Redesigned RMG website features a powerful new database for exploring grants and fellowships

Kathleen Thompson, executive director of the Research Management Group, and its director of Clinical Research Administration, Debbie Leong-Childs, discuss the final details of their new website.

Photo by Kris Newby

 

The Research Management Group (RMG) has launched a new website that was redesigned from the ground up to provide faster access to the resources needed to apply for and administer sponsored research projects. New features include additional resources, templates, and guidance for grants, fellowships, and industry-sponsored clinical trials. Best of all, a powerful new funding opportunities database and search tool makes it easier than ever to explore research grant and fellowship opportunities.

The Research Management Group in the School of Medicine serves as the centralized resource and an expert partner in administering, supporting, and providing oversight for government- and industry-sponsored projects. The RMG represents Stanford University as the “institutional official” for proposal submission and award acceptance, ensuring compliance with federal regulations, sponsor requirements, and University policies. The staff also helps prepare proposals and budgets to external sponsors and provides oversight of the post-award management of awards.

The RMG’s new funding opportunities database currently includes more than 600 listings, which are now sortable by research topic, eligibility criteria, and sponsor deadline. Search results include direct links to sponsors’ program announcements and application guidelines.

Over the last year, the RMG formed a team that developed the new design for the website. “Our goal was to provide easily accessible information that supports faculty, postdocs, and research administrators throughout the lifecycle of a sponsored project,” said the RMG’s executive director, Kathleen Thompson.

The redesign was managed and executed by the Web Services team in Stanford Medicine’s Information Resources & Technology group. The chief architect of the funding opportunities database was IRT web producer Maria Black.* Using her background in library sciences, Black meticulously developed a custom database taxonomy, a kind of classification scheme for the entries that enables researchers to more precisely search for funding opportunities in their specific areas interest. Each entry is tagged with “MeSH” Medical Subject Headings from the National Library of Medicine’s thesaurus.

“Before we started this project, we did a thorough search of funding databases at other research institutions across the country, and I believe we have achieved a best-in-class solution for Stanford Medicine’s students and faculty,” said Marianne Bishop, IRT’s lead on the RMG site.

As researchers and administrators begin to explore the new website and funding opportunities database, Kathleen Thompson invites users to submit suggestions or ideas to her at klt@stanford.edu.

 

* The RMG and IRT staff are deeply grateful to Maria Black, who passed away over the summer. She is remembered for her commitment to excellence in information design and user experience and for her tireless dedication to designing the funding database.