Landy,
Never under estimate the power of having a plan.

Even in a not-so small shop, the practice of being an advocate for faculty research helps eliminate the us vs them mentality.  I also try to have good relationships with the faculty in my department, encouraging them to let me know when they are even thinking about a grant even if it is months in the future.  I use a white board in my office to organize the grants going and coming into the department and when a faculty member stops by, he/she can see just how active the department is. More importantly, they know that when their name and grant goes up on the board, they have become a priority for me and that a big piece of my advocacy is helping them stay on track for the deadlines.

True, on more than one occasion, someone has approached me a week (or days!) before a deadline and asked if they can pull the proposal together and get it approved in time.  My comment at that point is usually, if you are willing to pull all nighters to write the science, I'll do everything within reason to support your effort and get it approved and submitted on time.

As a result, I  have very few submission crises, I always have the plan, in plain view of those who have an impact upon it, and as g.g comes on line for my department, my faculty are already gearing up to cope with the earlier internal submission process guidelines.

Amy L. Taylor
Grants Manager
Department of Genome Sciences
University of Washington
1705 NE Pacific Street,  K-353B
Seattle, WA  98195-7730
Office: 206-616-7823
Fax: 206-685-7301

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