In This Issue...

Grants.gov maintenance to impact September proposal submissions

Grants.gov will be unavailable September 23-29 as its servers are moved to the cloud. This maintenance will impact faculty and staff who use Grants.gov and eResearch Proposal Management (eRPM) for funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) and proposal submissions.

To ensure faculty and staff are able to successfully submit federal grant proposals that are due during this maintenance period, please refer to the following guidance:

What components will be impacted?

• FOA
  • Grants.gov: Cannot download or update FOAs, or related documents.
  • eRPM: Cannot complete item 1.6 within the Proposal Approval Form (PAF), required for all Grants.gov opportunities.
• Application
  • Grants.gov, eRPM system-to-system, ASSIST: Cannot submit any applications.
• Application status update
  • Grants.gov, eRPM: Cannot retrieve status updates of any submitted applications. The application status will remain static September 22-29.

• Determine your submission plans for late September and early October.
• Review specific federal agency guidance related to your FOA and this maintenance.
  • The National Institutes of Health has extended most of its deadlines that fall during this maintenance window until October 3, 2022. Learn more
  • If possible, we recommend you submit early for any opportunity that receives an extension to October 3. This will be the first major deadline after Grants.gov moves to the cloud, and there is potential for technical issues to arise, placing your proposal at risk.
• Before September 23
  • Download sponsor guidelines 
  • Create a PAF and complete item 1.6 with the FOA

• The U-M Proposal Submission Deadline Policy still applies.
• Any submissions that are done via email, mail or other online submissions (except ASSIST and Grants.gov Workspace) will not be impacted.

• Extended Grants.gov Downtime Impacts September 22-30 Due Dates
• Adjustments to NIH and AHRQ Grant Application Due Dates Between September 22 and September 30

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your local research administrator or your project representative within the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects.

Write Winning NIH R01 Grants returns to UMMS

The Medical School Office of Research welcomes back John Robertson, Ph.D., of Grant Writers' Seminars & Workshops, who will present "Write Winning NIH R01 Grant Proposals" on October 14.

This widely acclaimed seminar comprehensively addresses both practical and conceptual aspects that are important to the proposal-writing process. Emphasis is given to idea development, identification of the most appropriate granting agency, how to write for reviewers, and tips and strategies that are of proven value in presenting an applicant's case to reviewers.

This full-day workshop is an annual event for R01 Boot Camp participants, and will be open again this year to U-M faculty members, postdoctoral researchers and administrative staff interested in brushing up on NIH grant writing skills. The $359 registration fee includes a hard copy of The Grant Application Writer's Workbook, as well as session materials, a light breakfast and lunch.

Learn more and register

Apply for the Therapeutic Innovation Fund 

The U-M Therapeutic Innovation Fund RFP is now available. This five-year, $2.5 million fund, offered by the Michigan Center for Therapeutic Innovation (MCTI) and Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI), is designed to accelerate the discovery and translation of therapeutic candidates at U-M.

The fund supports the discovery and optimization of small molecule lead compounds for projects with a specific, novel and testable drug discovery hypothesis. Selected projects receive funding and resources to support medicinal chemistry efforts through MCTI and funding for drug design, assay development, cell biology, structural biology and pharmacology (<$150,000 in value for each award for 18 months).

Please note: a pre-submission application and meeting are REQUIRED and must be completed by August 26. To set up a meeting, contact Jason Rech.

DARPA launches a new fellowship 

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Innovation Fellowship is a two-year position at DARPA for early career scientists and engineers. The fellows will develop and manage a portfolio of high-impact exploratory efforts to identify breakthrough technologies for the Department of Defense. 

Recent Ph.D. graduates and/or active-duty military with degrees in the sciences (within five years) may apply to become a DARPA Innovation Fellow. Bachelor- or master’s-level candidates with compelling submissions also may be considered. As DARPA is part of the Department of Defense, U.S. citizenship is required for the fellowship. Selected candidates will be required to undergo a background investigation.

The first class of fellows will likely start in January 2023, with an additional class starting every six months. To submit your resume for consideration or to ask questions about the fellowship program, email fellowship@darpa.mil.

Apply for MICHR's Study Team Workforce Development group

MICHR's Education and Mentoring Group is now accepting applications for the Study Team Workforce Development Working Group. Any study team member (faculty or staff) who does research on health or medicine or works in a non-MICHR research support office is encouraged to apply to serve on the Working Group to share knowledge, experience and skills related to study team training and education at U-M. Applications are due September 9.

More information is available here. For questions about the Working Group or your eligibility to apply, contact Nicole Exe.

U-M Software Directory and Software Services

U-M provides access to numerous software packages to students, faculty, and staff at no or reduced cost. The available software can be accessed through the Software Directory. For researchers and RD professionals looking for new tools to support their work, this is a great place to start before purchasing software. Exactly what you or a research team needs might already be available at no cost. The directory is still under development, and ITS is working to add more software title. If you are part of a unit that is interested in contributing, contact the ITS software team.

For RD professionals running big initiatives or handling large-scale proposals, ITS has also curated a list of project management software titles that are currently in use across campus. Trello, Asana, Airtable, and monday.com are popular options within the broader RD community, and all have free versions or trial periods. The OVPR Research Development and Proposal Services team uses Airtable! We use it for everything from to running day-to-day operations to managing large-scale proposals to planning this biweekly newsletter. We'd be happy to talk with you about how we make the most use of this tool. We also know that RD offices at peer institutions have found success with the other options listed above. Try them out to see which one might be the best fit for you and your RD work.

Internal Funding 

​All currently open U-M campus-wide internal funding programs are posted in Research Commons.

• OVPR Limited Submissions Policies and Procedures
• Medical School Limited Submissions Homepage
• Questions: UMORlimitedsubmissions@umich.edu

• U-M Library’s Research Funding & Grants Guide or PIVOT Database
• U-M Research Development 
• U-M Foundation Relations

RD ShopTalk: What do you do with reviewer comments?

Mid-scale Research Infrastructure Planning Workshop

EHR Core Research Informational Webinar

Policy-Related Metrics for Research Impact: Getting Started with Overton Interdisciplinary Database

Instrumentation Grants: S10s? MRIs? Help!

SBE Build & Broaden Informational Webinar

Will NIH Repay Your Student Loans?