EARDA Phase II - Research & Grants Education at CSC

St. Catherine University, Saint Paul MN

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The College of St. Catherine (CSC) will use EARDA-FRESP Phase II funds to continue growing our efforts in Sponsored Research by enabling faculty to submit successful grant applications to both private and governmental funding agencies for the support of faculty and student research. Our initial EARDA grant allowed us to set up an Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), hire a Sponsored Programs Administrator (SPA) and part-time senior accountant, plan and carry out a very successful grant writing workshop, design a user-friendly website for granting information and communication, and establish internal committees to facilitate the writing and submission of grant applications by faculty. During this time, the numbers of grant applications written and submitted by CSC faculty quadrupled, as faculty realized that help in identifying proper funding sources and writing applications was available to them, as was an internal review process. The College also partnered with a number of outside collaborators, such as the University of Minnesota, Fairview-University Hospitals, community health centers, and the MN Nurses Association in order to carry out investigative research. Funding for student-faculty research and for faculty scholarship has also increased, stimulated by work undertaken by the SPA in collaboration with the Office of Development. Future plans include expanding our local and regional collaborations, setting up a competitive internal granting process to fund scientifically meritorious pilot research studies in biomedical and behavioral sciences that will lead to securing federal funding for research initiatives, and continuing the role of the ORSP (including the SPA and the PI) in planning and carrying out grant writing workshops. Larger fall workshops will be followed by specific mini-sessions concerning topics identified as important by faculty and will continue throughout the year. In addition, the work of the committees, especially the ORSP Advisory Committee will be embedded into the formal structure of the college, ensuring its permanancy.