Mission Statement
The Nashville State Community College Grants Development Department serves NSCC in competitively researching, developing, and obtaining grants in support of a variety of disciplines and practicum's. All serve to support and strengthen the ultimate mission statement of NSCC. This is to be accomplished with an eye toward the immediacy of practical necessity while remaining sensitive to visionary possibilities for collaborations, ventures, and funding purposed to further the academic achievements and financial stability of NSCC.
In addition to the overarching mission of the department, resources have been made available to The Grants Development Department that will encourage and assist faculty and staff with the identification of funding opportunities, the fostering of corporate and collegiate partnerships, and coordinating partners and materials in the final submission process. While this expansion of services will not replace the researching and writing of Institutional grants, it will attempt to leverage those activities with the additional financial possibilities of department driven grant explorations fostered with the assistance of the Grants Development Department.
The Grants Department will also provide specific application support prior to submission by assisting department faculty with reading of narratives, polishing prose, adding clarification where necessary, and in verifying that all required documentation, components and support materials have been submitted appropriately.
The Grants Department will provide technical assistance and grants-related training to departments on an independent basis, as well as, through grants workshops and in-service training opportunities.
The Grants Development Department will develop and maintain a web site to assist in informing faculty and staff of pertinent grant deadlines, other grant activities, a history of the accomplishments of the Grants Department to date, examples of recently funded projects, and an overview of works in progress.
The Grants Development Department will serve as "gatekeeper" and monitor of grants as they move through the proposal and approval process with all funding sources including Government Initiatives, NSF funding, and corporate and private foundations. To avoid duplication of energies and to coordinate grants activities, all grant proposals, sub-grant proposals, and concepts in development should be brought to the grants department upon origination. This will ensure, among other things, that various departments or faculty are not unknowingly competing with one another for the same funding dollars when perhaps a stronger proposal could be made through collaboration.
Also, The Grants Department is responsible for negotiating, meeting and maintaining appropriate percentages in matters regarding direct costs, indirect costs and support costs to protect NSCC interests. In order for us to be able to state that we are certain that all the figures meet prior established requirements, all grant applications must be signed by a Grants Development officer and the grants office must maintain a copy of all proposals throughout the development process. A final submission copy must remain on file in the Grants Office.