- Home >
- Research & Sponsored Programs
Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
The mission of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) is to provide current and accurate information to the University community on all aspects of activities involved in funding research and scholarship at Kansas State University. In this regard, ORSP has seven general areas of responsibility:
- Provide liaison services with potential funding or regulatory governmental agencies.
- Inform staff about potential opportunities for research and any other extramurally funded projects.
- Coordinate proposal preparation, clearance, review, and submission of proposals. View the checklist.
- Administer internally funded grant programs; e.g., the FDA and USRG programs.
- Provide interpretation of governmental rules and regulations requirements concerning grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements.
- Provide information on compliance issues including: Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects, Hazardous and Biohazardous Waste, Animal Care Issues, Scientific Misconduct and Responsible Conduct of Research Issues, and Intellectual Property, including Patent and Copyright Issues.
- Administer non-financial post-awards.
In its liaison activities, ORSP staff monitor and contact governmental agencies regarding current programs and solicit information about future directions in funded programs; communicate this information to faculty and staff; and stimulate agencies’ interest in the University.
All proposals are presented to PreAward Services which is responsible for securing campus approval signatures before proposals leave campus. ORSP is the “principal agent” in negotiations between the University and all funding agencies for University projects regardless of the funding source.
Intramural Funding
Seed Grants - ORSP administers semiannual competitions for the University Small Research Grants (USRG) to support research and creative efforts of regular faculty; the President’s Faculty Development Award (FDA) for various purposes, such as providing required matching funds for NEH Fellowships, travel to international meetings or to consult with funding agencies; and the Special Group Incentive Research Award. See the research website for additional details on these programs.
Program Development Services
Project Development Service - provides assistance in developing proposals through specialized workshops and seminars that focus on identifying sources of funding, project design and proposal preparation. ORSP provides consultation services, primarily on major proposals involving group projects.
ORSP's Resources Library - contains information
related to external funding from a diverse range of sponsors, including state and federal agencies, foundations and industries. Information available includes program guidelines and applications published by sponsors; directories of sponsors and their funding priorities; and grant-writing guides.
Computer Searches - provides KSU faculty/staff/students with web access to the Community of Science and SPIN commercial databases of funding opportunities in all disciplines from federal, foundation, and
corporate sources. In addition to providing assistance and training in using COS and SPIN, the Information Specialist fills requests for individual searches.
Publications - include the Funding Bulletin, a weekly notice of programs with current deadlines (complete information is available from the Information Specialist); and the Research web pages (http://www.ksu.edu/research) which provide access to numerous aids to proposal preparation.
PreAward Services
PreAward Services (PAS) has the legal responsibility for reviewing all proposals being prepared for submission to ensure compliance with programmatic guidelines of the sponsor, with state and federal regulations, and with University policy and commitments. This
office has been delegated the signatory authority of the University that is required for a proposal being submitted to a sponsor.
Services provided by the unit are:
- Completion of application certifications and assurances; interpretation of sponsor guidelines; review of and comments on RFPs, RFQs and RFAs
- Budget consultation and preparation
- Information gathering/problem solving with other campus units, e.g. purchasing, personnel, accounting
- Assistance in obtaining campus approvals
- Mediation and negotiation with sponsoring contract offices
- Reproduction and shipment of proposals
Intellectual Property Resulting from University Activities
Intellectual property that results from activities at the University, or through the use of University facilities, equipment or personnel, should be disclosed to the Intellectual Property Advisory Committee. The Committee will then make a recommendation on how to proceed. They could recommend that a patent application be filed on the technology, that more research should be performed or that the technology should be returned to the inventor/creator to pursue as they desire.
The University utilizes the services of the KSU Research Foundation (KSURF) to secure legal protection (patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc.) for its intellectual property. KSURF also facilitates various commercialization efforts involving the property. These services are provided at no cost to the inventor/creator and are funded through a percentage of royalty revenue that KSURF retains from successful licensing and commercialization efforts. Refer to their website for more information: http://www.k-state.edu/tech.transfer/.
Research Compliance
University activities that may involve research on human subjects, laboratory animal care and use, or propose to use recombinant DNA or biohazardous materials, must comply with applicable federal, state or local rules, regulations and guidelines. KSU has university-wide committees that provide regulatory oversight and guidance in these three critical areas. Individuals who plan efforts in any of these areas must receive formal approval from the appropriate compliance committee prior to commencement of the project. For detailed information, visit the Research Compliance Website at: http://www.ksu.edu/research/comply.
