FAQs
The University defines sponsored programs as externally funded projects/awards for activities, which can include research, instruction, conferences, public events, training, scholarships, Labs, and library grants. If any of the following conditions are present in terms of the award, it is a sponsored program, and funding proposals must be reviewed by the Office of Sponsored Program
- The project implementation includes the transfer of funds to NU.
- The proposed work binds the University to a specific line of scholarly or scientific inquiry, which requires either a work methodology or validation of approaches.
- A specific commitment is made regarding the level of personnel effort or items of output or if the achievement of specific performance targets is contemplated as a condition of obtaining sponsorship.
- A line-item budget detailing expenditures by activity, function, and project period must be adhered to as a condition of funding, and a detailed fiscal or activity report or external audit is required at intervals during the work and/or at the end of the project period.
- The proposed agreement with the sponsor provides for the disposition of either tangible properties (equipment, records, technical reports, theses, or dissertations) or intangible property (rights in data, copyrights, inventions) which may result from the activity.
The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) announces on a regular basis relevant funding alerts to faculty members at NU via email. In addition, all funding alerts are listed on the OSP webpage; check the OSP Open Calls , which outlines all currently open opportunities announced by OSP, as well as the previously announced ones for reference on the regular funding cycles.
As the Principal Investigator (PI), you should consider consulting the below questions during the inception phase.
- What do you want to achieve with your research or idea?
- What is its significance, and how is it fulfilling a need?
- How is the project important for you/your organization and community?
- What has been achieved to date?
- What are the suggested methods or theories of change to achieve the project goal??
- Who is the target population/beneficiary group?
- What are the expected outcomes and impacts of the project?
- How will the project sustain itself beyond the grant funding?
Full-time faculty members - professors, associate professors, and assistant professors - are eligible to apply for external funding and serve as principal investigators or project directors on sponsored projects.
The Principal Investigator (PI) is the technical manager of a grant or an externally funded project. His role is centered around supervising and ensuring that various aspects of the grant, like technical requirements, day-to-day administration, and financial management of the project, are taken care of. The PI will also keep the department chair and dean apprised of progress and any problems.
Yes, all research proposals submitted to external sponsors should be managed through the Office of Sponsored Programs.
Principal Investigators (PI) are also advised to keep OSP informed about informal contact, letters of intent, or correspondence with external funding agencies.
If no currently open funding opportunities match the PI's research field of interest, they will be asked to contact the OSP to know the PI specific area of interest and pursue it as they search for grant opportunities.
If the opportunity was announced by OSP, the PI should ensure to follow the application process included in each funding announcement and send the required documents on or before the internal deadline.
If the opportunity was not announced by OSP, PIs will need to share the announcement link or guidelines with OSP kindly, and OSP will review the opportunity and inform the PI of NU’s eligibility to apply and, if so, the next steps to proceed.
If the PI has any questions or clarifications along the process, they may send an email to OSP at osp@nu.edu.eg , and they shall receive a reply in less than two working days.
All sponsored research proposals must be reviewed and approved by the research center manager before submission to external funding agencies. Then start the Approval Process through the link https://laserfiche.nu.edu.eg/Forms/
Then the full proposal will be circulated for approval along with the final budget and, ideally, the final narrative/application, according to the following set hierarchy:
- Principal Investigator and Co-principal Investigator
- School Dean or Center Director
- Office of Sponsored Programs
- Grants Office
- VP for Research
- President Office
- University President
The first step is referring to the sponsor call guidelines for guidance on the budget ceiling and minimum, if any, the eligible costs, the indirect cost rate allowed, and any other restrictions, as applicable.
Typically, depending on the project needs and sponsor guidelines, key line items that may be allowed in a grant budget may include:
- Personnel Costs
- Equipment
- Travel
- Research Costs (data collection tools, dissemination events, publishing costs)
- Project Activities (e.g., workshops, events, etc.)
- NU Indirect Costs/Overheads
Note: Share the proposal budgets in Microsoft Excel to ensure a comprehensive Grants Office review of calculations and for internal circulation of the budget for approvals.
The indirect costs are generally the costs incurred by NU that are associated with any research project, such as electricity, water, sanitation, cleaning/security services, space utilization, equipment and technology infrastructure such as PCs, servers, and network, NU Library usage which includes access to databases for publications, administration time which includes staff time such as the accounting department, Office of Sponsored Programs, schools support staff, etc. The rate for indirect costs is specified by the sponsor in the call guidelines.
For more details: Please check with the Grants Office.
Sponsored research programs should normally recover their full share of direct and indirect costs from the grantor.
Sometimes grantors require that NU subsidize (cost share) a portion of the costs, or grantors may decline to support certain types of costs (such as indirect costs). In other cases, NU offers to subsidize a share of the cost to make a proposal more attractive.
In any of these situations, the researcher/PI must identify a source for the subsidy, such as the department, school, center, or University. Requests for department, school, or center subsidies must be discussed with the appropriate department chair, dean, or center director then the University president's approval.