Common Questions About Subscribing to COS Funding Opportunities
What is the COS Funding Opportunities database?
Where does COS get its information for the database?
Who uses the COS Funding Opportunities database?
What types of funding opportunities are included in the database?
What types of funding information are not included?
How often is the database updated?
Are there any funding opportunities in the database that have already passed their deadline?
How much is a subscription to COS Funding Opportunities?
Can individuals subscribe?
What does domain-enabled access mean?
If I need help running a specific search, how can I contact COS?
What should I do if I know of a mistake in the database?
What should I do if I know of a sponsor/funding opportunity that is missing in the database?
Why do some funding opportunities have multiple sponsors listed?
What is the best way to search the database?
What is the COS Funding Opportunities database?
The COS Funding Opportunities database is the most comprehensive resource of funding information available on the Web. Updated daily, COS Funding Opportunities comprises more than 24,000 funding opportunities from around the world.
Where does COS get its information for the database?
Sources include federal and regional governments, foundations, professional societies, associations, and corporations. The COS Funding Opportunities editing team acquires the information directly from the sponsor to ensure the most accurate database possible.
Who uses the COS Funding Opportunities database? What types of funding opportunities are included in the database?
Individual researchers, research administrators and academic institutions rely on COS Funding Opportunities to identify funding information as it relates to research, collaborative activities, travel, curriculum development, conferences, fellowships, post-doctoral positions, equipment acquisition, and operating or capital expenses.
The COS Funding Opportunities database covers the following disciplines:
- Agriculture, Food Sciences, Foods
- Arts, Humanities, Cultural Activities
- Behavioral or Social Sciences
- Education
- Energy
- Engineering
- Geographical Terms
- Health and Safety, Medical Sciences, Biomedical
- Law
- Management or Commerce
- Science & Technology, Mathematics, Computer Science
What types of funding information are not included?
The COS Funding Opportunities database does not include loans, refinancing, or employment opportunities. The database contains grants that are designed to compliment existing work being performed by researchers or institutions. Also, funding information which is applicable to one institution only is not included in the database.
How often is the database updated? Are there any funding opportunities in the database that have already passed their deadline?
The COS Funding Opportunities database is updated daily. COS dedicates eight full-time technical editors specifically to the database. Each day our editors add new records, update existing records, and delete expired records from the database.
How much is a subscription to COS Funding Opportunities?
Access to COS Funding Opportunities is packaged as part of a full COS Membership, but may also be purchased as a stand-alone information resource. Please contact us for pricing.
Can individuals subscribe?
Because the Web allows COS to offer unlimited domain-enabled access to the COS Funding Opportunities database, our subscriptions are targeted towards institutional access only.
What does domain-enabled access mean?
Domain-enabled access allows everyone using the Web through a subscribing institution's Internet domain (e.g., "acme.com") to have unrestricted access to the database. When the database is queried, COS software automatically identifies the originating Internet domain and either permits or denies access. For example, when a user at the subscribing Acme company accesses the COS Funding Opportunities database through Acme's Internet domain, COS software automatically recognizes the "acme.com" Internet domain name and permits access.
If I need help running a specific search, how can I contact COS?
COS provides a Help Desk to assist users in searching the database. The Help Desk is staffed Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (eastern time).
What should I do if I know of a mistake in the database? What should I do if I know of a sponsor/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 contact us using the COS Help Desk form.
Why do some funding opportunities have multiple sponsors listed?
When the sponsoring agency of a funding announcement is part of a hierarchy of agencies, COS also includes the parent agencies as part of the sponsor. For example, a grant offered by the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control falls under the National Cancer Institute (NCI) which falls under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) which falls under the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The sponsor would appear as:
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Division of Cancer Prevention and Control
What is the best way to search the database?
It is generally best to start a search of the database with a broad search term, and then narrow your results using the "Refine Your Query" feature. In addition to the Help Desk, COS provides extensive on-line Instructions for searching the COS Funding Opportunities database.
