Access or Login Questions

1. What is required to access the database?
2. Why are my username and password not working?
3. Why can't I access the database even though I am from a COS Member Institution and am using an on-campus computer?
4. Is a subscription needed to access the database?
5. How do I know if my institution is a COS member?
6. I am trying to access the full-text of the Funding Alert results sent to me; am I in the right place?
7. What does domain-enabled access mean?
8. Where should I begin to search or access the database?

Search or Content Questions

1. Can I bookmark actual funding records to access for later use?
2. Can I access individual records by the "COS Unique Id"?
3. Why can't I seem to find any grants for my specific research project?
4. Why can't I just type in the Keywords I want to use instead of using the 'Browse' button?
5. Why can't I access records that appeared a few weeks ago?
6. How can my organization publish a funding opportunity in the database?
7. I wish to apply for a grant I located in your database. Can you help?
8. What should I do if I know of a mistake in the database? What should I do if I know of a sponsor or funding opportunity that is missing in the database?
9. What is the difference between COS Funding Opportunities, Funded Research, Funding News, and Funding Alert?
10. How are the search results sorted?

Access or Login Questions

1. What is required to access the database?
   Access to the database can be through several different mechanisms, depending on your or your institution's subscription or membership status:
   • If you are from a COS Member Institution and are using a campus computer, you will be able to access the database directly without a username or password.
   • If you are a faculty member or researcher from a COS Member Institution but are accessing from off-campus, you can access the database through your personal COS Workbench, using your own username and password. Note: to do this you must use the links under the "Search for Funding" section of your Workbench page. Your username and password will not work if you try to access the database directly. If you do not know your login, use the Password Request form to get it. If you do not yet have a Workbench, you can Create a COS account to get access.
   • If you are from an institution that has a stand-alone subscription to the database (a non-member subscriber) you must be using a computer connected to your institution's computer system to access (it must be coming from an IP address registered to your institution).
   • If you are using a valid campus or worksite computer but are incorrectly being asked for a username and password to access the database, please fill out the COS Help Desk form, which will pick up the IP address you are coming from so we can compare this against the information we have in your institution's account.
   • For best results, COS recommends specific Web browsers for use on its site.
   • Your Web browser must be "cookie-enabled" in order to properly access and use COS products. See our Cookies FAQ page for more information.
   • If you click on a button and nothing happens, you may need to enable your browser to accept JavaScript. For details see our Java FAQ page.
   
   
   
2. Why are my username and password not working?
   a. If you are from a member institution:
   
   1. From an on-campus computer you do not need to login to the database. Access is through domain or IP address verification. As long as you are using a computer connected to your institution's computer system you should be able to directly access the database. If you are being prompted to login when using a campus computer, please fill out the COS Help Desk form and describe your problem in detail.
   2. From an off-campus computer you need to login through your personalized COS Workbench (note: this service is only available to faculty, staff, and graduate students). If you do not have a Workbench account, COS invites you to join the COS Network. Note: If you are trying to access your COS Funding Alert results from off-campus, you must access them through your Workbench page.
   
   b. If you have a stand-alone subscription:

   1. Access is usually provided through domain or IP address verification. This means that you do not need to login. Instead, you must be using a computer connected to your institution's computer system in order to access the database. If you are incorrectly being prompted to login, please fill out the COS Help Desk form and describe your problem in detail.

   
   c. If you are trying to access the grant links sent to you via e-mail (Funding Alert):
   1. see section a above. Note: if you are from a non-subscribing institution and are receiving the free Funding News e-mail you cannot access the full-text of the grants listed. Access is restricted to those from subscribing institutions only.
   
   
3. Why can't I access the database even though I am from a COS Member Institution and am using an on-campus computer?
   If you are using a valid campus or worksite computer but are incorrectly being asked for a username and password to access the database, please fill out the COS Help Desk form, which will pick up the IP address you are coming from so we can compare this against the information we have in your institution's account.
   
   
4. Is a subscription needed to access the database?
   Yes. Please visit the Subscribe and Common Questions About Subscribing pages for additional information.
   
   
5. How do I know if my institution is a COS member?
   Please visit our list of COS Member Institutions to check your institution's status. If your institution is a COS member, you have free access to the database. Please refer to Question 1 to learn how to access the database. Note: institutions with a stand-alone subscription to the Funding Opportunities database may not be listed above. Access is normally provided through domain verification in these instances, as outlined in Question 1.
   
   
6. I am trying to access the full-text of the Funding Alert results sent to me; am I in the right place?
   You cannot use the links (that go directly to the individual grant records) embedded in your Funding Alert e-mails, or access the Funding Opportunities database directly, if using an off-campus computer. Instead login to your COS Workbench - Alert results are linked from the section labeled 'Access Your Funding Alert' in the center part of the page. You can view step-by-step instructions on modifying your Alert search here:
   http://fundingalert.cos.com/setup.shtml
   
   
7. What does domain-enabled access mean?
   Check our Common Questions About Subscribing page for an explanation of "domain-enabled access".
   
   
8. Where should I begin to search or access the database?
   The Funding Opportunities homepage should be your starting point. Select one of the search options to begin your search. If you are a researcher from a COS Member Institution but are accessing from off-campus, you can access the database through your personal COS Workbench, using your own username and password. To do this you must use the links under the 'Find Funding Opportunities' section of your Workbench page.

Search or Content Questions

1. Can I bookmark actual funding records to access for later use?
   Yes. To bookmark an individual funding record, scroll down to the bottom of the record, select the hyperlink in the field titled URL from COS to Bookmark this record, and bookmark that page.
   
   
2. Can I access individual records by the 'COS Unique Id'?
   If you already know the "COS Unique Id", select the Main Search interface and type in the following code in the "All Fields" section: acc=(the Unique Id). This search can also be done through your Workbench using the 'Find Funding Opportunities' search box.
   
   
3. Why can't I seem to find any grants for my specific research project?
   Keep in mind that the majority of grant sponsors do not limit the scope of the projects they may fund to specific projects. Instead, they name broader disciplines within which researchers may be eligible to apply. For example, if you are looking for funding for your project on developing a vaccine to prevent HIV, you may want to expand your search beyond vaccine and HIV. If nothing comes up in searching for specific keywords like these, try thinking about the broader scientific disiplines these topics fall under. Such a list might include: AIDS; Immunology; Virology; Public Health; or even the broader, Health and Medicine. You can then combine these keywords with other search parameters, such as Activity Location, Requirements, Citizenship, etc.
   
   
4. Why can't I just type in the Keywords I want to use instead of using the 'Browse' button?
   You can. However, instead of using the 'Keywords' field, use 'All Fields'. This will search all the text fields, including Keywords. Keep in mind that the 'Browse' button takes you to the COS Keywords, a controlled vocabulary covering all the major disciplines, and which are assigned to each record based on its content. In some instances, using the controlled vocabulary may be a more accurate way of searching the database. However, this controlled vocabulary cannot cover every conceivable specific topic or discipline, in which case you can use 'All Fields'.
   
   
5. Why can't I access records that appeared a few weeks ago?
   Funding records that are not offered annually are automatically deleted from the database two weeks after their deadline.
   
   
6. How can my organization publish a funding opportunity in the database?
   COS encourages you to promote your funding in our database. Once you complete this form, our editorial staff will evaluate your information accordingly.
   
   
7. I wish to apply for a grant I located in your database. Can you help?
   No. COS does not manage the application process. Instead, you will need to directly contact the sponsor. Each funding opportunity contains contact information for the sponsor and most opportunities contain a hyperlink to the sponsor's Website (see the "URL For More Information" field near the bottom of the opportunity).
   
   
8. What should I do if I know of a mistake in the database? What should I do if I know of a sponsor or funding opportunity that is missing in the database?
   COS welcomes feedback regarding the COS Funding Opportunities database. If you see an error in the database, or wish to have a grant represented in the database, please send your comments using the COS Help Desk form
   
   
9. What is the difference between COS Funding Opportunities, Funded Research, Funding News, and Funding Alert?
   1. COS Funding Opportunities: This database is the most comprehensive resource of funding information available on the Web. Updated daily, COS Funding Opportunities comprises more than 22,000 active and competitive records from around the world, representing over 400,000 funding opportunities, worth over $33 billion. For information on accessing this database, please visit Question 1 in the Access or Login Questions section of this page.
   2. COS Funding News: This free service is published each week and includes a sampling of new and updated award information extracted from COS Funding Opportunities. Access to the full-text of the grants listed is restricted to those from subscribing institutions only. To view/receive the COS Funding News service each week, please create a COS account.
   3. COS Funding Alert: COS Funding Alert is a personalized electronic notification service of funding information. COS Funding Alert subscribers receive a weekly e-mail with a customized list of funding opportunities based on previously specified criteria provided by the individual COS members. COS Funding Alert is drawn from COS Funding Opportunities. To be eligible to receive COS Funding Alert, an individual must be associated with a COS Member Institution and have created a COS Workbench. If you do not have one yet, you can create a COS account here.
   4. COS Funded Research: This free service enables COS members to research and track information on funding and award histories at leading research facilities around the world. This comprehensive information comes from the following organizations (Note: the money for these awards has already been allocated): National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), and the Medical Research Council, UK (MRC). You must also create a COS account for yourself if you do not already have one in order to access this service.
      
      
10. How are search results sorted?
    Results are listed according to relevancy, a mathematical score based upon each record's relative match to your search query. At present, search results cannot be sorted in any other way within our system.