Dear Colleagues:
I am a new Coordinator of Sponsored Programs at West Virginia Graduate
College. IT is a new office, new position. The instition has no history
of research or other sponsored funding.
After a year of getting the appropriate infrastructure in place, we
are now at a point to begin faculty development.
Over 65% of our faculty are tenured. We have 9000 students, 98% of whom
are working adults; classes are taught via distance learning.
The only "incentive" right now for faculty to write grants is a 25% share
of the recovered indirect cost. Some of the $$$ for summer school is being
cut, so that is an incentive, though a from the negative.
I have alot of leeway in terms of suggestions and recommendations I can
make to the VP.
Please give your input to the following questions, keeping in mind the
unique characteristics of this institution.

1. What steps are necessary to take NOW to "turn the ship" around,
so that 5 years from now, we will have a stronger OSP and higher
%age of grants written and funded?

2. What policy changes can be made to nurture the climate of research
at this college?

3. We are in the embryonic stage of development. What hazards/or other
developmental surprises await?

4. What can we do to motivate faculty to write grants?

5. How do you encourage faculty to form the type of community
collaborations so often necessary and looked for by sponsors?

6. How much responsibility for the success of the OSP rests solely
on the coordinator (ie. is it all my fault????)

7. Which would be better: working with individual faculty to develop
their skills, or just me writing all the grants?

Any comments you care to make will be most appreciated. Please keep in
mind this is a new position; we are a small institution with NO history
of research; there is administrative support for this effort; it is a
One Person Office, and i'm IT. PS: I am an alum of this school, and
my background is in private non-profit administration and program
planning.

Thanks ever so.
Sincerely,

Martha Spalding Armstrong
Coordinator, Sponsored Programs
WEst Virginia Graduate College
South Charleston  WV
xxxxxx@wvnvm.wvnet.edu