Sponsored Programs Information Network (SPIN)
SPIN is a searchable database containing detailed information on grant programs from more than 1,200 different federal and non-federal sponsoring agencies. SPIN is on the web at: http://spin2000.infoed.org/new_spin/spinmain.asp.
From the SPIN home page you will have the option of doing a Quick Search or an Advanced Search.
Quick Search
You can perform a quick search from the main SPIN page using the following steps:
- Type in the word(s) you want to find in the free text box.
- Once you have typed in your search word(s), you have the option to search by “All Words,“ “Any Words,“ or the “Exact Phrase.“
- Select the field(s) from which the search will look for your word(s) from the “In Fields“ list. You can search in the following fields: Title, Objectives, Synopsis, or All.
- Select the number of results you want your quick search to return from the “Return Results“ list. The number of results you can select to return ranges from 25-100.
- Specify the country database to search from via the “In Country“ list. Each country's database includes programs that are associated with that particular country, and those that are not geographically restricted. For the most part, you will want to search for programs in the country you currently reside in.
- Choose the order in which to sort your search results, from the “Sort Order“ selection list. You have the option to sort by program number, sponsor name, deadline date, or program title.
- Click the “Search“ command button to run the quick search
The search results will be displayed and at this point, you can view the programs, save the programs in a report, or narrow the results by performing another search within the previous search's results
Advanced Search
The Advanced Search function allows you to search on virtually every field in the SPIN database. The available Advanced Search fields and their descriptions are listed below.
Keywords: The most common field on which to search, keywords are words and terms which are used to describe academic disciplines/areas of interest. The SPIN Keyword Thesaurus is broken into twelve subject areas. When you click on the Keywords field on the Search screen, these subject areas will be listed. Placing a check next to a major subject heading (in the “All” column) will select all Keywords within that subject area for your search. Or, you can click on the subject-heading link to see a list of keywords in that area, from which you can select specific keywords for your search. Selecting specific keywords will search on the exact keywords. Once you are finished selecting Keywords, click on “Return”.
You can also use the “Search for a Particular Keyword” box at the bottom of the keywords screen to find a particular word or phrase.
You may select as many keywords as desired. All of the keywords selected on the Keywords screen will be linked by “OR” logic. To combine one or more keywords using “AND” logic, select “Use Boolean AND Logic”. Then click on “Keywords”.
Applicant Types: Describes eligibility. Select all values, which describe both the individual and the institution applying for the award.
Award Types: Select the values which most accurately describe the type of funding desired, i.e., research project, fellowship support, seed money, etc.
Geographic Restrictions: Describe award restrictions due to locale. Select the values, which describe your area/region, in addition to the value “No Restrictions.” (For example, if you are from New York, select No Restrictions, U.S. Northeast, and New York, to obtain programs which meet any of these criteria) If no values are selected for this field, then your search results may include opportunities which are specifically for applicants from other states/provinces/regions of the country. The value “No Restrictions” is coded on opportunities that have no specified restrictions with regard to the geographic location of the applicant.
Sponsors: Use these fields if you only want to see funding opportunities offered by a certain sponsor(s). If you choose a Federal (government) sponsor who is a “parent” organization to other Federal (government) sponsors, you will get opportunities offered by both the parent organization as well as those underneath it hierarchically. (For example, if you search on National Institutes of Health, you will also get hits from the National Eye Institute, National Institute on Aging, etc.)
Sponsor Type: This field allows you to narrow your search by the type of organization administering an award. You can make selections from Federal, State, or Non-Federal as broken down by specific type.
Contact: This field is used to search by a particular sponsor's contact person.
Citizenship: Select the value(s) that describe the individual's citizenship. For maximum results, always include “Any/No Restrictions” as one of your value selections. (Please note: The value “Any/No Restrictions” is coded on opportunities for which there are no eligibility restrictions with regard to an applicant's citizenship.)
Deadlines: Use this field to obtain search results narrowed by deadline date. Selecting Deadline Dates from the Search screen will open a window/table where you can search by select your condition (equal to, less than, greater than) and then select specific dates, define a date range of deadlines or use the “Open Dates Only” setting which will bring up programs accepting applications on a continuous basis.
Title Contains: This text field allows you to enter a word or phrase to search for a particular funding opportunity by Title. This free text search field allows you to use the Boolean operators AND, OR, or NOT.
Objectives Contain: This text field allows you to enter a word(s) to search for funding opportunities within the objectives and restrictions of the program profile.
Synopsis Contains: This text field allows you to search for a word(s) within the synopsis of the program profile.
Once you've specified your search criteria, click the “Run Search”. The search results will be displayed and from here, you can view the programs, save the programs in a report, or narrow the results by performing another search within the previous search's results.
Note: to access SPIN off campus you will need to contact the Communications Office to obtain a user name and password.
If you have any questions or need assistance doing a search, please contact Julie Seal in Communications at 619-594-2458 or by email at jseal@foundation.sdsu.edu.