IRIS for Grants

IRIS (Illinois Researcher Information Service) for searching grants is available to the University of New Haven community.  Just click on the link above or choose IRIS from one of the database lists, i.e. Subject List, Alphabetical List, or Annotated List.  
 
IRIS provides the following services:

1) A searchable database of over 8,000 federal and private funding opportunities in the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities, updated daily. The database is available on the worldwide web or telnet. A listing of upcoming deadlines from the database, organized by academic level and subject. OPS (online periodical service) which searches selected items from one years' worth of the Federal Register and Commerce Business Daily.

2) An alert service. Create your own search and set it to run at intervals you specify. This service can be turned off while you are on vacation and then on when you want it to resume. Your search can be amended.

3) An expertise database of subscribing researchers, available on the web to anyone, especially other researchers and funders. You may choose not to list yourself, or choose to be listed only at your home institution. You can use your web CV when filling in grant applications online.

IRIS also provides:

Links to the web sites of international governmental research organizations in Canada, Europe, Israel and Japan, & the University of British Columbia's Office of Research's funding database. This includes U.S. as well as Canadian funders.

Links to commonly used U.S. governmental sites and private organizations such as the Foundation Center (see more about the Foundation Center below).

Online guides to proposal writing, found at the end of the IRIS short course tutorial, and at the Foundation Center web site (see below).

Online guides to IRIS. From the top of the front page choose About IRIS. From here choose IRIS short course found at the end of the first section. For a guide on how to search the database, get to IRIS help by choosing Tips on using IRIS, from the top of the IRIS short course front page. You can also get to IRIS help from the database search screen.

A thesaurus of search terms, accessible from the database search screen. Once this option is chosen, note the link to Tips on choosing keywords at the top of the page. However, to browse the index to the thesaurus, you must get to IRIS help. (See above).

About the Foundation Center: This site provides general help on fundraising, including its own classified searchable databases of grant makers. Note also the courses offered under the Virtual Classroom & Learning Lab headings at the top of the front page. These include guides to proposal writing, budgeting, and an FC (Foundation center) database search tutorial.

The closest Foundation Center cooperating collection is the New Haven Free Public Library's Non Profit Resource Center at 133 Elm Street, New Haven. Access Access via this link.

When searching the IRIS database you are prompted to fill in an online form. Follow these tips. See also the online guide IRIS help, accessible from the search screen.

Most options will be displayed when you click on the drop down boxes for each field. Sort by deadline or sponsor. At the display=list option, list is the default, providing an easy to read list of hits. This option is used in conjunction with Tagging on. Tagging on allows you to select, or tag, certain items on the list, which can then be viewed in short, long or medium form (as well as being saved to files). Display = Medium includes abstracts. 'Long' includes keywords as well as the abstract. The option to view, as opposed to collect the list of hits, appears again at the bottom of the search screen, along with the option to change the way the list is sorted.
SAVE the results as HTML or text by choosing either option from 'File' and then 'Save As'. You can also e-mail the results.

Fill in only the fields you want to, searching by all or only some of the following options: sponsor, program title, program abstract, or keywords, and refining the search by adding qualifiers for type of activities supported, citizenship requirements, sponsor type (governmental or not) and academic qualifications.



When entering search terms note the following: It is NOT case sensitive. Phrases must be enclosed in quotation marks. There is automatic left & right truncation: cognit retrieves cognitive, cognition and recognition. Leave a space between search terms and parentheses when building Boolean searches. Terms to use in the Deadline field are: before, after, in, between, none.

Use the keyword thesaurus if needed. Note the Tips at the top of the page once you make this selection from the search screen. To browse the index to the keyword thesaurus, go to IRIS help from the About IRIS link at the top of the front page.

Note the forms of names in the sponsors field (e.g., Agriculture (department of) and
Johnson ( robert wood ) foundation). Note that commas are not used.

Registering for the IRIS Alert Service and Expertise Service: Register once for both services, as the same login ID & password are used for both. Not all fields need be filled in - those that must be filled in are shown in capitals.

Using the Alert Service: Once registered, you can create, edit and delete your alert profile, and set it to run at specified intervals. You can also turn off the profile while you are on vacation. You can search by sponsor, program title, program abstract, keywords, and refine it just as you would a regular IRIS search. Remember to save changes. The profile is a search you set to run periodically, so tips on searching the database will be useful here.

Using the Expertise Database: Filling in your form. This directory of researchers is accessible to anyone via the web unless specified otherwise. Fill in the form online, choosing at this point whether to limit access to this information to your home institution. The process takes about 15 minutes. When done, click on the 'upload' button - it may take a week or two for your CV to be loaded. You can update or delete your CV.

Searching the expertise database: Search by any of the fields and by keyword. Note that when searching in the NAME field, enter the name as we say it (e.g., daniel fleming, and NOT Fleming, Daniel). It is NOT case sensitive. Entering names in the KEYWORD field will return results from anywhere in the entry, including cited and joint authors.



Another resource worth noting: Community of Science.  International in coverage, this site is very similar to IRIS, offering a searchable database, an alert service, and web directory. Register to 'become an individual member at no charge and receive your personal COS workbench.' (From About COS on the web site's front page.) This has a narrower focus than IRIS, and does not cover the Humanities or Social Sciences.

IRIS links to the Foundation Center's databases and general web site. More information is available at Foundation Center cooperating collections in Connecticut which are located in the following public libraries: Danbury Public Library, 170 Main St., (203) 797-4527; Greenwich Public Library, 101 West Putnam Ave., (203) 622-7900; Hartford Public Library, 500 Main Street, (860) 543-8656; and the New Haven Free Public Library, 133 Elm Street, (203) 946-7431 or 7091. All include the Foundation Center grants database on CD ROM, as well as other core resources.

There is an FC Search tutorial on the Foundation Center's web site: from  front page go to Learning Lab and then choose the FC Search Guided tour from the sidebar at the left hand side of the page. Going over the tutorial ahead of time may save you time at the library.

Other useful web sites, in addition to those with links from IRIS' front page. Much on this list duplicates information organized by IRIS, but may be of use to researchers with specific interests.

GuideStar provides basic information on non-profits, including recent IRS Forms 990. Register to search the database -- basic information is provided for free, though there is a charge for other information.

The Internet Public Library's Grant writing and other fundraising information links at

National Council of University Research Administrators

Society of Research Administrators International

US Department of Education's OFCO page

The University of Michigan's links to web resources

Other Resources in the University of New Haven Library:

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, 2001
REF HC110.P63 A55 2001 Also online (IRIS links to this from its front page.)

Grants to Organizations / National Endowment for the Arts, 2001
REF NX398.G73 2001. Online information here.

The "How To" Grants Manual: Successful Grant Seeking Techniques for Obtaining Public and Private Grants / David G. Bauer. Phoenix Arizona, Oryx Press, c. 1995 REF HG177 B38 1995

Do a keyword search of our online catalog using terms like 'grants' or 'fund?' and 'director?' (for directories or directory). If the catalog record has a tab labeled 'Linked Resources', this will link you to a web site.

Any Questions? Ask at the Information Desk, call us at (203) 932-7189 or 
e-mail us.

rev 7/06