The office does not have a specific plan in terms of target amounts or numbers of grants to be obtained. It does have a sense of the federal and state funding cycles, and those of relevant private funding sources. This works well for them. Incentives for faculty are not provided as a matter of policy, but are often made available and vary depending on the grant and the level of faculty involvement. Incentives may include stipends, or travel reimbursement, or funding for released time, all aimed at providing faculty with resources outside their normal responsibilities which they will value.
Institutional capacity is an important issue in grants work.
Program staff must also be prepared to administer and manage the grant program. The institution sometimes assumes the development office will manage the grant, which takes away their capacity to obtain more grants. The institution must also recognize the costs required by grant acquisition other than staff costs. Matching funds are often required, either hard dollars or in-kind, and staff time in many areas must support grant implementation. Underestimating the impact of this can diminish the effectiveness of the institution as a whole, financially and in terms of human resources, if not carefully considered.