- Grant Administration
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The grants administration team at IQSS is dedicated to supporting interdisciplinary and collaborative projects across the social sciences. We support all affiliated faculty members, graduate students, and researchers, who need assistance in assisting or managing their sponsored research portfolios.
The grants administration team helps with every aspect of the grant process. Our goal is to make the experience as smooth as possible both before and after the grant is submitted. Our primary services include:
- Identifying research funding opportunities (see Funding Opportunities for detailed information)
- Assisting with proposal writing
- Helping with the preparation, review and submission of all grant application materials
- Managing expenditures within an individual grant or across a full sponsored research portfolio
- Interpreting regulations and/or any restrictions set forth by granting agencies and Harvard's policies
- Acting as liaison between IQSS, FAS Research Administration Services, the central Office for Sponsored Programs at Harvard University, and sponsoring agencies
- Proposal Development
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Proposal Development
Getting funding for your research requires more than a solid research plan. The grants administration team at IQSS can help you to find opportunities, target individual funders, write a competitive proposal, develop a detailed budget and financial plan, and submit a timely and complete application.
- Writing Proposals
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Writing Proposals
IQSS can help you put your original research ideas into the form of a competitive research proposal. If you are new to the funding process, or would like a systematic review of the grant writing and review process, IQSS provides regular seminars on proposal development. If you are considering whether to seek funding from new sources, or would like feedback on an existing proposal, IQSS provides individualized consulting. Please contact us for more information.
- Developing Budgets
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Developing Budgets
Budget development is essential to preparing and submitting a competitive proposal. Your project budget sets the stage for the actual implementation of your research, detailing in precise terms all the resources that will be used to solve the problem set forth in your proposal. It is essential to forecast your projected expenses accurately--many sponsors hold you accountable to spending within a small margin of error for each line item in your budget while also looking negatively on underspending your award.
IQSS staff can help you develop the best possible budget. To assist with these preparations we have developed a questionnaire designed to help you identify the financial needs of your project. This information will, in turn, help us plan the submission of your proposal.
For inquiries, please complete the attached Grant Budget form and then contact Ali Saren, Grants Manager at IQSS, at 617-496-7294. Or contact us by email.
- Submitting Proposals
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Submitting Proposals
We can help IQSS affiliates with all aspects of proposal submission, including:
- Organizing and formatting information using funder-required templates
- Acting as the main source of administrative information for faculty and researchers
- Maintaining copies of proposals and award documentation
- Ensuring compliance with federal and nonfederal sponsor submission requirements
- Preparing budgets and related personnel forms
- Entering proposals intro electronic submission systems, such as Fastlane and Grants.Gov
- Coordinating with Harvard's Office of Sponsored Programs on award submissions
Please be aware that Harvard's Office of Sponsored Programs requires advance notice (and in some cases, advanced approval) for submission. Let us know as early as possible if you are considering submitting a proposal through IQSS.
For inquiries, please use the form attached to the Developing Budgets page and then contact Ali Saren, Grants Manager at IQSS. Or contact us by email.
- Additional Forms and Resources
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Additional Forms and Resources
To facilitate your proposal development, we offer the following forms and templates:
- Budget and project planning form - Use this when you plan to submit a proposal through IQSS.
- NSF-style bio template - Use this for NSF formatted bios.
- NIH-style bio template - Use this for NIH style bios.
- Letter of support template - Use this when requesting a letter of support from IQSS or other supporters.
- IQSS Facilities - This describes current IQSS research facilities. Use this for the Facilities section of proposals.
For inquiries, please contact Ali Saren, Grants Manager at IQSS. Or contact us by email.
- Post Award Management
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Post Award Management
The mission of the IQSS grants management team is to work closely with the faculty and researchers who execute the intellectual work of a grant to ensure all terms and regulations associated with a particular grant are met.
If you are the recipient of a grant, there is a great deal of information that your organization is responsible for managing to be a successful steward of federal and nonfederal funds. When an agency awards a grant, it formalizes its partnership with the recipient (that is, the faculty or researcher), IQSS, and Harvard University, to ensure compliance with federal and nonfederal regulations and policies. This protects the integrity of the overall scientific endeavor. Timely and effective communication between the University and the sponsor is critical throughout the preaward, award, and post-award processes.
Some roles and responsiblities associated with this mission include:
- Acting as the main source of administrative information for faculty and researchers
- Maintaining copies of proposals and award documentation
- Ensuring compliance with university policy
- Ensuring compliance with federal and nonfederal sponsor regulations
- Consulting with Harvard's Office of Sponsored Programs on all aspects of award management
- Assisting with financial and interim reports as required by sponsor
- Tracking effort of personnel on sponsor funded projects
- Processing requests for sponsor approvals
- Managing any subawards (including the set up, maintenance, and amendment of subaward accounts)
- Executing cost transfers
- Rebudgeting
- Liaising with Harvard's Office of Technology Development on inventions and invention reporting
- Requesting no-cost extensions of grant term dates
- Reviewing expenditures for compliance
- Monthly monitoring and reporting of expenditures on sponsored accounts
For inquiries, please contact Ali Saren, Grants Manager at IQSS, or contact us by using our form, and select Grant support in the Category list.
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