Use our guidelines and tips, below, so you get the most from the trip, and you get to know the agency and your program officer while positioning yourself well before a solicitation request drops.
 

Be prepared

Do your homework

• Request an agency profile from ASU's Washington office.
• Gather information from colleagues to facilitate ASU representation.
• Customize your presentation for your audience.
• Define what you hope to achieve from the meeting(s).
• Tell your contact in advance what you want to talk about.

Rehearse your presentation

Coordinate with fellow travelers

Prepare materials you can leave with the agency
 

Be professional

During your meeting

• Thank your contact for the meeting.
• Speak to the agency contact, not your colleagues.
• Describe existing relationships and awards between ASU and agency or program.
• Outline ASU expertise relevant to agency mission and goals.
• Provide background material.
• Ask what ASU can do for them, not just what they can do for you.
• Find out approximately when opportunities will be announced.

Follow up, follow through

After your trip

• Thank agency contacts for your meeting.
• Follow up with any fellow travelers and coordinate follow through.
• Execute action items.
• Summarize meetings for the record.

Site visits help federal agencies decide whether you, your team and your institution are capable of conducting your proposed research. They can also occur after an award to make sure your research team is putting federal funds to good use; that is, whether your work holds up to their performance standards and complies with their policies. Use our guidelines and tips, below, to help you make the agency feel welcome and win their confidence in your abilities.

Be prepared

Do your homework

• Request agency profile from ASU's Washington office
• Some agencies, like the NSF, have started doing virtual site visits.
• Develop an agenda for the visit based on clear-cut objectives.
• Identify appropriate presenters

Send relevant reading materials in advance

• Trip itinerary.
• Relevant CVs.
• Relevant descriptive material.

Brief presentations on agency programs

• Visitor(s) background and interests.
• Past funding to ASU and competitors.
• Future funding opportunities.
• Coordinate, customize and rehearse presentations.

Be professional

During meetings

• Thank your contact for coming to ASU.

• Speak to your agency contact, not your colleagues.

• Describe existing relationships and awards between ASU and agency or program.

• Describe ASU expertise that is relevant to agency mission and goals.

• Provide background material.

• Ask what ASU can do for them, not just what they can do for you.

• Find out approximately when opportunities will be announced.

• Review action items and thank contact for coming to ASU.

Follow up, follow through

After their visit

• Thank your contact for visiting ASU.

• Follow up with presenters and coordinate follow through.

• Execute action items.

• Summarize meetings for the record using contact report template and attaching all relevant documents.

Yes, it does. It’s located near Dupont Circle in a four-story historic building. ASU's Washington Center is home to academic and enterprise development programs. The office gives ASU a national presence and voice that could otherwise be lost being so far from our nation's financial and political capitals. The center allows us to share our knowledge and research and better position our students, faculty and staff to participate in fellowships, internships and programs and to procure agency funding.

On-site offices for the Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes; National Policy Affairs; and KE help facilitate interactions between policymakers, opinion leaders, federal research agencies and ASU experts.

The center also serves as a resource for faculty, students, staff and partners working in Washington and offers temporary office space, meeting and event space, and web-conferencing facilities. Event planning services are also available.

ASU’s Washington office offers further information about agency profiles, agency funding processes, cycles for major recurring program awards, information about upcoming opportunities, organization charts, previous contacts with the agency or their program staff and current and past awards to ASU.