This week, as we continue the series on Announcements, I’ll dig into Points of Contact (POCs).

Announcements will contain contact information. This may be a generic email for a program inbox, or the actual names, email addresses, and phone numbers of one or more individuals. Further, there may be both administrative POCs and technical ones. You need to establish contact with these individuals.

After you’ve reviewed due dates and understand the technical topics the call addresses, locate the technical POC. This is someone you want to reach out to ASAP. It can be helpful to learn a bit about the technical and employment background of that person, so look for them on LinkedIn. About half the time, they will have a profile there.

If possible, send a LinkedIn connection request. You don’t need to write a note. If you’ve kept your LinkedIn profile up to date, it will be obvious why you want to connect. This is the first step in making the POC aware of you -- if it’s not someone you already know.

Next, send an email to the technical POC with the subject “Question about X opportunity, deadline [DATE]”. This calls attention to the email by indicating you know it’s time-sensitive. Program officers will be more responsive to emails that pertain to specific opportunities with deadlines. (This doesn’t mean you should not also reach out with more general inquiries.)

In the email, introduce yourself with one or two sentences about your research. Ask if they would be able to have a brief phone or video call to discuss the opportunity.

If you don’t have a response after a full week, reply to your initial email and politely explain that you are checking in to see if you can schedule a call. If you still do not get a response after another week, call them if their phone number has been provided.

It’s normal to be nervous about calling, but do it anyway. If they answer, say:

Hello Dr. X, this is [your name] from [your institution]. I sent you a couple emails about the Y funding opportunity. I was hoping to ask you a few questions about it. Would you have some time to talk briefly now, or could we schedule a time to do that?

At this point, the POC will apologize for not responding to your emails and either speak with you on the spot or propose another date and time.

If you get voicemail, leave a message:

Hello Dr. X, this is [your name] from [your institution]. I sent you a couple emails about Y funding opportunity. I was hoping to ask you a few questions about that. I can be reached at [your phone number], and I’ll go ahead and send you another brief email now in case that’s more convenient. Thank you.

Then, send another reply to the original email thread asking again for a meeting.

If after three weeks and having tried unsuccessfully to reach the technical POC, you have no response, it’s time to look for another contact within that organization. You may have to do some legwork here, but the first place to go is back to the Announcement to see if any other POCs are specified, including administrative ones. Ask your colleagues if they have a contact in a related part of that organization, or go to their website and find another POC in a related area. Send an email to that person with the subject “Trying to reach Dr. X”. Be sure that email is very politely written:

Hello Dr. Y, I am trying to reach Dr. X with a few questions about [funding opportunity]. I have not yet been able to reach them, so I wanted to ask if you know of another point of contact who could help me. Can you please let me know?

Bottom line, you must keep trying. Program officers are often overloaded and the workload many of them carry doesn’t allow them to get to every email. However, you can be sure that, every day, they are indeed responding to some emails. And you have every right to request a meeting. Conversations with POCs are valuable in informing a decision to submit for an opportunity. Be persistent in making a meeting or conversation happen.

The above are general instructions and you may need to adjust your tactics depending on the call and your circumstances. Some programs do not allow you to make contact with a program officer before submission so, in those cases, it’s just not possible. Other times, a program officer will not meet with you until you have sent them a white paper. That’s okay. Read the Announcement and always follow the instructions there.

The biggest thing to remember is that making contact with a POC is often a process, not a one-time event. Recognizing this reality from the beginning will make the experience less frustrating. And experience has shown that it gets easier each time you do it.

How to increase trust in the research funding process?

Trust is the foundation of the research funding. Here’s a quick video on three ways you can increase it.

Workshop for New Faculty & Researchers

For the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI) PI Intensive for New Faculty and Researchers: Building the Tools for Your Career in Research

This day-and-a-half workshop will take place in Chicago on October 24-25th .

We will dive into topics such as

✔️ Understanding the responsibilities of a principal investigator

✔️ Developing competitive grant applications

✔️ Negotiating effectively with your institution

✔️ Employing project management approaches in research

I am co-leading this event. Please see this page for more information and to register. Note that this is an SRAI (not a Wise Investigator) event.

It would be wonderful to meet some newsletter subscribers in person in Chicago. Please send me an email ([email protected]) if you have any questions. 👋 

When you are ready, here’s how we can help

Need to get your research funded, this year? Check out our 10-week program to get you there.

Ready to book a call to discuss our program or to have Dr. Barzyk provide training at your institution? Let’s chat!