Faculty Resources

All VUMC's Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) is the central 'hub' for all grant-funded work at VUMC, and has a wealth of resources, from boilerplate proposal text to various guidelines for each funder. OSP is the department responsible for reviewing and approving all packets submitted for funding. Roddy Smith is our Grants Manager for all submissions coming out of the Department.

CLICK HERE to view/download a helpful overview and timeline.

Step 1: You have an idea for a grant or project. Now, let's help you look for funding. Here are resources to get your draft proposal started:

Awesome, you have a great idea for a proposal to a potential funder. But before submitting a proposal to a prospective funder, you'll need to identify a prospective funder and begin preparing your submission. 

Many of our faculty work with federal agency funders, as well as private foundations and other NGO's who support their work. 

Step 2: You have identified a potential funder and are assembling your packet for funding or application. What now?

OSP can assist and should help guide PI's through the application, early in the process. Here is a helpful starting point, offered by OSP. Internally, the HP Research Admin team and other faculty can be even more helpful in their guidance through your preparation. 

NOTE: The recommended timeline below is a general outline of steps necessary to keep your submission on the proper track. Submissions to federal agencies (R01, K01, etc.) should be adapted to fit the requirments of that particular proposal. In many cases, that will require an additional 90 days or more to properly prepare your submission packet.

Grant-Writing Tools:

Need an eRA Commons Account? OSP can help!

• Office of Sponsored Programs Training and Checklists
• VUMC Grant-ready Text Sections
• VUMC BioRender Institutional License
• StarBRITE: Additional tools for Grant Writing
• BioVU: DNA Databank
• REDCap: Research Electronic Data Capture
• Vanderbilt University Library: Tennessee and US Census Resources
• VICTR Grant Review Studios:  A panel of experienced faculty available to critically review grants and provide feedback and suggestions to improve the chances of  funding
• VUMC Eskind Biomedical Library
• The Edge for Scholars at Vanderbilt

Other grant writing tools and resources

• HHS Office of Extramural Research
• Center for Scientific Review (CSR) resources
• NIH Grant-writing Tip Sheet
• NIH Scientific Review Group (SRG) Roster Index

Many federal centers and agencies maintain useful grant-writing resource pages:

• NCI: Preparing Grant Applications
• NIAID: All About Grants
• NIDDK: Grants, the Basics: Application, Review and Award
• NINDS: How to Write a Research Project Grant Application
• NSF: Funding - How to Prepare Your Proposal

Department Overview - Boilerplate Text (last updated Jan. 2024)

The Department maintains a general department overview often used in funding submissions. Some applications may require different versions or information, so please double check the funder's requirements to ensure this text meets the funder's requirements.

Vanderbilt University's Department of Health Policy comprises a broad and diverse group of faculty and staff conducting world-class research that develops and informs health policy solutions profoundly impacting numerous areas of local, national, and global public health.

The Department of Health Policy was formally established at Vanderbilt University in 2013 and currently has 22 full-time faculty supported by more than 60 full-time staff members employed through Vanderbilt University Medical Center. 

The combination of a major research university and preeminent medical center provides Department faculty with unique opportunities to build relationships with both frontline care providers and policymakers which have led to breakthrough discoveries.  The Department also has a long history of strong collaborative relationships with the Tennessee Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, various national foundations, and local, state, national and global policy makers to develop health policy solutions for our pressing health care challenges.

The Department offers two graduate-level degrees, an MPH degree, including 3 specific tracks of study — Epidemiology, Global Health, and Health Policy. The Department also offers a PhD program in Health Policy & Health Services Research (STEM-certified) which supports students with full funding support for their training. Department faculty teach multiple courses in these programs and the Medical School curricula, and serve as mentors and advisers to students, fellows, and junior faculty throughout the University and Medical Center.

Teaching/Education Funds

Faculty often receive funds for contributing effort and time to for academic programs. These funds are transferred to each faculty member's teaching funds (CC01141/PG000405/Faculty Assignee #). These funds can be used to support teaching, education, and research expenses (eg. effort, salary, books, software, computers, staff effort, etc.). Faculty should consider spending these funds before spending other Departmental funds. These funds MUST be spent before the end of the fiscal year, and spending can not exceed the funding received for that fiscal year. Carry-forward of these funds is not allowed. 

Academic Program Support (APS) Funds

APS funds are a component of the Department's fiscal budget, and included in faculty offer letters.  These funds are provided in alignment with the institution's fiscal budget cycle, and allocated to each faculty member based on what they budgeted. (CC01145/PG000404/Faculty Assignee #) These funds can be used to support faculty and their research, including faculty effort, staff effort, core fees, data, travel, publication fees, etc. APS spending should be monitored regularly, and if additional funds are needed faculty should discuss with the Department Chair. 

Note: If you are in need of a Teaching and Education Fund or an APS Fund, please email hpresearchadmin@vumc.org.

Each year we welcome new faculty members to VUSM by hosting New Faculty Orientation twice a year – once during the fall, for any faculty hired on or after the spring session, and once during the spring, for any faculty hired after the fall session. 

The purpose of this orientation is to provide new faculty members with critical information about the school and the resources available for faculty members to support their academic career.  These topics include: (a) School of Medicine History, (b) Compliance, (c) Credo, (d) Faculty Development, (e) Appointments and Promotions, (f) Health & Wellness, (g) Health Equity, (h) Research Panels, (i) Documentation, and (j) Educators Panel.  All new faculty are expected to attend. 

Please ensure the new faculty within your department are free on the scheduled date.  

New faculty include: • Instructors, Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors on all tracks • Assistant In, Associate In, Senior Associate In on the Assistant/Associate In Track This does NOT include voluntary faculty, fellows or chief residents.  

Faculty orientations are held twice per year, typically in February and August. 

VUMC Billing Numbers are now activated via a nightly feed from Workday. Departments no longer key in VUMC cost centers or worktags into iLab. Additional details are available in the user guides and video tutorial on the Office of Research website.

iLab Instructions: VUMC Billing Number Management Process:

All internal VUMC billing numbers for VUMC investigators are activated via a nightly feed from Workday.

• Sponsored Funds: 
  • Types:   Grant Worktags
  • Auto-assigned to PI’s VUMC Lab Group via the Workday integration nightly import.  Grant worktags do not need to be claimed into a Lab Group.
  • Only one PI lab group per sponsored fund. This cannot be edited in iLab, it is controlled by Workday integration.

• Non-Sponsored Funds:
  • Types: Gift worktag, Project worktag, Cost Center
  • Department Administrators must ‘claim’ the fund number in the PI’s Lab Group Module.
  • Multiple lab groups can claim the same non-sponsored fund number.

STEP 1: How do I claim a VUMC billing number in iLab?

1. Click on the my groups on the left side of the iLab page.
2. Click on the lab name under the Labs/Groups I Manage section.
3. Click on the Membership Requests & Billing Numbers tab.
   1. All active and claimed billing numbers, vouchers, and scholarships will display here.
4. Click on the Request access to additional Billing Numbers option.
   1. In the appropriate box (Gift, Grant, Program, or Cost Center) type in the billing number exactly as it appears in Workday and hit Request.

STEP 2: Granting Access to VUMC billing numbers.

After a billing number is claimed, the PI or Lab Manager can grant lab members access to the specific fund numbers.

• This step is required if the lab members are responsible for submitting service or reservations requests in iLab on behalf of the PI.

Instructions for PIs or Lab Managers:

1. Click on my groups on the left side of the iLab page.
2. Click the lab name under the Labs/Groups I Manage section.
3. Click the Membership Requests & Billing Numbers tab to view the active center numbers for the lab.
4. All lab members and active centers will be displayed.
   1. Check the box on the row for the user to grant access to the specific center number.
5. The system will automatically save your changes.  All new changes will be highlighted green.

TIP:  Use the Filter options at the top of the lab group grid to find the billing number (cost center, voucher, scholarship fund)

Frequently Asked Questions:

My grant is not available in iLab. What should I do? 

• Verify the grant you are trying to use has a current end date listed in Workday. Grant worktags are available in iLab for 30 days after the award line’s end date.

View a grant’s Workday end date by toggling to the respective award and checking the award line’s end date:

• Verify the correct PI is assigned to the grant under the ‘Principal Investigator (Grant)’ assignable role .

View the grant’s PI by selecting the ‘Roles’ tab within the grant record: 

• If the award line’s end date OR PI is not correct in Workday, please reach out to your assigned OSP representative for assistance in updating Workday.
• If the award line’s end date and assigned PI are accurate, please follow the instructions for claiming a VUMC billing number in iLab, located at the end of this article.

My gift/program/cost center is not available in iLab. What do I do? 

• Please follow the instructions at the start of this guide. Gifts, Programs, and Cost Centers are claimed into the PI’s lab groups.
• Note: OSP does not create records for gifts, programs, or cost centers. These worktag types do not have end dates or PI assignments in Workday. Please do not contact OSP for assistance regarding these worktags in iLab