Frequently Requested Information

Click here to view NSF and Research.gov information.

If you are applying to NSF, you will need a Research.gov account. ORSP can no longer create your Research.gov acocunt but can help you with the process.  We can look you up by email address or NSF ID if you are already registered (either at Queens or another institution) and then have a request sent for you to register with Resesarch.gov.    If you have an existing account, please update your profile to reflect CUNY Queens College as your home institution.

Click here to visit the Grants.gov overview.

Queens College is a registered organization that handles most submissions. Exceptions are for individual grants that are awarded directly to an individual.   You can also use grants.gov to search for funding announcements and get an agency’s application forms.  Use your college email address to create a user account that will enable you to track application information and be a participant in any workspace application created.  You will need to use grants.gov to obtain the agency’s application form(s) and instructions for each particular grant. These forms change often; please be sure to download the correct application for the program that you want. In addition, all grants.gov forms are in Adobe Acrobat. You do not need the full version to use the forms, but you do need the latest Acrobat Reader (available at Adobe.com for free) and you might need software to generate pdf (portable document format) documents to attach to your application. Please contact us if you need help.

Fringe benefits are organized by the RF as a pooled plan and the rates cover many expenses–such as worker’s compensation, unemployment, and Social Security costs–that the employer must pay. Other benefits may or may not include health care, life insurance, pension benefits. Rates for faculty are calcuated by the State of New York and charged accordingly. Current rates are posted on the RF website. Please be sure to add the MTA tax of 0.6%  in your calculations for all employees who are not faculty or being paid by the College directly.

Indirect costs are administrative and research costs that cannot be assigned to any one category or project. Space, utilities, cleaning, maintenance (general), and college resources used for conducting all research (funded and unfunded) are shared under our federally negotiated agreement. When applying for federal grants, we ask for the full amount that this institution and the federal agencies have agreed upon. The current rates are valid until June 30, 2027:

July 1, 2023- June 30, 2025 – Research On Campus – 50% MTDC

July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027 – Research on Campus – 51% MTDC

July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2027  – Research off Campus – 26% MTDC

July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2027 – Other Sponsored Activity – 40% MTDC

Click here to visit Subcontracts and Subawards Information.

If you are collaborating with someone at another institution, you might need to include a subcontract or sub-award in your application. It is wise to have your collaborator check with his or her home institution about when a subcontract or sub-award is required. Generally speaking, if the collaborator is getting paid during his or regular appointment period, requesting funds for a graduate research assistant or other employee, or needs funds for laboratory costs or other research supplies, you MUST include a subcontract in the budget and management plan. If the collaborator is provided only limited support for a project that requires him or her to be at his or her laboratory or use his or her institutional resources, then that individual may qualify to be paid as a consultant. Please provide ORSP with additional lead time if you have one or more collaborators on your project. Items ORSP needs for a subcontract are the other organization’s UEI and/or DUNS number, administrative grant contract information, name of the PI at the other organization, a scope of work, a letter of commitment from the institution’s authorizing official, and a budget. All subcontractors must complete a subrecipient commitment form. ORSP will assist in establishing this documentation. For more information, click here.

Click here to view Cost-sharing information.

Cost-sharing should not be included in any proposal unless it is required by the sponsor/granting agency. Cost-sharing will not be allowed on any proposal to a federal agency unless specifically mandated in the guidelines. If you plan on utilizing volunteers in your project or will commit time that is not reimbursed by the grant, DO NOT QUANTIFY that time. We will not submit your proposal if it involves proposed cost-sharing that has not been approved prior to the grant submission. Proposals that include cost-sharing must be submitted to ORSP for approval at least 15 days prior to the deadline. If the cost-sharing is not mandated by the agency, approval from the Dean, Chair, College Provost and CUNY University Vice-Chancellor for Research is required.