Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) at Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY), reporting to the Dean of Research/Math & Natural Sciences and the Office of the Provost, assists faculty and staff with securing external funding from public and private sources for research and non-research initiatives (e.g., training, program and curriculum development, community service, conferences, etc.). ORSP assists faculty and staff in identifying funding opportunities; proposal and budget development; and application and reporting submissions.

In addition, we work closely with the Queens College Office of Research Compliance and liaison with the CUNY Office of Research which is responsible for all compliance with Federal, State, and City regulations at CUNY.  ORSP collaborates with CUNY’s Vice Chancellor’s office to ensure that faculty and staff, who are applying for grants that involve research at the College, are aware of and adhere to the following CUNY policies and procedures.

ORSP is also the primary liaison with the Research Foundation/CUNY, which serves as fiscal conduit for grants and contracts to the CUNY colleges.  The RF is a not-for-profit entity, governed by its own Board of Directors.  Funds administered through the RF are subject to RF’s policies and procedures.  ORSP assists all awarded faculty with understanding and complying with RF/CUNY rules and procedures.

Queens College faculty were awarded over $20 million in grants and contracts in the last year to support their research in wide range of disciplines.  Recent grants, for example, have funded wastewater and COVID-19 outbreaks, optical laser beam technology, environmental studies, solar energy dynamics, climate dynamics and demographic studies on a variety of topics. ​

If you are thinking about preparing a new proposal in the near future, please let ORSP know as soon as you can either by phone or email.  We need at least 14 days notice and if you have external collaborative partners, please allow for at least one more week so that we give your collaborator’s team time to comply with all the necessary paperwork on both our side of the process and theirs.

Remember the following deadlines and compliance issues when preparing a proposal:

• Completed proposal draft, budget, and justification: 5 business days prior to the deadline.
• Proposals that include required cost-sharing (voluntary cost-sharing is not allowed) must be completed at least 15 business days prior to the deadline.
• Final submission and approval: 5 business days before the agency deadline.
• Responsible Conduct of Research and Conflict of Interest training must be completed and reports on file with ORSP.
• Significant Financial Interest Disclosure form(s) must be completed for all sponsored programs and for each proposal. There are separate forms for PHS sponsored research and all other sponsored programs. Please see the CUNY Conflict of Interest webpage for more information and current forms.
• An Export Control Preliminary Evaluation form must be completed before any proposal submission.

All grant proposals must be cleared through QC’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP). Our staff members review the proposals, prepare budgets, assist with administrative details–including obtaining institutional approval–and are the final stop before applicants submit proposals to government and private agencies. Please see our Grant Submission Policies and Procedures (revised) for more details. One of the first steps you should take is to complete the Internal Approval Checklist.​ This form helps us determine what resources you will need to complete your application successfully.