget Debate

Federal spending on scientific research has been relatively flat over the past several budget cycles, even considering the boost in research that came from the ARRA stimulus funds over the past couple of years. We're glad to see the president's budget recommendation for modest increases in federal research spending.

Under the president's proposal, the NIH would get $31.8-billion in fiscal 2012, up 2.4 percent from its fiscal-2010 levels. The NSF would receive $7.8-billion, up 13 percent from 2010, while the Energy Department's Office of Science would take in $5.4-billion, a 10.7-percent increase from 2010. The average increase for federal research expenditures is well above the nation's 2.7-percent rate of inflation over the past two years.

The budget battles are just beginning, though.

UTSA Reports Research Funding Growth

Cayuse customer, the University of Texas San Antonio, reports strong growth in their research funding portfolio. Research spending is up 50% from five years ago, which is impressive. The UTSA Vice President for Research cites UTSA's unique location for collaboration and a number of other factors which contribute to their success.