The COS Funding Opportunities data base is right around a year old.
Thus it is still growing, but still fares well in comparison to SPIN which I
used to use religiously.  Now I go FIRST to COS, then to SPIN.  I like the
COS search engine and format best.  I can better target the things I need
so that I don't have to look at 100 extraneous items to get the five I really
want.

The data base contents are comparable and contain both federal,
foundation, and private resources.  I "start here" and then look other
places.  It won't come as a surprise to anyone that I find the Taft directory
and ARIS electronic searches to prove the most fruitful for the social
sciences and humanities.

You can "test drive" the COS data base at http://cos.gdb.org/

One of the things I like best about the system are the linkages
(relationships) between data bases.  For instance, our faculty profiles are
tied to the Funding Opps data base.  Each faculty has a list of
self-determined keywords and a set of COS thesaurus keywords.  The
COS keywords, appearing at the bottom of the faculty member's profile,
are directly linked to the Funding data.  Thus they can pull up their own
record, select a keyword (or a combination with "AND/OR" statements)
and quickly have a tailored search.  Just as easily, they can go to the data
base proper and generate a more detailed search....

Charna K. Howson
Assistant Director
Office of Research Services
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
xxxxxx@fagan.uncg.edu
910/334-5878
fax: 910/334-3140