Kirkwood’s Grants and Contracts Five-Year Vision, 2005-2010 Mission

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The Grants and Contracts Department operates as an integral component of Kirkwood’s Resource Development Division.  Grants and Contracts shares the Division’s Mission to build relationships; identify funding opportunities; acquire resources that address the needs of students, staff and community; and support Kirkwood’s reputation as an innovator in the development of high quality and timely education and training.  Our stakeholders include students, faculty, deans and directors, communities of the seven-county area, the state of Iowa, community colleges, state and federal agencies. 

Values

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The Grants and Contracts Department assists all faculty and staff who have funding needs.  Our primary efforts are focused on helping the college build Centers of Excellence whose personnel have the passion, vision, commitment, organizational skills and track record needed to secure federal grants and manage them according to strict cost principals, uniform administrative codes and audit requirements.  

Shared Vision

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To maintain Kirkwood’s position among the nation’s top five two-year college grants departments by being responsive to the creative and entrepreneurial passion of faculty and staff (which we encourage with good information, ideas and contacts), by assuring grant applications support Kirkwood’s strategic plan, and by managing grant projects with strict adherence to federal policies, procedures, and requirements.  Our vision depends on sufficient federal resources, which can be affected by deficits, tax breaks, and administrative priorities.

Major Initiatives

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Kirkwood’s Grants and Contracts Department has two distinct functions:  Grants Procurement and Grants Management.  Major initiatives include:

1.  Procurement

  • Help the college build and maintain federally-recognized and supported Centers of Excellence and align them with university research and development centers.  Kirkwood currently has two nationally-recognized Centers of Excellence:
      • Agriculture and Precision Farming (with a start on Ag-Biotech)
      • Environmental Health, Safety & Security

Other Centers of Excellence will be developed according to the visions and strategic plans of college departments.  They might include:

      • Math/Science
      • Career Academies
      • Leadership, Personal Growth and Development
      • Learning and Teaching
      • Curriculum Design, Learning Objects, and Distance Learning
      • Serving Persons with Disabilities
      • International Programs
  • Continue to encourage the Kirkwood creative and entrepreneurial spirit by providing Kirkwood Deans and Directors with good information, ideas, contacts and an annual calendar of deadline dates to allow advanced planning.
  • Work with Deans and the Foundation to create faculty grant-writing incentives.
    • Stipends
    • Funds to attend agency-sponsored conferences and workshops
    • Recognition
  • Encourage Deans to hire faculty who have grant writing experience and an entrepreneurial spirit.
  • Identify and work with grants contacts in each department—persons who enjoy resource development and understand the serious responsibility involved.

2.  Grants Management

  • Provide grants management training and monitoring, with assistance from Business Services and HR.
    • Prepare convenient training and support tools in multiple mediums.
      • Put management tools on the web for easy reference.
    • Do risk identification and target monitoring of funded grants.
  • Standardize grants management using Grants Management software.

Capacity

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In order to fulfill the vision, Grants and Contracts will need to increase capacity.

1.  Staffing

  • Hire a paralegal or technician to assist with grants management, contracts and monitoring.  This will enable current staff to do training, web updates, grant writing, and agency relations.

2.  Infrastructure

  • Create a better interactive web presence.
  • Improve information management—minutes, reporting and files—using Grants Management software.
  • Provide travel support for more staff to visit program officers and attend workshops.

Dashboard Indicators

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Measurable dashboard indicators for tracking progress in major initiatives over the next five years include:

  • Grow the number and capacity of Kirkwood Centers of Excellence.
  • Maintain annual federal support between $8 million (’04) and $10 million.
  • Maintain Kirkwood’s position among the top five two-year college Grants Departments based on benchmarks that include:
    • Annual federal support between $8 and $10 million
    • Funding success rate over 70 percent
    • Return on investment exceeding $40 earned for every $1 spent
  • Identify knowledgeable and responsive “Grants Contacts” in each department.
  • Conduct annual training and resolve internal findings discovered during monitoring.
  • Manage approximately 50 grants annually with no major audit findings.

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