Overview of Grants
Process
Prof. James Machoki M’Imunya
Principal Investigator, IEARDA
University of Nairobi, Kenya Presentation Plan
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Institutional research and grants culture
Identification of grant opportunities
Evaluation of grant feasibility
Grant application process
Grant decision‐making (award/decline)
Grant compliance
Performance measurement and reporting Closeout
Sustainability
Closeout
Institutional Research and Grants Culture
Sustainability
Grants Management Cycle
Institutional Research/Grants Culture
• Top leadership’s role
• Centralized office of research and grants support
• Coordinated grants writing, submission, and award management
Institutional Research/Grants Culture
(cont.)
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Policies and guidelines
Human capacity building
Databases for donor agencies
Linkages and partnerships
Identify Grant Opportunities
• Efficient support systems for grants identification and writing • Research and grant opportunities dissemination to faculty and students
• Support for grants proposal writing
Evaluate Grant Feasibility
• Identify appropriate institutional team and relevant collaborating institutions
• Match the goals and objectives of the grant with the national needs and institutional core mandates
• Provide relevant support to the grant writing team
Grant Application Process
• Prepare the grant application proposal and other required documents
• Submit in line with funding agency requirements and institutional guidelines/policies Grant Decision: Award Granted
• Based on peer reviewers guided by a set donor agency’s evaluation criteria and the quality of the grant application submitted
• Celebrate success!
Grant Decision: Award Declined
• Mechanisms of addressing possible negative effects to grant writing team
• Lessons learned: reviewers’ comments
• If applicable, reapply
Grant Compliance
• Familiarization with donor and recipient institutional financial policies and guidelines
• Adherence to project implementation strategy
Performance Measuring and Reporting
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Tracking, documenting, and reporting on project performance
• Information‐based decision‐making to improve performance
Closeout Documentation
Due within 90 days of project end date: • Final progress report • Final Federal Financial report
• Final inventions statement and certification (if applicable)
Closeout Documentation (cont.)
Retention of records:
• 6 years for official files • If open audit, litigation, and/or administrative proceeding are possible, the retention period may be longer
Sustainability
• Strategies and mechanisms to be integral components of the project implementation strategy
• Short‐ and long‐term impact
• Continuation of funding