1. RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2012
www.PosterPresentations.com
Mid-size group (6-15)
When/Where By faculty or departmental request during academic year; done in a conference
room or classroom during class hours (anywhere between 8:00am to 9:00pm).
How Sessions are led by Grant Development, or provided as lectures in classes or meetings:
 “Fundraising and Grant Writing” PAI 721: Seminar on Nonprofit Management
 “NSF & Other Funding for Geography Students” GEO 602: Research Design
 “Finding and Applying for Funding: Techniques and Resources” MPH 654: Grantwriting in Public
Health, and Public Administration PhD seminar
Figures 2 and 3. Slides of Pivot and Foundation Directory Online demonstrations
 “Finding the Perfect Fellowship” Dept. of Anthropology Future Professoriate Program
 “NSF Graduate Funding: Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants for
[Sociology/Geography/Economics/Political Science & Law and Social Science]”
What Sessions may be discipline- or funder-based, but may also be interdisciplinary or general
interest. Sessions are a mixture of traditional lecture with handouts and/or PowerPoint, live demos
of databases/application systems, and Q & A. One of the most valuable and requested components
of such sessions are peer panels made up of other students applicants (both successful and
unsuccessful). Individual students also serve as guinea pigs for live demos of application creations.
Benefits Opportunity to create & interact with peer panels, and collect proposal examples;
visibility for grant development; chance to highlight best practices; great public relations with
departments, faculty, student organizations; opportunity for cross-college programming.
Drawbacks Low individualized interaction & follow-up. If hosting, moderate prep time (6 to 10
hours with administration) and moderate potential handout and refreshment costs, plus highest
demand in spring semester (4-8 sessions), so can cause strain on grant development schedule.
METHODS: COLLEGE-LEVEL (CONTINUED)
Individual instruction
When/Where Done in office during normal business
hrs. by student or faculty request.
How Walking students through funding databases
(PIVOT, FDO, grants.gov, NSF, NIH, foundations);
application systems (Fastlane), award databases
(Figure 1) and sponsored programs webpages.
What Completing live registration with funding
sources; searching for funding opportunities (& setting
up alerts); registration for and completing parts of
applications; building budgets, writing justifications &
finding appropriate rates; round-tabling submission
What Registering and searching for funding oppor-
tunities; registering for and completing initial NSF
application materials; tailored to specific disciplines
and/or funding targets. Sessions include:
1. Handouts – funding opportunity 4-6pg, color “Quick
Search Guides”, funder-specific RFPs, applications,
grant writing tips & award reports;
2. Brief informational slides on searching and applying;
3. Demo(s) of live sites, with participants following
along, but creating their own accounts, search
terms & funding alerts, and/or cover page info.
METHODS: COLLEGE-LEVEL TRAINING
The Maxwell Office of Grant Development was instituted to provide support to social science
faculty in finding and securing funding. In response to increased requests from departments,
research centers, and students, programming has grown over the past three years to include
similar services for Maxwell graduate students, while balancing existing faculty needs with
staff capacity (one FTE and one graduate assistant). Successful incorporation of student
services has been due to a multi-tiered approach, capitalizing newly developed university
mechanisms and relationships with other institutional offices, while considering:
Training & information needs expressed by students
 Grant seeking, writing and submission techniques for graduate funding, and for
professional development as future faculty
 Hands-on activities, tailored to discipline, year in program, type of funder
 Examples, examples, examples (templates, funded proposals, testimonials)
Programming limitations
 Low- to no-cost options for small budget
 Manageable by a single staff member and/or graduate assistant
 Flexible to meet scheduling limitations of academic units and student organizations
Benefits from new services have included: better quality/more timely applications; increased
rapport with student groups & individual students; reduction of burden for faculty; provision of
future faculty training and development.
INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES
Syracuse University
Officially chartered in 1870 as a private, coeducational
institution offering programs in physical sciences and
modern languages; today SU has 12 schools & colleges
Enrollment Undergraduates, 15,097; graduates & law
school students, 6,170 (Fall 2013)
Faculty Full-time, 1,043; part-time, 94; adjunct, 472
INSTITUTIONAL PROFILE
METHODS: INSTITUTIONAL-LEVEL TRAINING
Small group conference calls/webinars
When/Where Invitation issued by OSP or Grant Development to students via email to join funder-
provided webinars or institutional conference calls, during business hours, 2-to-4 wks > deadline.
How Institutional phone line, free teleconference line, or web link.
What Institutional teleconferences to answer application development & submission questions for
upcoming deadlines & competition-related webinars; advertised primarily for off-campus students
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & CONTACT INFORMATION
Many thanks for poster content and feedback provided by Caroline McMullin, Research
Administrator, Syracuse University Office of Sponsored Programs, and Trish Lowney, Assistant
Vice-President for Strategic Research Development, Syracuse University Office of Research.
For more information, please email cldeitz@Maxwell.syr.edu, or call 315-443-7281.
Christina Leigh Deitz, DPS-IM, MLS
Grant Development Administrator; Instructor, Public Affairs Program – Syracuse University Maxwell School
Educational Innovations for Future Social Scientists:
Participatory Training in Grant Seeking, Writing & Submission
Enrollment Approximately 1,700 Maxwell
undergraduate social science majors (enrolled
through Syracuse University); almost 800
graduates enrolled in Maxwell professional and
Ph.D. programs.
Faculty Approximately 166 full-time faculty,
including joint appointments with other
schools and colleges.
Sponsored Programs $7 million in expenditures
for FY14; and $7.7 million in new awards (up
from $5.9 in FY13); $18.1 million in proposals
submitted (up from $14.7 in FY13).
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Founded In 1924; programs in public affairs (graduate) & social sciences (undergraduate/grad)
Distinction Maxwell is home to numerous nationally recognized multidisciplinary graduate
programs in public policy, international studies, social policy, and conflict resolution, as part of
24 distinct departments, centers, institutes and programs.
The rationale behind the deliberate development of custom small and medium-sized graduate
training opportunities stems from a desire to provide support tailored to individual and
discipline-based needs, while working within the limitations of a small office. These activities
have paid the following dividends:
 Increased graduate proposal activity, priming the pump for additional research support for
students, thus freeing departmental dollars for other students or academic needs;
 Strengthened relationships between the Office of Grant Development and departments and
centers — supporting their students helps to support unit faculty and staff;
 Decreased burden for Office of Sponsored Programs due to raised student awareness of
institutional submission processes and higher quality applications;
 Increased collaborative ventures between the Office of Grant Development, the Office of
Sponsored Programs, and the Office of Research.
These efforts to support graduate students have been accomplished with little financial
investment, but have required a significant investment of time in planning and execution.
Duplication of any combination of the training activities described here are recommended for
other similar institutions, but only with a gradual roll-out of activities, combined with an
ongoing cost-benefit analysis of time devoted to new graduate training vs. draw on other
grant development activities.
CONCLUSION
Potential Anthropology DDRIG applicants
Small group communication
When/Where Issued by Office of
Sponsored Programs or Office of
Research to self-identified students
interested in a particular grant 6-
to-10 wks pre-deadline.
How Email synopsis of grant opp
and/or detailed instructions for
applying; referencing additional
support available through college.
What Used to provide friendly
reminders, basic guidance &
specific instruction for
opportunities such as NSF DDRIGs,
Fulbright-Hays, USIP.
Large group (20+) training
When/Where Scheduled & developed by the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA)
and the Office of Research; based on academic calendar & funder deadlines.
How Session 1: Lecture hall & small breakout rooms; Session 2-3: Conference room w/work tables.
What This series for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program begins with general
information on the program, followed by smaller breakout sessions on how to apply, led by a panel
of faculty & previous fellows. The 2nd and 3rd sessions are essay writing workshops, facilitated by
the Office of Research, CFSA, and college-level Grant Development staff, to provide real-time
feedback on draft essays by to potential GRFP applicants.
Figure 1. Formatted results of NSF award search
questions with OSP via conference calls; emailing copies of materials discussed & forms started.
Additional Benefits One-on-one training provides extra support to those students who are
reluctant to actively participate in group training, directly resulting in increased applications.
Drawbacks Time consuming: avg. meeting 60-90 minutes, half hr. prep, follow-ups, 2-3 per month.
Small group (4-8)
When/Where By student/department request; conference or computer lab; > 9:00am < 9:00pm.
How Laboratory session, each student on computer following demos displayed on wall screen.
Additional Benefits Lab setting provides hands-on, active learning with immediate results and
absorption; small enough to allow instructor to circle room to troubleshoot & answer individual
questions; average session 90 minutes, 3 hrs prep, 1 hr. follow-up, but only 1-2 sessions per year.
Drawbacks Less 1-on-1; students less likely to follow up; small cost for handouts & refreshments;
potential for live demo problems (always have screen shots of intended pages as handouts!)
Figure 4. Example email to potential NSF DDRIG applicants