Stimulus Proposal Enhancement Toolkit

Stimulus Proposal Enhancements

Stimulus-Specific Language to Enhance Your Proposal
It is important that researchers position their proposals as relevant to the stimulus objectives.  In addition, there are reporting requirements beyond those typically sought in proposals, such as the number of jobs created. 

Here are some examples of verbage to make your proposal better targeted to the stimulus objectives:

This proposal meets the challenge set out by the President and Congress to stimulate the economy through the creation of jobs.  Using methodology recently developed by CBRE in a recent evaluation of the impact of UCSD on the economy, this project is estimated to create XXXX new jobs, which in turn have been determined to have a multiplier effect in the community of XXXX more jobs.

The project will contribute to the development of the innovation economy and future economic security through the involvement of  XXX professional researchers in conjunction with  XXX students, graduate students, and post docs.  Consequently, the long term impact will be the generation of new knowledge and possible development of new ideas, technologies, or devices.This in turn generates new companies and more jobs.      UCSD has a proven track record with faculty who have started 193 new companies which have generated nearly 130,000 jobs.

This project focuses on work that will result in reducing the nation’s dependence on external sources of energy by. . .

Additional background on this topic can be found in the messaging document from UCSD Communications

For guidance on calculating the specific economic impact of your proposals, please refer to the recent CBRE Economic Impact study.  That study estimated the economic impact of UCSD based on data from FY2006-07. *  In San Diego County, UCSD’s annual contribution to the economy is $5.7 billion in direct and indirect spending and personal income; the university generates more than 33,600 jobs locally.  The total impact on the State of California from UCSD is estimated to be $7.2 billion in direct and indirect spending, generating some 39,000 jobs.  The rough model used in this study to estimate economic impact determined that $1 million in increased revenue to the campus will result in approximately 17 jobs (approximately 1 job for every $60,000) and result in approximately $2 million in total spending in California.  On this basis, our proposal can be predicted to result in approximately XXXX jobs and about $XX million in total spending in the state.

* http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/EconomicImpact/pdf/UC-San-Diego-Economic-Impact-Report-July-10-2008.pdf

Stimulus Opportunities for Undergraduate Research

There are a number of opportunities available in the stimulus package directed toward undergraduate research, including:

• • NIH supplemental funding will go to already funded science projects to expand research related to a project’s original goals, such as towards creating training positions.  For example:

1. NIH Recovery Act Funds for Administrative Supplements Providing Summer Research Experiences for Students and Science Educators – for those with active NIH Research Grants to request administrative supplements for the purpose of promoting job creation, economic development, and accelerating the pace and achievement of scientific research.  (NOT-OD-09-060)
2. NIH Challenge Grant Area – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education
   
3. NIH Recovery Act Funds for Administrative Supplements – for those with active NIH Research Grants to request administrative supplements for the purpose of accelerating the tempo of scientific research on active grants (NOT-OD-09-056)
4. NIH Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications   – for those with active NIH-supported research project grants (including SBIR and STTR) to submit revision applications (formerly termed competitive supplements) to support a significant expansion of the scope or research protocol of approved and funded projects (NOT-OD-09-058)

• • Stimulus bill funding for the National Science Foundation   includes $100 million for three education programs at NSF, including support to increase the success rate in the FY 2009 competitions and to supplement existing awards.
• • The Department of Labor seeks to fund youth-focused activities (young adults through age 24), targeting areas of skill shortages particularly in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. It will also fund the training of multiple individuals in high-demand occupations, including potentially through a contract to an institution of higher learning (SGA-DFA-PY-08-13).
• • The Department of Education will provide funding distributed by each state, including the State Stabilization Fund as well as Competitive Grants (the Race to the Top and Invest in What Works programs).  Although much of this support will be directed at K-12 schools, the bill does specifically provide for higher education funding.

In addition to these and other opportunities directed specifically at education and training, we note that one of the stimulus bill’s goals is to improve readiness for people preparing to join the workforce.  We therefore encourage you to consider an undergraduate-focused component to supplement an existing proposal or as part of a new proposal, even if such a provision is not explicitly part of the opportunity’s requirements.  More information on the stimulus bill and links to the various agency websites can be found on the Office of Research Affairs Stimulus Page

UCSD Diversity Resources

For general information about UCSD diversity information and initiatives that can be incorporated into proposals, please contact Dr. Sheila Broyles at slbroyles@ucsd.edu .

Sample proposal diversity language and statistics are available from the Comprehensive Research Center in Health Disparities here.

Publicizing the Stimulus Package Goals of Your Project
It is important to communicate the positive impacts of stimulus package funding to outside audiences, including the news media; such outreach would focus on describing the production of jobs, training the workforce, and building infrastructure.  Please consider asking your program officer to seek additional/supplementary funds that would be used to communicate the results of your projects to the news media and other groups. With such specified support, communications professionals with University Communications and Public Affairs can create news releases, multimedia and other communications materials designed to highlight the positive impacts of the projects on job creation, training and infrastructural improvements – the real-world benefits and improvements to people’s lives your research provides.  Please contact Rex Graham with UCPA for text and budgetary suggestions.