FAQs: How to Interact with Research Support Offices

Do you need help finding funding opportunities or on-campus collaborators?

• PDO can do a search, or you may use Pivot on your own. Visit PDO's Funding Opportunities page.
• Search externally funded grants by keyword to see UK investigators working in your field. Visit the Search Portal.

Do you need help preparing your proposal?

• PDO can assist with proposal reviews and maintains a library of UK resource/facilities descriptions. 
• Your College Grants Officer can help with your budget preparation.
• OSPA's website includes frequently needed information for proposals. 

Does your work include animals, human subjects or biological hazards, or is it regulated by export control laws?

• For animal research, contact the Attending Vet.
• For human subjects research, contact ORI.
• For biohazard research, contact Biological Safety. 
• For export controlled research, contact OSPA.
• For research ethics info (including responsible conduct of research and research misconduct), visit Research Ethics.

Are you ready to submit your proposal?

OSPA maintains electronic resources that must be used for proposal submission: the Cayuse 424 Proposal Submission System and the Internal Approval Form (eIAF).

Did you receive an award?

• OSPA negotiates award terms & conditions and transmits award information to Research Financial Services (RFS).
• RFS establishes an account number.
• OSPA provides the account number to the PI so you can begin to draw funds. 
• Once you start spending money, RFS tracks your effort certification requirements and provides PI financial reports. 

Is your research study a clinical trial as defined by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regardless of funding source?

Contact the CRSO for a coverage analysis and to help build your study into the clinical trial management system, OnCore or if you have questions about conducting clinical trials at the University of Kentucky.

Will your work develop new, potentially patentable products or knowledge?

Contact OTC to disclose your ideas or find help with intellectual property protection, technology commercialization and startup companies. 

Did you receive a new grant or publish exciting research findings?

Contact Research Communications. In coordination with UK Public Relations & Marketing, they will help you publicize your work in UKNOW, as well as prepare video abstracts for journals. 

Can I contact my senator or representative about my research?

• Only individuals approved by Federal Relations or the VPR are authorized to lobby the federal government on behalf of UK. 
• Those authorized must track their lobbying activities & file quarterly reports with Federal Relations. 
• You may contact members of Congress and/or their staff as a private citizen to request support for legislation impacting research.