I am interested in researching grant writing as the subject for my two papers. The reason that I am interested is because there is a good chance that I will be working with a professor next year on a research grant as his research assistant. I would like to better understand not only the process, but I would like to be able to contribute to the grant directly. I hope that the research I conduct this semester will be helpful in making the grant successful. For this portion I am going to interview Dr. Hugh Spitler in the Department of Public Health Sciences here at Clemson. He is the professor I would be working with next year if I get the position.
On the flip-side, I have also had an interest in non-profit organizations. I have contacted Sherry Fields who is the director of Family Connections, an organization located in Anderson that supports families with disabled children. The purpose of this is to have a better understanding of how non-profit organizations stay afloat.
I am interested to see if there is a difference between the success/failure rates of grant proposals at a university level compared to a non-profit organization. From this I hope to explore differences in guidelines and regulations, motives/incentives to write grants, time constraints, review boards, etc. With this information I hope to further investigate the similarities between the grants to see if there is a reoccurring element that occurs throughout that seemingly makes them success or failures. By comparing and contrasting the two I hope to deduce whether successful grants (at a university level or at a non-profit organization) share common traits that ultimately result in an accepted proposal.
I am starting with Dr. Spitler and Sherry Fields because I think they can present an overall view of the process. I am looking at also contacting the grant specialists here at Clemson and hopefully getting some other contact names from Mrs. Fields.
