It may pay off for you to explore a new means of securing money from the same federal agencies that are tightening grant budgets
Most researchers are familiar with federal grants as a source of funding for scientific research. But there is another federal source worth exploring — contracts.
The National Institutes of Health spend about $5-billion a year on contracts or "acquisitions," as they are called in fedspeak. It is true that many government contracts are for humdrum goods like safety shoes for correctional officers and glossy white acrylic paint for the Air Force. Federal contracts may conjure up images of the ceremonial opening of sealed bids, which seems more appropriate for the purchase of a dump truck than of scientific expertise.
But the federal government also contracts for research and development, and some universities are already getting those awards. As a scientist, you may find it pays to explore contracts as a new means of securing money from the same federal agencies that are tightening research-grant budgets. Here is a quick lesson on what contracts are, the types of research they support, and how to find them.
A research grant is one of several types of agreements the federal government makes with scientists. With a grant, an agency makes money available to researchers to carry out their own ideas. Grants often support basic research, the results of which cannot be predicted. That's why the work plan and budget for a federal grant are somewhat flexible, and accountability typically consists of periodic progress reports. The principal investigator of the grant can often get additional time — but not additional money — to complete the project. The autonomy and flexibility suit academic researchers.
With a contract, the idea for the work originates with a federal agency, which then looks for someone to carry it out. For example, the Food and Drug Administration wants to optimize its oversight of drugs for humans. It recently sought investigators who can apply the analytic methods often used in engineering to assess masses of electronic data on regulatory activities such as clinical trials and post-market drug-safety tests. It's not looking for someone who can explore the field of data mining and possibly advance it, which is what a grant might support. It wants results.
Because the sponsoring agency already knows what it wants, the terms of a contract are more explicit than those of a grant. Contracts call for delivery of specific services by a certain date, and can provide for penalties if the deadline is not met. That arrangement may not sit well with those faculty members who are accustomed to the lethargic pace of publishing in academic journals, where a delay of a few months is barely a blip on the timeline.
The scientific work conducted under a contract can be just as exciting as any grant project. The National Children's Study, a longitudinal study of the effects the environment has on the health and development of 100,000 children, is financed through a contract. That form of agreement helps to ensure consistent protocols at the numerous study sites, and that the study meets the goals of the several agencies supporting it. Congress authorized $110.9-million in fiscal 2008 for that project.
Other examples of contract work include security research for military computers supported by the Army Research Laboratory and pollution-prevention research financed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Contracts can be created either through sealed bidding or negotiation. Sealed bidding is appropriate for the procurement of hand tools and housekeeping services. The supply or service is clearly defined, and there is no discussion or revision of the agreement.
A contract for research and development, however, is developed through negotiation. The process allows for discussion and a more-flexible work plan, and provides an opportunity for revisions. Negotiated contracts are evaluated according to technical merit, cost, and past performance of the researcher.
Be sure to have your sponsored-projects office review any contract before you sign it. Most universities have someone whose job it is to negotiate the business terms and conditions of the agreement. That person will ensure that your academic freedom is maintained, allowing you to publish the results of your work. That person will also negotiate legal issues such as liability that will be of little interest to you but important to the institution, which will actually receive and manage the award. Those negotiations may take more time that you would like. Try to be patient, because there is no way to avoid them.
Three-fourths of the members of an NIH contract-review panel must be outside peer reviewers. Other federal agencies may rely completely on in-house experts to evaluate a contract proposal. Check the program announcement or ask your contracting officers for specifics. If your offer is declined, you will need to request an explanation; it is not automatically provided to all applicants as it is with many grants.
Finding contract opportunities can be trickier than finding grants because federal agencies use contracts to buy all kinds of things in addition to scientific expertise. The official government site for the posting of all contract opportunities is http://www.fedbizopps.gov. You can search the site in many ways; I will suggest one method here for those who like to do their own digging (or have no one to do it for them).
From the homepage, click on the "advanced search" link. On the search page, under "opportunity/procurement type," check "combined synopsis/solicitation." You want to see the available opportunities, not who was awarded the previous ones. Under "classification code," scroll down to the letter codes and select A, which is "research and development." That is how you will screen out all those solicitations for office supplies. Then select "search." That gives you a basic list of open R&D opportunities. It can be helpful to refine your search by government agency, if you know which one supports the type of research you conduct. To do that, click the "specific agency/office/locations" button at the top of the page and select the agency from the pulldown menu.
Agencies also list contract opportunities on their Web sites, but finding them isn't always easy because terminology can vary from site to site. They may be posted under "doing business with us" rather than under research programs.
You can also contact the sponsored-programs office on your campus for assistance in finding contract opportunities. The folks there are familiar with the idiosyncrasies of many government Web sites. Treat those people kindly, as you will need their help in navigating the federal-contracting regulations and negotiating the above-mentioned contract terms if you get an award. Alas, you will not escape regulations by doing contract rather than grant work. You simply trade one set of rules for another.
