grants, funding and support
Excerpted from the policies of the Pratt Institutional Advancement Office, 2002

Stage 1: Initial contact and lead sharing
The initial step in the grant proposal process begins with an idea for a special project or solution to a perceived need by faculty and/or staff. At this point, the faculty or staff member should discuss the project/idea with his or her own supervisors (chair, dean, provost, etc.). If the project is approved at this level then Institutional Advancement is involved for assistance in finding potential funding sources, writing, assembling, processing and submitting the proposal.

Stage 2: Proposal development
When sufficient discussion has occurred a decision is made regarding continuation of the process. Prospective proposals may not move forward for a variety of reasons (i.e., insufficient time available for the development and writing of the proposal, something which would either prohibit successful completion or legal issues, lack of potential funding sources, etc.). However, many concepts or ideas can be successfully developed as grant proposals.

Proposals are categorized under four possible areas:

1. Programmatic - Often directly connected with academic programs at the Institute though not necessarily.
   
2. Specific Scholarships - Often either a dean or chair will seek scholarship money to support graduate or undergraduate students.
   
3. Unrestricted Scholarships - Solicited to provide financial relief to the operating budget with respect to institutionally budgeted financial aid.
   
4. Capital Projects - Often referred to as “bricks and mortar” and/or equipment for buildings, classrooms and the like.

Stage 3: Approval, Signature
Upon completion of the proposal package the material is given a final review and presented for approval. Though it is presumed that there is approval for the proposal in concept the final proposal must be reviewed and signed-off on by appropriately designated persons at the Institute. If it is a programmatic proposal approval must be secured from both the provost and president. After having obtained appropriate signatures the proposal is submitted to the appropriate funding source, i.e., federal agency, state agency, foundation or other.

Stage 4: Grant management
Notification of approval or rejection of the grant application is forwarded to the President's Office or the Office of Institutional Advancement.

Grant Management is divided into four basic components:

1. Deposit of funding - The Office of Institutional Advancement serves as the central collection point for the receipt of all donations, contributions and grant funding. Should funds arrive in advance of the establishment of an appropriate account the controller places the funds in a holding account.
   
2. Establishment of an appropriate account - As with all funds within the Institute, an appropriate account must be established in order to provide the Institute and the project director with the ability to monitor expenditures and charges against the project fund and determine the correct balance remaining.
   
3. Management of the project - Usually a grant-funded project is managed by someone designated to be responsible for the oversight and completion of the project. In the case of a grant application a project director is assigned--usually the individual who initiated the process and applied for the grant.
   
4. Grant reporting - Outside granting agencies virtually always require annual or final (and in some cases interim) reports on the progress of a funded project. The Office of Institutional Advancement coordinates the effort of filing reports. However the Project Director is responsible for gathering the required assessment information.