Grant Writing Tips: Letter of Commitment

A very common element of grant proposals is a letter of commitment from one’s department chair (in the case of COE, school director). See the following grant writing tip reprinted by permission from Grantseeker Tips newsletter Issue #362, June 18, 2013 published by Miner and Associates, Inc.

What information should be included in a letter of commitment from a department chair?

Department chair commitment letters are crucial because they help document the environment in which the research will be conducted and reassure the reviewers that there is institutional “buy-in” of the PI and the project.

Depending on each faculty member’s situation, letters may contain the following items:

•     Affirmation that the faculty member is a “rising star” in the department with a unique skill set.

•     Assurance that the faculty member will be given protected released time to carry out the proposed project.

•     Promise that the faculty member will have guaranteed access to essential departmental and university resources such as instrumentation, equipment, library holdings, computers, and similar items.

•     Pledge that the faculty member will be able to use “start-up package funding” or internal seed support to complement grant funding.

•     Guarantee that the faculty member will be provided support personnel to help carry out the project (e.g., student support from undergraduates, graduates, or post-docs; laboratory support from electrical or mechanical personnel; and research design and statistical analysis expertise).

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Awarded Projects for June 2013

College of Education – Awarded Projects – June 2013
Principal Investigator: Donald Pemberton (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: Madison for Education Consultancy, LLC
Project Title: Training Services Agreement
Project Period: 02/02/2013—08/31/2016
Award Amount: $1,815,099.00
Principal Investigator: Donald Pemberton (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: Zero to Three
Project Title: Zero to Three—Doris Duke Part B
Project Period: 06/01/2013—11/30/2015
Award Amount: $93,500.00

Submitted Projects for June 2013

College of Education – Submitted Projects – June 2013
Principal Investigator: Lynda Hayes (PK Yonge)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: Florida Department of Education
Proposal Title: IDEA, Part B, Entitlement 2013-2014
Requested Amount: $196,593.00
Principal Investigator: Lynda Hayes (PK Yonge)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: Florida Department of Education
Proposal Title: Title I Part A: Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged 2013-2014
Requested Amount: $136,292.01
Principal Investigator: Lynda Hayes (PK Yonge)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: Florida Department of Education
Proposal Title: Title II, Part A, Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund 2013-2014
Requested Amount: $27,819.25
Principal Investigator: Virginia Dodd (College of Dentistry)
Co-PI: Anne Corinne Huggins (SHDOSE)
Funding Agency: National Institutes of Health
Proposal Title: Developing an Instrument to Measure the Antecedents of Oral Health Literacy
Requested Amount: $16,118.00
Principal Investigator: Philip Poekert (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: SRI International (Subcontract)
Proposal Title: Validation of SunBay Middle School Mathematics
Requested Amount: $2,241,002.00