External Grant Collaborations

Schreyer Institute faculty consultants can assist faculty members with proposals for external grants to funding agencies such as NSF, HHMI, NIH, NIMH, or the USDA that have a curricular or pedagogical focus. We can provide support to overall project design, faculty development, or project assessment and evaluation. The level of support depends on a number of factors. We are happy to consult with you as you explore opportunities.

If you are interested in buying-out one of our faculty member's time, please contact us at least 6 weeks in advance.

Please contact us before you include the Schreyer Institute in your proposal to determine whether any of our faculty are available.

Factors we consider when making decisions about collaborating on external grant applications:

• Project relevance to undergraduate education at Penn State
• Alignment with the Schreyer Institute mission
• Availability of an Institute consultant to contribute to the proposal draft and project activities should the project win support
• Amount of time expected.

Questions for External Grant Principal Investigators (PIs)

Consider the following questions as you prepare your proposal. Don’t worry if you can’t answer all these before you speak with a consultant.

1. What is the granting organization? (e.g. NSF, HHMI, NIH, DoE.)
2. What is the URL for the Request for Proposals?
3. What is the deadline for the proposal?
4. Are you willing to share a draft of your proposal? We need to have a clear sense of your project and our role. The earlier we see the draft, the more we can help.
5. What role do you have in mind for the Institute or faculty consultant (e.g., supporter, activity/assessment designer, evaluator)?

Examples of Institute Consultant Collaborations on External Grants

• Institute faculty agrees to provide consultation on specific educational activities or assignments. We can provide a letter for the proposal stating that we have agreed to do so.
• Institute faculty provides a negotiated number of hours as project personnel, which may include working with a graduate student.
• Consultant serves as an evaluator, senior personnel, or co-PI. Granting agencies typically expect to see 10% of the total budget (direct costs) dedicated to evaluation and assessment as a demonstration of commitment to the assessment process.