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Office of Sponsored Programs

 

Mission

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) encourages research, scholarly inquiry and creative activities by the faculty and staff through technically assisting in the acquisition of extramural funding.  OSP works as a service arm of the Office of Research & Creative Activity (ORCA) making research a priority within WKU’s strategic goals.

Vision

OSP strives to provide exceptional customer service in the pursuit and administration of externally-funded projects.  In an atmosphere of professionalism and collaboration, WKU OSP recognizes that the individual faculty and staff member drives the research enterprise.

Values

OSP staff is trained to provide excellent customer service, responding to the needs of the individual faculty and staff member to help him/her achieve their professional goals.

 

Sponsored Programs Responsibilities

1. Information about all areas of research, sponsored programs and contracts
2. Proposal development
3. Internal awards for faculty and staff
4. Review and approval of all grant and contract proposals to external funding agencies
5. Administration of the University's research policies
6. Post-award services

 

Sponsored Programs Services

Identifying Faculty Interests

The Office of Sponsored Programs wants to know about your research interests. This information allows us to better match the incoming program announcements with the interests and expertise of WKU faculty. Please send an e-mail message describing your research interests to proposal.development@wku.edu.

 

Disseminating Information about Sponsored Programs

Consult the staff in the Office of Sponsored Programs as early as possible in the process of planning your grant proposal. We receive a wide variety of information from funding sources and can assist you in obtaining program guidelines, application kits, award lists and tips on writing effective proposals. Notices of grant opportunities are distributed by our office to WKU faculty and staff. The more we know about your interests, the more effective we can be about keeping you informed.

 

Searching for Funding Sources

Computerized searches of databases of potential sources of funding are available to the WKU campus through the sponsorship of this office. We can assist you in making these searches, or you can try it yourself. If you need help with these searches, contact proposal.development@wku.edu.

• Search for Funding Opportunities

 

Liaison with External Agencies

The Office of Sponsored Programs can assist you in contacting the appropriate program director for your area of interests. We can help you arrange visits to agency offices in Washington, DC, and we serve as the campus liaison to the offices of federal, state and foundation funding agencies.

 

Grant Preparation & Administration Seminars

We offer a variety of seminars on preparing grant proposals and administering awards. Each semester a basic course in proposal development is offered, and mini-seminars focusing on specific topics are offered throughout the year.  For information, please see our list of upcoming seminars. 

 

Proposal Development

We can assist you in developing or revising a proposal for submission. It's never too early to begin planning for your next proposal submission. Use our Proposal Intent Form to notify OSP that you plan to submit an external funding proposal.

 

Budget Preparation

Developing a budget requires attention to policies and regulations of your potential sponsor as well as the internal policies governing sponsored programs at WKU. We can assist you in this endeavor by providing you with a sample budget and tips on developing a budget that realistically reflects the costs of your proposed project.

See our FAQs to find important information commonly needed for preparation of budgets. Included is information on indirect costs, fringe benefits and cost share.

 

Coordination of the Internal Sign-off Procedure

Proposals submitted for external funding must first be routed through the University's approval process. For additional information contact proposal.development@wku.edu. 

 

Post-Award Assistance

The Office of Sponsored Programs negotiates and approves grant and contract awards, prepares charts of accounts, authorizes setting up a university account, informs PIs of terms and conditions of awards, negotiates and issues subawards to other institutions and organizations, approves all post-award budget modifications, negotiates funding extensions, manages research ethics (including intellectual property, copyright, human subjects, biosafety issues), and assists PIs with final closeout of their awards.

 

Follow-up Consultations

Notifications of declined proposals are sometimes received by this office and sometimes are sent directly to the project director. Please contact us when you receive any official correspondence related to a proposal you have submitted. Not only will it assist us in maintaining accurate records, but we can also provide a follow-up consultation when a proposal has been denied funding. We can assist you in obtaining (and interpreting) reviewers' comments and revising your proposal for resubmission.