Pre-Award Services
Committed to advancing faculty scholarship and research excellence, the OER Pre-Award office partners with faculty to support grant proposals from initial idea conception through final submission. Pre-Award staff provide expert guidance in identifying relevant funding opportunities, developing competitive budgets, and coordinating proposal components across multiple stakeholders. Every proposal—regardless of size or scope—receives dedicated attention and strategic support to ensure a strong, compliant submission. Through this work, OER Pre-Award fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, facilitates professional development, and empowers faculty to secure external funding that drives innovation and addresses critical challenges in education.
Proposal Support
Pre-Award staff facilitate the proposal submission process and serve as liaisons to offices such as the Division of Sponsored Programs and Contracts and Grants. Support is provided for project design, budget development, and proposal review. To streamline proposal development, the OER also offers a library of boilerplate language, templates, and other resources tailored to common sponsor requirements.
Research Communications
OER research communications are designed to keep faculty informed, connected, and supported in their research endeavors. Through targeted updates and curated content, these communications highlight high-impact funding opportunities, proposal-related skills development events, changes in sponsor and institutional policies, and important faculty achievements.
Faculty Development
The OER facilitates faculty professional development by managing training in research design, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and project management. Support is provided for disseminating research findings and administering the faculty award process. OER Pre-Award’s curated collection of resources also advances faculty development and promotes the pursuit of high-impact awards.
About Our Services
The OER Pre-Award office supports and develops research, training, and service activities for faculty as follows:
Identify Funding Sources and Promote Research Activities
- Search for and disseminate relevant funding opportunities through OER’s weekly Funding and Award Opportunities and monthly Research Bulletin newsletters.
- Connect faculty with select funding opportunities aligning with their research agendas.
- Assist faculty to acquire seed funds for external funding such as the Research Opportunity Seed Fund (ROSF).
Support the Development and Submission of Proposals
- Provide consultation to help guide principal investigators (PIs) through the proposal submission process.
- Review requests for proposals (RFPs) to assist with funding agency requirements.
- Meet individually with faculty to discuss the alignment of their research ideas with targeted funding opportunities.
- Support faculty in responding to inquiries or requests from funding agencies for proposals under review.
- Provide samples of successful proposals and present suggestions for project design.
- Assess cost-sharing requests and coordinate sub-contract processes, as needed.
- Provide support for the development of various proposal components (e.g., budgets)
- Perform UFIRST uploads.
- Serve as a liaison with various University offices (e.g., Division of Sponsored Programs, Contracts and Grants, Institutional Review Board, Provost’s Office) and funding agencies.
Build Collaborative Research Teams
- Develop cross-departmental and cross-university collaborative teams.
- Establish and sustain strategic partnerships.
Provide Research Coordination Support Funded by and for Active Grants
- Assist the PI to monitor progress, identify and resolve barriers to progress, and make any necessary adjustments to scope and timeline.
- Coordinate data collection activities (e.g., help recruit and communicate with research participants, plan for interviews, coordinate survey logistics, create project timelines).
- Maintain project compliance with regulations and policies (federal, state, university, sponsors) and assist in the creation/renewal of IRB protocols.
Provide Faculty Professional Development (PD) Opportunities
- Encourage faculty participation in both internal and external PD opportunities.
- Introduce new faculty to COE resources to develop their academic portfolios.
- Provide training opportunities and resources to support research (i.e., research design, quantitative and qualitative analyses).
- Facilitate professionalization events (e.g., All Things Pre- and Post-Award, Brown Bag Series, COE’s Endowed Professorship Speaker Series).
Facilitate Faculty Award, Tenure, and Promotion Processes
- Provide support for faculty applications to select internal and external awards (e.g., UF Distinguished Professor, Rosser Educator Excellence Award, Kubiak Term Professor).
- Offer guidance and resources to faculty undergoing faculty processes (e.g., tenure, promotion, post-tenure review).
Address
University of Florida
College of Education
2001 Norman Hall
PO Box 117040
Gainesville, FL 32611-7040