IU ranked 54th worldwide in innovation in 2018, according to Reuters.This innovation requires research and money to support it. To help researchers understand how to obtain funding, IU Proposal Development Services conducts monthly funding-search open houses.
These online sessions allow researchers to meet in small groups with a PDS staff member to help identify sources of funding offered by IU and outside sources.
Lindsay Nash, project coordinator of the Office of the Vice Provost for PDS, said attendees leave with valuable tips and strategies for finding and applying for funding. She said the process is long and complicated even for experienced researchers.
Many researchers are willing to do the work to obtain funding but are unsure how to, Nash said.
“The learning curve is putting in the time for a competitive proposal,” Nash said. “Developing that timeline and giving yourself enough room for creating multiple drafts, finding external reviewers before you submit — that all takes a considerable amount of thought in setting internal deadlines.”
Daniel An, recruitment and outreach coordinator for the IU University Graduate School, said he believes students and faculty looking to do advanced research study usually understand the basics of the application process. However, the more applicants learn, the better.
An said the open house is a beneficial tool for incoming students unable to gain funding through their specific schools or fellowships.
However, the most important part of workshops like this is connecting with different people, An said, because researchers never know what resources others might give them.
Junior Cassady Cantu plans on researching social media’s effect on in-person communication of young adults once she is in graduate school at IU. She’s never attended a PDS open house, but said she plans to.
“I would love to find other people and network with other people who could provide me with more resources," Cantu said.
Graduate and postdoctoral students may attend if there is space, Nash said.
"Our primary mission is to promote faculty funding success," Nash said. "And our efforts in providing professional development workshops, like the funding workshop, is to support researchers with resources that are here."
The next PDS workshop will be at 10 a.m. Feb. 20. The workshops are conducted via Zoom.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated who could attend the workshop. The IDS regrets this error.
