Introducing GrahamCracker TSS — UM’s Online Transmittal System

by Errol Sayre, ORSP Web Application Developer

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) is pleased to announce the availability of a fully online transmittal system for proposal submission.

We developed GrahamCracker TSS (GC TSS) to save you time and expedite proposal submissions. GC TSS fulfills all the roles of the current paper transmittal, from summarizing the project to collecting approvals and authorizations. Additionally, this system collects attachments for narrative, budget, CVs, etc. so that your ORSP Program Development Specialist (PDS) can readily access all components of your submission.

Currently GC TSS is available as an optional alternative to the existing paper-based transmittal form, but this system will soon supplant the paper forms altogether. In this stage you can use the system to save yourself time and help us by providing feedback so we can make any adjustments to ensure the product is as robust and useful as possible.

The system has help text and links throughout to guide you, and your ORSP PDS will gladly assist you.

System Overview

When you are preparing to submit a proposal to a sponsor, begin by creating a new transmittal record. Based on your input, the appropriate routing will take place electronically to ensure that participants, administrators, and other appropriate approvals are collected by WebID confirmation. Once the approval process is complete, simply schedule a visit with your PDS to submit to the sponsor.

GC TSS uses your existing WebID username and password and only requires confirmation to register. Once registered, you will be able to create and manage transmittals.

Creating a transmittal requires a minimum set of proposal data. Please note that you may provide a nickname to help distinguish between multiple transmittals with similar names.

The transmittal consists of four main sections: Project, Attachments, Budget, and Verifications.

The Project section collects details included on the initial create screen as well as the sponsor(s), appropriate deadlines, participants, supervisors and directors.

The Attachments section collects whatever documents you need to provide with your proposal package such as a narrative, detailed budget, CVs, and other supporting documentation. The system permits uploads up to 50MBs; however, please make sure that you follow any format guidelines set by the sponsor.

Benefits of Using GrahamCracker TSS

  • Paperless workflow
  • Electronic signature collection (no need to circumnavigate campus)
  • Automatic notification of personnel and administrators
  • Integrated with ORSP database for reporting (and automatic sync to Faculty Activity Report system)
  • Digital locker for proposal resources (attachments are backed-up automatically)

In the Budget section, you provide a summary of the budget by period (you can add as many as you need), a listing of any cost sharing items, and answers to a few questions regarding employment and staffing opportunities and F&A costs.

Finally, the Verifications section asks a few simple questions to determine if further documentation or approvals may be required.

Approvals

After completing the transmittal data entry, you may submit the transmittal for review and approval. A checklist on this page gives you feedback on your entries and provides links directly back to the problem areas. Once the transmittal is reviewed by the ORSP it may be either returned to you for changes or forwarded to collect approvals.

While the transmittal is collecting approvals you may check on its status at any time. When it is your turn to authorize/approve the transmittal/proposal, you will receive notification to do so. The WebID confirmation page will be tailored specifically to you according to your role(s) on the proposal. Once all requisite approvals are collected, your PDS will be notified and you can arrange submission of your proposal to the sponsor.

Getting Started

Now that you've had a general overview of the system, go get registered and give it a try. Please be sure to provide feedback on things that work well (or don't).

UM Research Funding News

Proposal and Award Activity

UM faculty and staff submitted 72 external funding proposals and received 45 external funding awards during April and May 2010. For complete listings, see the Monthly Reports.

Faculty Travel Support

In April and May, $7,340 was awarded through the ORSP's Faculty Travel Support program to help support research-related travel. The program provides funds for UM faculty members to take part in development activities that will lead to new or extended research, scholarly or creative work, but typically does not support travel to a conference for presentation of completed work unless the request includes specific development activities beyond the conference itself.

Examples of research purposes for which faculty have recently received support include:

  • Participate with collaborator in international specialty institute
  • Conduct on-site primary research with fellowship support
  • Consult with subject experts and attend specialized workshop
  • Participate in advanced concepts seminar
  • Conduct on-site library research on primary source material

Faculty Travel Support guidelines, application, and FAQ are available from the ORSP Internal Support page.

Additional Information

Speaking of COS

Query Track in COS Funding Opportunities

COS Funding Opportunities has a Query Track feature that logs your most recent searches from the COS database. To see a list of all the searches you have run in your browser session, simply click on the “Previous Searches” link at the top of any COS Funding Opportunities results page.  Your queries will continued to be tracked as long as your browser remains open. You can even use File / Save As to save this web page and run the searches again in the future.

Don’t know about COS?

Check out our COS page, the January 2005, September 2006, and March 2007 newsletter articles, and/or the COS home page. COS is for all UM faculty in all academic disciplines and research areas.

Bits & Pieces

2010 Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award

Congratulations to Dr. Charles Reagan Wilson, Cook Chair of History and Professor of Southern Studies, who is this year's recipient of UM's Distinguished Research and Creative Achievement Award. Full information on Dr. Wilson and the Award is available via the UM Newsdesk story.

A Few Program Announcements and Deadlines

American Council of Learned Societies Fellowships ~ Deadline September 30

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellowship Program invites research applications in all disciplines of the humanities and humanities-related social sciences. The ACLS Fellowships are intended as salary replacement to help scholars devote six to 12 continuous months to full-time research and writing. The ultimate goal of the project should be a major piece of scholarly work by the applicant that will take the form of a monograph or other equally substantial form of scholarship. ACLS does not fund creative work (e.g., novels or films), textbooks, straightforward translation, or pedagogical projects.

Guggenheim Fellowships to Assist Research and Artistic Creation ~ Deadline September 15

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation offers fellowships to further the development of scholars and artists by assisting them to engage in research in any field of knowledge and creation in any of the arts, under the freest possible conditions and irrespective of race, color, or creed. The foundation provides fellowships for advanced professionals in all fields (natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, creative arts) except the performing arts. The foundation selects its fellows on the basis of two separate competitions, one for the United States and Canada, the other for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Additional Resources

Congratulations from the VCRSP

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs oversees funding for research, service, and education projects. These activities complement the fundamental aspects of The University of Mississippi’s mission and are among its most tangible contributions to the future. Funding for these activities is one of the best measures of a university’s success in engaging with national and international communities.

All of us who have sought funding to test our ideas know that it is difficult and that the communities to which we belong are highly competitive. That spirit of competition is critical and it contributes more than a little to the relief and excitement a researcher feels on receiving a funding award.

Listed below are our colleagues who have been notified of external funding awards in the last calendar month. Please join me in congratulating them. The news of their discoveries and the importance of their contributions are part of all of our futures and the future of Ole Miss.

Alice M. Clark Signature

Alice M. Clark, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Research and Sponsored Programs

Summary of Awards Received in April and May 2010

PI Name PI Department/Unit Co-PI Name/s
Abadie, AnnCenter for the Study of Southern Culture
Al-Ostaz, AhmedCivil EngineeringCheng, Alexander
Rajendran, Arunachalam
Song, Chung
Angle, TimothyDivision of Outreach and Continuing Education
Barlow, AngelaCurriculum and Instruction
Buchannon, Robin (3 awards) National Food Service Management Institute
Cavaglia, Marco (2 awards)Physics and Astronomy
Chambers, JamesJamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics
Cremaldi, Lucien MPhysics and Astronomy
Dyer, DonaldModern Languages
Easterbrook, NormanFord Center for the Performing Arts
ElSohly, MahmoudNational Center for Natural Products ResearchKhan, Ikhlas
Ervin, ElizabethCivil Engineering
Gochfeld, DeborahNational Center for Natural Products Research
Haley, BryanSociology and AnthropologyJohnson, Jay K
Heyworth, GregoryEnglish
Highsmith, RayNational Institute of Undersea Science Technology
Lambert, LaurelNutrition and Hospitality ManagementKim, Younghoon
Mallory, StephenLegal StudiesWigginton, Michael
McCurdy, ChristopherMedicinal Chemistry
McWhite, SallyArchives & Special Collections
Murthy, SathyanarayanaPharmaceutics
Nagle, Dale GPharmacognosyZhou, Yu-Dong
Nordstrom, Timothy WPolitical Science
Ochs, CliffordBiology
Pedigo, Susan DianeChemistry and BiochemistryHammer, Nathan
Ross, Leigh AnnPharmacy Practice
Sabatier, JamesJamie Whitten National Center for Physical AcousticsChambers, James
Hickey, Craig
Sabatier, JamesJamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics
Seiner, JohnJamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics
Shelton, EllenDivision of Outreach and Continuing EducationAngle, Timothy
Showalter Otts, StephanieMississippi Law Research InstitutePace, Niki
Showalter Otts, StephanieMississippi Law Research Institute
Sukanek, PeterChemical Engineering
Vaughan, James GMechanical EngineeringLackey, Ellen
Wang, SamNational Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering
Ward, Joseph PHistory
Waxler, RogerJamie Whitten National Center for Physical Acoustics
Willett, Kristine L (2 awards) Pharmacology
Williamson, John SMedicinal Chemistry
Wu, WeimingNational Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering
Zjawiony, Jordan KPharmacognosy

  • April 2010 Report: A list of awards received and proposals submitted by The University of Mississippi during April.
  • May 2010 Report: A list of awards received and proposals submitted by The University of Mississippi during May.
  • April-May Proposals Submitted: 72 from 59 Principal Investigators
  • April-May Awards Received: 45 totaling $7,205,035
  • FY10 Year-to-Date Number of Active Sponsored Projects: 543
  • FY10 Year-to-Date Number of Active Investigators: 272