Grants360°: United States Agency of International Development
Key Takeaways
Paul Spiegel, Distinguished Professor of the Practice of International Health, Shannon Doocy, Professor of International Health, Abdulgafoor M. Bachani, Associate Professor of International Health, and Conor James McMeniman, Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, gathered to discuss their experience securing funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Application Tips
Researchers can apply for funding as a “prime” or “subcontractor”
Prime: allows for more flexibility and decision-making regarding the allocation of funding for the research project; however, the workload and communications responsibilities are significantly higher.
Subcontractor: collaborates with an NGO (typically the “prime”) and is expected to contribute to the funding application.
Searching on https://www.grants.gov/search-grants to identify potential opportunities.
Filters on the search site allow you to select Agency for International Development as well as to identify grant or contract opportunities.
A forecast of the funding opportunity becomes available up to 1 year in advance of the submission date (but often shorter time frames).
An official announcement generally provides a brief window for application submissions.
Filters again allow identification of forecasts and of the official announcements.
Given the brief window of submission and a very detailed application, applicants should begin formulating their applications & reach out to relevant partners during the forecast period. There may be changes between the forecast and the official announcement.
Many of the opportunities are very restrictive in the target content and geographical location.
Communications between the applicant and USAID program officers during the application process do not typically occur.
USAID is a milestone-driven organization so grantees should be intentional when setting milestones.
Post-Award
Interactions post-award can be bureaucratic, but USAID is generally collaborative.
Communication style: Monthly calls with program officers & milestone reports.
Research vs. Implementation Projects:
Research-focused projects have more flexibility.
Implementation-focused projects should expect frequent communications with USAID program officers, which often leads to modifications of the project. There is often program co-creation at the beginning and program changes are often driven by USAID.
Implementation-focused projects often cannot allocate funds towards publications; a detailed budget allocation is involved.
Impact on Career & Research
Networking opportunities: Projects may involve managing large consortiums and interacting with many stakeholders, creating opportunities for future partnerships.
Projects/research may not generate data and deliverables that are well-suited for publications. This may be a challenge for faculty or researchers who need to emphasize the generation of publications. Integrating USAID funding along with other funding streams in their individual research portfolio is preferred.