I hope you had a restful summer break following what was a very productive year for our research enterprise.
During Fiscal Year 2019, we achieved two key goals of our ClemsonForward strategic plan:
- Our Carnegie R1 status among the nation’s most active research universities was confirmed.
- Our competitive research expenditures (Fund 20) topped $100 million for the first time, reaching $104 million during fiscal year 2019.
Additionally, our competitive awards topped $100 million for the fourth consecutive year. Congratulations on these achievements and thank you for your hard work and dedication to advancing scholarship and discovery at Clemson University. Our challenge is to maintain this level of research activity.
As you settle into a new semester, I want to provide a few reminders for conducting research at Clemson and make sure you are aware of some of the services the Division offers to help you advance your research portfolio:
- Do not sign any research-related documents (e.g., non-disclosure agreements, grant agreements, research contracts, consulting agreements). Contact the Division of Research.
- Visit our Office of Research Development to view various funding opportunities.
- When you identify a funding opportunity for which you plan to apply, first notify the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) Support Center in your college. Contacts are listed here.
- If you haven’t already, complete the Sponsored Programs Certification Program here. You will not be able to submit proposals through Clemson University without the certification.
- Register when applicable for any electronic registrations/accounts (NSF Fastlane/research.gov, eRA Commons, etc.) required by the funding agencies.
- Faculty should have a current Conflict of Interest Disclosure on file to be able to submit proposals (e.g., NIH, NSF). Access COI training here and submit your disclosure through InfoEd here.
Make sure to set up your lab on the new online BioRAFT platform to begin managing your research safety requirements. Log in with your university credentials and follow the BioRAFT Quick Start Guide. If setting up a new lab or beginning research in a new area, include the Office of Research Safety in your planning.- Register for a Brown Bag Series seminar to better understand research integrity and compliance and earn credits toward required Responsible Conduct of Research training, when applicable. If you have questions or concerns related to research integrity/misconduct, please contact the Research Integrity Officer.
- Prior to beginning a research project, make sure that all regulatory and compliance protocols regarding animal care, biosafety, human subjects and other research have been submitted and approvals are in place. Consult with the Office of Research Compliance on regulatory and compliance matters.
- Once you have been awarded funds, OSP will forward the award to the Grants and Contracts Administration (GCA), which will set up the award and provide an account number. Do not start your funded research project prior to account setup, unless you obtain a risk account.
- Review your Sponsored project dashboard with the Faculty Business Information System (FBIS), which provides an expense summary, transaction details and burn-rate information. Use the Sponsored Program Verification System to manage your semi-annual compensation reporting requirement online.
- To disclose an invention, license intellectual property, or identify an industry collaborator, contact the Clemson University Research Foundation.
- If submitting a proposal to an industry sponsor, the Office of Industry Contracts will need to review your proposal and negotiate an agreement with the industry sponsor before you initiate the project.
The Division of Research can help you identify opportunities, submit proposals, manage awards, work with industry, navigate research-related regulations and much more. If you need assistance and aren’t sure who to contact, please fill out this form and we will get back to you as quickly as possible.
Or if you have any comments or suggestions, please reach me directly at vpr@clemson.edu.
Thank you again for your contributions to scholarship and discovery at Clemson University.
Go Tigers!
– Tanju
