PlumX Funding Opportunities: Using Recent, Relevant Impact Metrics to Find Funding Posted: March 22, 2016 by Polly Allen

Finding new funding for research is critical for researchers and those who support them in order for their research to continue. Yet, they are often frustrated with the tools available to help them. The key is striking the right balance between casting a wide net and providing relevant opportunities that are suitable based on a researcher’s history and current research focus. Tools that focus on completeness of results often return grants for which the researcher is not eligible or has no interest in pursuing. New researchers, researchers who have changed the focus of their research since their last cited article, or those who have yet-to-be cited recent academic output all struggle to find the right opportunities based on their strengths and body of work.

PlumXTM Funding Opportunities is designed to fill these gaps. When combined with PlumXTM Dashboards, it uses the power of altmetrics to help guide funding opportunity searches, highlighting the most impactful and recent research for a researcher, lab or department. Long before a paper is cited, users can see trends in Usage and Captures, or find what works have had the most visibility and technology transfer to the public sphere through Mentions and Social Media.

How exactly does it work? Let’s see how it works for one of our clients, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Step 1: Review Recent Research Impact

The Family Medicine Department at Mount Sinai is modeled in their PlumX Dashboards site. They have included the research of ten researchers in this department. Looking at the most recent research in PlumX Dashboards, we can see that a few articles that have seen higher Usage and Capture metrics concern diabetes prevention.

Step 2: Search for relevant funding opportunities

For this simple example, let’s suppose a researcher or administrator would like to search only for opportunities relevant to diabetes prevention. Complex queries using multiple terms and limits are also possible.

Step 3: Embedding search results in PlumX Dashboards

The ‘Embed Funding Opportunities’ feature within PlumX Dashboards lets a researcher easily search for opportunities, and add the search query results within a profile page. This could be a profile of an individual researcher or a profile of a lab, a department or any other group.

Step 4: Updated feed of funding opportunities in PlumX Dashboards

Search results matching the criteria specified in Step 3 will now appear above the artifact summary in the PlumX Dashboards page. The latest results are refreshed daily providing up-to-date tracking of possible research funding. Below is a picture of this.

By leveraging the power of researcher or group profiles in PlumX Dashboards, PlumX Funding Opportunities completes the cycle, supporting researchers from pre-award through post-award, to follow-on funding and pre-award search once again. As we continue to add new funding opportunities and granting agencies, we’re excited to find new ways that altmetrics in the PlumX Suite can streamline the research process.