News

Pitt receives federal grant to study how autonomous vehicle industry serves people with disabilities

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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 30, 2020 The University of Pittsburgh will spearhead a national study about the accessibility of autonomous transportation for people with disabilities after receiving a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The grant and 18-month study were announced Thursday by Diana Furchtgott-Roth, the transportation department’s deputy assistant secretary for research […]

Best Practices

The Grant Doctors 365 / 080420

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Unwritten grant management rule #2. Again. This should be common sense. I’ve seen many cases where organizations are awarded millions of dollars, but at the end of their grant term, they’ve spent only a few hundred thousand and they’re scrambling to get a one-year extension to try and salvage something positive out of their program. […]

Best Practices

The Grant Doctors 365 / 080220

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Unwritten grant management rule #1. This sounds like common sense but you would be surprised how many grantees decide to completely change their program once they receive funding. I’ve been in numerous meetings where the program manager says, “I know we said we’d do X but we’re going to do Y instead.” And my favorite […]

The Grant Doctors 365

The Grant Doctors 365 / 080120

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Before your grant ends, you have the option to extend it—for up to 12 months—beyond its original closing date. Federal grant program officers refer to extensions as “no cost extensions.” Don’t worry about the terminology. It simply means the awarding agency isn’t giving your project additional funding: whatever is in your grant account is what […]

Best Practices

The Grant Doctors 365 / 072920

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Consider the ROI—or the return on your time investment—before applying for a federal grant. As you read a grant’s description, pay attention to the number of projects that will be funded. Is the department funding 50 or 60 projects or is it highly competitive with less than ten awards? If it’s less than ten, think […]