UA Repositions Proposals to Maximize Stimulus Funds

UA Repositions Proposals to Maximize Stimulus Funds

By La Monica Everett-HaynesUniversity Communications
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Stimulus money is available for a broad range of purposes, such as continuing research, initiating programs, funds for design and construction and for hiring temporary research employees, which bring hope to a higher education system that has recently seen a reduction in funding, a consolidation of programs and services, and also layoffs and furloughs.
Stimulus money is available for a broad range of purposes, such as continuing research, initiating programs, funds for design and construction and for hiring temporary research employees, which bring hope to a higher education system that has recently seen a reduction in funding, a consolidation of programs and services, and also layoffs and furloughs.

The effort to strategically submit federal funding proposals in order to maximize The University of Arizona's ability to reap more federal economic stimulus money is beginning to see returns.

Soon after the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Office of the Vice President for Research, Graduate Studies and Economic Development began looking at ways to help units with related interests work together to develop more holistic proposals as opposed to piecemeal requests.

One of those proposals has netted $15 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for the UA to become one of 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers in the nation. The UA announced earlier this month that its Center for Interface Science: Hybrid Solar-Electric Materials, or CIS:HSEM, will conduct research that could lead to "Generation III" and portable solar energy material.

Also, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., announced last week that the UA will receive more than $520,000 in economic stimulus money for disease research.

This, and other positive news about funding for the UA, came after the University opted to take a "prioritized approach" to maximize the ability to garner additional funding from federal agencies, said Shay Stautz, the UA's associate vice president for federal relations.

"I am very confident in the process the UA's has initiated and from my anecdotal conversations with others in the national university research community, I feel we are better organized and positioned than many others, which complements the great research strength the UA carries into these proposals," Stautz said.

"It also ensures that our stimulus organization and effort complements the transformation initiatives led by Provost (Meredith) Hay so that we emerge stronger and more focused from the economic crisis," he said.

"I would be surprised if we don't see more awards like the DOE (U.S. Department of Energy) grant solar center award," Stautz added.

In fact, UA officials said other University researchers have begun to receive word of preliminary approval for funding requests.

Nearly 250 proposals were submitted for "Challenge Grants" offered through the National Institutes of Health – marking a record number of proposals for a single competition from the UA, said Lori Ann Schultz, assistant director of Sponsored Projects Services. The UA typically submits less than one-third of that number during the heaviest deadlines.

Many proposals were actually submitted last year and, given the economic stimulus funds, are being reconsidered for funding this year, Schultz said.

Of those, more than 10 proposals that were previously submitted are in the process of being funded by the National Institutes of Health, she said.

"The best thing about this is that it shows how great this campus is," said Schultz, who credited both the working group and ambition among the faculty for those initial approvals. "A lot of people worked hard to make this happen."

To ensure that the UA could expect to qualify for more funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, UA Provost Meredith Hay formed the Stimulus Working Group.

The nearly $800 billion federal stimulus package provides about $21.5 billion in federal money for science and research. Funding agencies include the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA and others.

At the UA, the Office of the Vice President for Research, Graduate Studies, Economic Development and the Provost's Advisory Council for Strategic Advancement worked in a collaborative and proactive effort to gain more of those funds.

The Stimulus Working Group evaluated pre-proposals – proposals submitted by UA researchers, faculty and staff – to determine whether they should be targeted at certain funding sources or be combined with other proposals. The group received more than 120 such proposals.

"The process is not especially different than other grant-writing procedures, but it is out of the ordinary from the normal government perspective because of the large amount of money involved, and in a relatively short period of time," said Andrew Comrie, associate vice president for research, who is leading the campuswide coordinating effort to strengthen proposals.

"We are making sure they are meeting certain criteria and we also had to collapse a few internally to make the best combination," Comrie said. "Combining projects to make them stronger, for example, makes sense."

Now, the Stimulus Working Group is focusing more keenly on targeted funding proposals, Comrie said.

In a campuswide memo last month, UA President Robert N. Shelton wrote that the funds would give the University "important flexibility this year." But he also inserted a caution.

"These temporary funds cannot be used to replace cuts that have been taken this year from our permanent state appropriation," Shelton wrote, emphasizing that the stimulus funds are not a long-range solution to the current budget constraints.

The federal stimulus funds are "one-time funds," he noted, adding that the UA "will still have significant permanent gaps in its funding that must be addressed to ensure the continued operation of our institution."

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