Utilize Pivot to find funding opportunities and collaborators.
Washington State University’s Pivot subscription connects you with available funding opportunities from various sponsors. Below are several steps you can complete today to make your search for grants and fellowships easy!
For assistance in developing a search string, please contact Emily Klarquist (emily.klarquist@wsu.edu)
1. Use the advanced search feature to customize your results and save search queries.
The advanced search feature in Pivot is similar to those used in popular databases and allows you to create a search query based on various parameters.
When searching for funding opportunities, we recommend using Pivot keywords where your research project falls within the broader field(s) rather than using specific research terms, like a plant or animal species.
Additional field descriptions often used in searches include:
- Award amount. We suggest selecting unspecified to include funding opportunities that do not have an amount indicated.
- Funding Type
- Applicant Type. We suggest selecting “Academic Institution” and “Non-profit” for WSU eligibility. You may also consider Individuals if you are looking for fellowships or awards.
Once satisfied with your search query, you can save the search to reaccess in the future (under Saved Searches), share your search query with collaborators, and set up weekly email alerts for new funding opportunities that fit those search parameters. To create an email alert:
- Locate your saved search query in the Saved Searches area of your homepage.
- If you have enabled weekly Alert emails, you will see an envelope icon in the Email Alert column between the Limited Submission and Options.
- Click the “Options” drop-down. If your Alert is currently being sent, you will see an “Alert email on” notation. If you’d like to turn it off, simply click on that notation. If your Alert is NOT currently being sent, you will see an “Alert email off” notation. To start receiving Alerts for this search, simply click on that notation.
- Finally, to create an Alert on brand new saved searches, simply leave the defaulted check box labeled, “Would you like to receive a weekly email containing new or updated opps from this query?” selected when saving a search.
Additionally, WSU ORAP has created several curated searches for various research areas and grant types.
2. Create a private group for your lab and collaborators.
Creating a User Group allows you to share funding opportunities and newsletters between Pivot-RP users, meaning the group can be formed with researchers outside WSU if they are subscribed to Pivot-RP. If they do not have a Pivot-RP subscription, they will still be able to join the group but will only receive limited funding information via email.
When you create a private group add members using their WSU or Pivot-affiliated email.
In the search results, you can select to share a funding opportunity with your private group by choosing the opportunity from the result list, selecting Share, and then “Select group”.
3. Join a WSU public group.
WSU ORAP has created several public groups for faculty, postdoctoral associates, and staff. You are freely able to join and leave the groups as you wish. From the homepage, go to Groups and select “join group” to receive alerts.
4. Track funding opportunities.
If you have programs you are currently applying to or want to apply to in the future, you can use the Track feature in Pivot to receive updates when the opportunity changes and to get personal reminders about the opportunity’s deadlines.
You can export the deadlines to your WSU Outlook Calendar if you have several opportunities you are tracking. You can also see how many people at your institution have the particular opportunity in their Tracked lists.
5. Update your Pivot profile.
Updating your role, grants, publications, research interests, and patent information in your Pivot Profile will increase your targeted funding matches (Pivot Advisor), allow you to get discovered as a potential collaborator, and receive relevant funding alerts directly to your inbox.
We recommend updating or adding your name(s) used for publications, links to relevant webpages, ORCID ID, and keywords about your research interests to ensure you get the most relevant funding matches. The more keywords you add, the more funding opportunities you will likely receive.
Once your profile is updated, you can set up a weekly Pivot Advisor Alert email to receive curated funding opportunities based on your profile information. Unless opted out, the alerts will present any new or updated opportunities that match your saved search query as well as new or updated opportunities that were added to your Pivot Advisor.
Last Updated: September 5, 2023