OPD TAMUCommerce Proposal Development Workshop Topics

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OPD TAMU-CommerceProposal Development Workshop
Topics

• Overview Office of Proposal Development
• Mission and Culture of Funding Agency
• Craft of Proposal Writing
• Collaborative Proposals in Science Education
• Finding funding on the Internet

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Office of Proposal Development

• A unit of the Office of Vice President for
  Research at Texas AM University
• Phone, 979-845-1811
• Fax, 979-458-0036
• 305K Jack K. Williams Administration Building
• Mail Stop 2404
• libbyc_at_tamu.edu
• http//vpr.tamu.edu/

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Office of Proposal Development Group

• Jean Ann Bowman, Research Scientist PhD Physical
  Geography Hydrology
• Libby Childress, Administrative Assistant
• Mike Cronan, PE, Director BS Civil Engineering
  (structures) BA Political Science MFA English
• Lucy Deckard, Associate Director BS/MS Materials
  Science Engineering
• Phyllis McBride, Assistant Director PhD English
  
• Robyn Pearson, Proposal Development Specialist,
  BA/MA Anthropology.

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OPD Activities

• Works with faculty across Texas AM University to
  plan, develop, and write research and educational
  proposals to federal agencies
• Helps plan, develop, and write collaborative
  research and center-level proposals
• Helps interdisciplinary faculty groups across
  colleges plan, develop, and write proposals
  (e.g., materials, ecology, obesity studies,
  evaluation)
• Helps Office of Graduate Studies/System Pathways
  Initiative Associate Dean for Undergraduate
  Research develop proposals

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OPD Activities

• Helps identify and develop research System-wide
  through the Offices of the Vice Chancellor for
  Research and External Affairs Vice Chancellor
  for Academic and Student Affairs and Vice
  President for Research Graduate Studies, Health
  Science Center
• Offers proposal workshops, presentations, and
  seminars, e.g., career development, undergraduate
  research, graduate fellowships, dissertation
  grants, equipment, craft of proposal writing,
  etc.
• Promotes research System-wide by the
  identification of funding opportunities linked to
  VPR/OPD proposal development.

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Jean Ann Bowman

• Jean Ann Bowman, Ph.D., leads proposal
  development initiatives in the College of
  Geosciences and the College of Agriculture Life
  Sciences.
• 20 years of experience in applied hydrology
  research, with a focus on the relationship
  between land surface hydrology and global
  environmental change.
• B.S., Journalism, University of Colorado,
  Boulder, 1979 M.S., Hydrology and Physical
  Geography, Rutgers University, 1983 Ph.D.,
  Hydrology and Physical Geography, Texas AM
  University, 1999
• jbowman_at_tamu.edu

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Libby Childress

• Provides project and proposal planning,
  scheduling, and coordination services OPD
  administration coordinates OPD workshops,
  presentations, seminars and TTVN activities, and
  works on special projects.
• Tracks project development activities,
  collaborative activities, and program evaluation
  
• Experience as an account administrator, as an
  IEEE editorial assistant, and as personal
  assistant and liaison to the Vice President for
  Research.
• libbyc_at_tamu.edu

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Mike Cronan

• 18 years at Texas AM University in strategic
  planning, development, and writing of successful
  center-level proposals
• Played the lead development role and was author
  of over 60 million in System-wide projects
  funded by NSF, e.g., Texas AMP, Texas RSI, South
  Texas RSI, TxCETP, CREST Environmental Research
  Center, Information Technology in Science, ITS
  Center for Teaching and Learning, etc.
• Named Regents Fellow (2000-04 term) for
  leadership role in developing NSF funded projects
  and partnerships System-wide.
• B.S., Civil Engineering (structures), University
  of Michigan, 1983 M.F.A., English, UC-Irvine,
  1972 B.A., Political Science, Michigan State
  University, 1968 PE (Texas 063512)
• mikecronan_at_tamu.edu

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Lucy Deckard

• Leads the VPR New Faculty Initiative, and works
  on proposal development activities related to
  science, engineering, graduate programs,
  undergraduate research, diversity, as well as
  equipment and instrumentation
• 18 years of experience as a materials research
  engineer, conducting applied research and writing
  proposals at Lockheed Martin, Hughes Research
  Labs
• B.S., Materials Science, Rice University, 1981
  M.S., Materials Science and Engineering,
  Northwestern University, 1990
• l-deckard_at_tamu.edu

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Phyllis McBride

• Leads Craft of Proposal Writing workshops
  training initiatives develops AM proposal
  writing workbooks
• 20 years of technical communications experience
  in publishing, industry, and academe, eight of
  which have focused on proposal development and
  management
• Worked for Dallas Magazine, EDS, and CH2M HILL,
  and has also taught technical communications at
  Texas AM University
• B.A., Journalism and English, Baylor University,
  1987 M.A., English, Texas AM University, 1991
  Ph.D., English, Texas AM University, 2000
• p-mcbride_at_tamu.edu

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Robyn Pearson

• Leads proposal development initiatives in the
  College of Liberal Arts and the College of
  Education and Human Development.
• Her background includes grant writing, public
  outreach, and marketing for non-profit
  organizations.
• 15 years of experience in technical writing and
  editing, including books, journal articles, and
  technical reports.
• B.A., Anthropology, Texas AM University, 1979
  M.A., Anthropology, Texas AM University, 1996
• rlpearson_at_tamu.edu

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Researching Funding Agency Culture

• Understanding and researching culture, mission,
  strategic plan and investment priorities of
  funding agency (NSF, NIH)
• (Craft, Collaboration, Find Funding)

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TAMUC Workshop Disciplines

• Accounting
• Art
• Bilingual Education
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Counseling
• Economics and Finance
• Educational Administration
• Elementary Education
• Environmental Sciences

• Industrial Eng/Technology
• Institutional Research
• Literature and Languages
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Psychology
• Secondary Higher Education
• Social Work
• Sociology
• Special Education
• Speech

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Open Forum, QA Format

• Audience is encouraged to ask questions
  continuously during the workshop
• Audience questions will help direct, guide, and
  focus the discussion on research proposal topics,
  competitive strategies, and expertise of
  presenters in developing and writing research
  proposals across agencies and disciplines.

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Characterizing Culture Mission

• Funding agencies map to well defined research
  investment priorities reflecting the culture and
  mission of the agency for example,
  characterized by
• Target disciplines, e.g., science, humanities,
  cultural
• Basic or applied research technology development
  transfer
• Hypothesis or application driven
• Research scope performance time horizon
• Exploratory, open-ended research, or targeted
  applications
• Independent research, or dependent linkages to
  other institutions and agencies, e.g., health
  care, education, economic development, workforce.

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Culture Mission Objectives

• Agencies define a vision, mission, objectives,
  and strategic goals
• Operational components of agency reflect a range
  of objectives, for example
• Strategic research plan
• Strategic investment plan
• Research portfolio investment time horizon
• Research priorities characteristics

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Basic Research Agencies (NSF, NIH)

• Independent agency management
• Independent research vision, mission,
  objectives
• Award criteria based on intellectual and
  scientific excellence
• Peer panel reviewed, ranked, and awarded by merit
• Focus on fundamental or basic research at the
  frontiers of science, innovation, and creation
  of new knowledge
• Open ended, exploratory, long investment horizon
• Non-classified, non-proprietary

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Mission Oriented Federal Agencies

• RD serves agency goals and objectives, but
  reflect Executive Branch policy directions
• E.g., Agriculture, Energy, Education, Defense,
  Health
• Scope of work tightly defines research
  tasks/deliverables
• Predominately applied research for meeting near
  term objectives, technology development
  transfer
• Predominately internal review by program officers
• Awards based on merit, but also on geographic
  distribution, political distribution, long term
  relationship with agency, Legislative Executive
  branch policies
• Classified and non-classified research

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Backgrounding the Funding Agency

• Mission
• Culture
• Language
• Investment Priorities
• Strategic Plan
• Org Chart Structure
• Management
• Program Officers
• Reports, Publications

• Leadership Speeches
• Congressional Testimony
• Review Criteria
• Review Process
• Review Panels
• Project Abstracts
• Current Funded Projects
• Funded Researchers

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Funding Agency Investment Priorities

• National Science Foundation
• Strategic Plan 2003-08 (http//www.nsf.gov/publica
  tions/pub_summ.jsp?ods_keynsf04201)
• Office of the Director (http//www.nsf.gov/od/)
• National Institutes of Health
• NIH Roadmap (http//nihroadmap.nih.gov/)
• NIH Director Elias Zerhouni (http//www.sciencemag
  .org/feature/plus/nihroadmap.pdf)
• NIH Directors Page (http//www.nih.gov/about/dire
  ctor/)

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National Science Foundation

• Home Page
• http//www.nsf.gov
• Find Funding
• http//www.nsf.gov/funding
• Award Search
• http//www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/index.jsp
• Upcoming Due Dates
• http//www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_list.jsp?orgNSFor
  ddate

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National Science Foundation
Director Deputy Director
National Science Board
Inspector General
Staff Offices
Computer Information Science Engineering
Mathematical Physical Sciences
Biological Sciences
Engineering
Geosciences
Social, Behavioral Economic Sciences
Budget, Finance Award Management
Information Resource Management
Education Human Resources
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NSF Regional Grants Information Conferences

• NSF Regional Conferences and Workshops
• (http//www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/outreach.jsp
  )
• Introduction to NSF (http//www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/p
  olicy/docs/introtampa.pdf )
• NSF Proposal Preparation (http//www.nsf.gov/bfa/d
  ias/policy/docs/proppreptampa.pdf)
• NSF Merit Review Process (http//www.nsf.gov/bfa/d
  ias/policy/docs/meritrevtampa.pdf)
• NSF Cross Cutting Programs (http//www.nsf.gov/bfa
  /dias/policy/docs/crossdisctampa.pdf)
• Education and Human Resources (http//www.nsf.gov/
  bfa/dias/policy/docs/ehrbreaktampa.pdf)
• NSF Geosciences (http//www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/polic
  y/docs/geobreaktampa.pdf)
• NSF Math Physical Sciences (http//www.nsf.gov/b
  fa/dias/policy/docs/mpsbreaktampa.pdf)
• NSF Office of International Science and
  Engineering (http//www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/do
  cs/oisebreaktampa.pdf)
• Challenges, Opportunities and New Directions
  (http//www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/docs/challenge
  stampa.pdf)

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NSF Guide to Programs

• Guide to Programs / Browse Funding Opportunities
• http//www.nsf.gov/funding/browse_all_funding.jsp
• Program Description or Announcement
  (unsolicited)
• Administered by disciplinary programs in
  directorate/ division
• Typically due once or twice per year (sometimes
  due dates sometimes target dates or
  windows) 1 3 PIs
• Follow Grant Proposal Guide (GPG)
• http//www.nsf.gov/pubs/gpg/nsf04_23/
• Research interests/ abstracts of funded proposals
• http//www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/

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NSF Funding Opportunities

• Solicitations
• More focused than program announcements
• Often tied to particular agency initiative
• NSF-wide and cross-cutting opportunities
• Often apply for limited period of time
• Give specific format, criteria and other
  requirements that may differ from GPG
• Supplements
• Additions to existing grants
• Research Experiences for Undergraduates, Research
  Experiences for Teachers, International
  Supplements, etc.

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Other NSF Funding Opportunities

• Dear Colleague Letter
• Informs proposer community of upcoming
  opportunities, special competition for
  supplements, etc.
• SGER (Special Grants for Exploratory Research)
• Small-scale, high-risk exploratory research
• 100K or less
• Approved by program officer (talk to program
  officer before submitting!)

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NIH Mission

• To uncover new knowledge that will lead to
  better health for everyone
• Basic scientific research in pursuit of
  fundamental knowledge about the nature and
  behavior of living systems
• Applied scientific research to extend health life
  and reduce the burdens of illness and disability
• NIH Roadmap
• http//nihroadmap.nih.gov/

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All About NIH Grants Tutorials

• All about NIH grants
• http//www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/default.htm
• Grant Application Basics
• http//www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/basics/index.h
  tm
• What is NIH Looking For http//www.niaid.nih.gov/n
  cn/grants/basics/basics_a1.htm
• Overview of the Application Process
  http//www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/basics/basics_
  a3.htm
• NIH Has Five Review Criteria http//www.niaid.nih.
  gov/ncn/grants/basics/basics_b3.htm
• Other Factors Play a Role in Review
  http//www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/basics/basics_
  b4.htm

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National Institutes of Health, Area Grants

• NIH Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA)
  Grants - (R15)
• AREA grants support individual research projects
  in the biomedical and behavioral sciences
  conducted by faculty, and involving their
  undergraduate students, who are located in health
  professional schools and other academic
  components that have not been major recipients of
  NIH research grant funds.
• http//grants2.nih.gov/grants/funding/area.htm

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NIH Organization (20 institutes and 7 centers)

• National Cancer Institute
• National Eye Institute
• National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute
• National Human Genome Research Institute
• National Institute on Aging
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse Alcoholism
• National Institute of Allergy Infectious
  Diseases
• Natl Institute Arthritis, Musculoskeletal Skin
  Diseases
• Natl Institute of Biomedical Imaging
  Bioengineering
• National Institute of Child Health Human
  Development

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NIH Organization (20 institutes and 7 centers)

• Natl Institute Deafness, Other Communication
  Disorders
• National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial
  Research
• Natl Institute Diabetes Digestive and Kidney
  Diseases
• National Institute on Drug Abuse
• National Institute of Environmental Health
  Sciences
• National Institute of General Medical Sciences
• National Institute of Mental Health
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
  Stroke
• National Institute of Nursing Research
• National Library of Medicine

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NIH Organization (20 institutes and 7 centers)

• Center for Information Technology
• Center for Scientific Review
• John E. Fogarty International Center
• National Center for Complementary and Alternative
  Medicine
• National Center on Minority Health and Health
  Disparities
• National Center for Research Resources
• Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center

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NIH Funding Opportunities

• NIH funding opportunities
• http//grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/index.html
• NIH forms and applications
• http//grants1.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm
• NIH receipt dates and deadlines
• http//grants1.nih.gov/grants/dates.htm

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NIH Funding Mechanisms

• (R01) Research Project Grant
• Supports discrete, specified, circumscribed
  projects
• http//grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/r01.htm
• (R03) Small Research Project Grant
• Supports small research projects that can be
  carried out in a short period of time with
  limited resources
• http//grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/r03.htm
• (R21) Exploratory Research Project Grant
• Supports exploratory and developmental research
  that breaks new ground or extends previous
  discoveries
• http//grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/r21.htm

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NIH Award Data

• CRISP
• http//crisp.cit.nih.gov/
• Research grants
• http//grants1.nih.gov/grants/award/resgr.htm
• Training and career awards
• http//grants1.nih.gov/grants/award/granfell.htm

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NIH Award Data

• Award trends
• http//grants1.nih.gov/grants/award/awardtr.htm
• Success rates
• http//grants1.nih.gov/grants/award/success.htm

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NIH Tutorials

• Grant Application Basics
• http//www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/basics/index.h
  tm
• How to Plan a Grant Application
• http//www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/plan/index.htm
  
• How to Write a Grant Application
• http//www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/write/index.ht
  m

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NIH Tutorials

• Annotated R01 Application
• http//www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/app/default.ht
  m
• Inside the NIH Grant Review Process
• http//www.csr.nih.gov/Video/Video.asp
• Additional Tutorials
• http//www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/default.htm

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Craft of Proposal Writing

• Craft of Proposal Writing
• (Mission, Collaborations, Find Funding)

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To Submit or Not to Submit?

• Is an RFP worth it? Remember sometimes the dog
  catches the car!
• Does the RFP
• Make fiscal sense
• Match institutional capabilities
• Fit institutional strategic objectives
• Interface well with institutional work-load
• Have institutional support
• Strengthen benefit the institution

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Good Ideas Serve Agency Mission

• Funding agencies have a clearly defined agenda
  and mission. Funded grants are those that best
  meet that agenda and advance the mission of the
  funding agency. If a proposal does not meet an
  agency's mission, it will not be funded. This is
  perhaps the most difficult adjustment to be made
  in proposal development and grant writing.
  Having a "good idea" by itself is simply not
  enough. Good ideas have to be connected clearly
  and integrated fully with a funding agencys
  mission and agenda. The proposal must fit the
  mission and strategic plans of the funding
  agency.

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Understand Funding Agency Mission

• Funding agencies are not passive funders of
  programs. They see themselves as leaders in a
  national dialogue on scientific issues, and as a
  part of the community defining and driving the
  national agenda. A strong proposal allows the
  funding agency to form a partnership with the
  submitting institution that will carry out the
  agency's vision and mission. The grant writer
  must understand the nature of this partnership
  and the expectations of the funding agency, both
  during proposal development and throughout a
  funded project.

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Introductory Writing Tips

• The abstract, proposal summary, and introduction
  are keythat may be all many reviewers read and
  it is here you must excite and grab the attention
  of the reviewers
• Reviewers will assume errors in language and
  usage will translate into errors in the science
• Dont be overly ambitious in what you propose,
  but convey credibility and capacity to perform

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Introductory Writing Tips

• Sell your proposal to a good scientist but not an
  expert
• Some review panels may not have an expert in your
  field, or panels may be blended for
  multidisciplinary initiatives
• Agencies reviewers fund compelling, exciting
  science, not just correct science
• Proposals are not journal articlesproposals must
  be user friendly and offer a narrative that tells
  a story that is memorable to reviewers

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The RFP is NOT a List of Suggestions

• It is a non-negotiable listing of funding agency
  objectives, requirements, and review criteria.
• Use it to guide outline and structure of the
  proposal.
• It is a a treasure map, of sorts follow
  directions!
• Respond fully to every item.
• RFPs are not a menu or smorgasbord offering the
  applicant a choice.
• Use it to review final text the final text must
  mirror the RFP by structure, topic, and
  requirement.
• Never be in the position of later reading over
  the RFP of a submitted proposal only to say
  "whoops!"

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The RFP Reveals the Mind of the Funding
Agency--Know it Well

• The RFP needs to be treated as the "Revealed
  Word" of the funding agency. It is not a
  document to skim quickly, read lightly, or read
  only once. The RFP defines the path to follow to
  be competitive for funding. It needs to be read
  and re-read and fully understood. The RFP is the
  starting point of the successful proposal. It
  sets the direction and parameters of every aspect
  of the proposal development and grant writing
  process. It typically includes, or references in
  other documents, the requirements for proposal
  submission, e.g., eligibility, program
  guidelines, review criteria, due dates, available
  funding, estimated number of awards, format
  requirements, topics to address, order of
  document, section headings, specific issues to
  address, program goals, performance expectations,
  and section points or review weighting.

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The Proposal is the Only Reality

• In its final form, a proposal is not unlike a
  novel or a movie. It creates its own,
  self-contained reality.
• The proposal contains all the funding agency and
  review panel will know about your capabilities
  and your capacity to perform.
• With few exceptions, an agency bases its decision
  to fund or not fund entirely on the proposal and
  the persuasive reality it creates.

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Analysis of the RFP/Language

• The grant writer must be highly skilled at
  echoing the language of the funding agency. All
  funding agencies, like most institutions and
  disciplines, speak in a unique language, or
  dialect. Learning the language of the funding
  agency is critical. Grant applicants must
  translate their institutional language into that
  of the funding agency. Fluency in the use of the
  funding agency language is critical. The RFP is
  the starting point for this process.

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Accumulation of Marginal Advantage

• The successful proposal represents an
  accumulation of marginal advantage gained from a
  series of decisions made during project and
  proposal development
• These advantages are gained from curiosity and
  persistence, attention to detail, mastery of
  facts, facility with ideas and concepts,
  commitment and passion, creative strategies,
  innovation solutions, and original perspectives

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Analysis of the RFP/Details

• RFP Read it carefully read it again!
• Think about it discuss it
• Use RFP as outline template for text, graphics,
  tables, budget, and appendices
• Echo RFP language in proposal text
• Echo RFP concepts and vision in text

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Analysis of the RFP/Details

• Talk to the program manager
• Ask questions that fully reveal agency agendas
  driving the RFP's program vision, objectives, and
  performance expectations
• Ask questions that elicit the program managers
  views, opinions, objectives, vision, experience,
  and knowledge of successfully funded projects by
  that agency--echo these in the proposal

52
Analysis of the RFP/Talk to Agency

• Encourage a general discussion with the program
  manager to better place the specific project in
  context with the broader agency agenda
• Develop a relationship with the program manager
  over time that subtly includes the manager as a
  member of your proposal team--get the program
  manager vested in the effort by "ownership"
• Done wisely and astutely and with restraint, an
  echoing of the program manager's ideas and vision
  in the proposal text puts that person in the
  position of accepting or rejecting their own
  ideas during the proposal review process.

53
Ideas Matter (Slogans are not Ideas)

• Shaping ideas by language is hard work
• Do not confuse slogans, effusive exuberance, and
  clichés with substantive ideas
• Show the reviewers something new by developing
  ideas that are clear, concise, coherent,
  contextually logical, and insightful
• Capitalize on every opportunity you have to
  define, link, relate, expand, synthesize,
  connect, or illuminate ideas as you write the
  narrative.

54
Good Writing Cant Be BeatGood writing is more
than mechanics, and includes

• Strong, comprehensive, integrated knowledge base
• Organizational clarity (stepwise
  logic/connections sequencing)
• Structural clarity (integrative logic
  transitions fabric)
• Argumentative clarity (reasoning ordering
  synthesis)
• Descriptive clarity (who, what, how, when, why,
  results)
• Clear, consistent vision sustained throughout
  text
• Comprehensive problem definition corresponding
  innovative solutions
• Confidence in performance must and excitement for
  your ideas must be instilled in reviewers
• Capacity for synthesis

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Knowledge Base

• The knowledge base includes
• Technical
• Program
• Institutional capabilities, mission, and
  experience
• Knowledge of funding agency
• Knowledge of competitors
• A little gold-dust
• Synthesis Synergism

56
Good Writing Wins Awards

• Good writing lies at the core of the competitive
  proposal. It is the essential framework upon
  which the competitive writer cleverly crafts and
  structures the arguments, ideas, concepts, goals,
  commitments of performance, and the logical,
  internal connectedness and balance of the
  proposal.

57
Internal Consistency Synthesis

• A competitive proposal must be internally
  consistent by language, structure, and argument
  all internal ambiguities must be resolved.
• The competitiveness of a proposal increases
  exponentially with the capacity of the author to
  synthesize information.
• Synthesis represents the relational framework and
  conceptual balance of the proposal. It is the
  synaptic connections among concepts, ideas,
  arguments, goals, objectives, and performance.

58
Craft a Well-Written Proposal Introduction

• Always take the time to craft a well-written
  proposal introduction. It will serve as a focal
  point not only for the proposal itself but also
  for project development and grant writing.
• The introduction is a means of taming by language
  ideas and arguments that may as yet be unrefined
  and unconnected, or not yet fully developed and
  structured on a logical framework.

59
Craft a Well-Written Proposal Introduction

• Writing and rewriting the introduction
  continuously refines how you think about the
  proposal, the arguments developed, the ideas, the
  goals and objectives, and the logical
  connectedness of it all.
• Start the introduction early in the grant writing
  process and keep coming back to it as ideas are
  put forth, or revised, or abandoned.

60
Be Thoroughly Versant with Review Criteria

• Applicants often overlook agency review criteria,
  or give them only a cursory look, and thereby
  respond only in part.
• The RFP contains a section describing the review
  criteria an agency will use to evaluate a
  proposal.
• Program managers use these criteria internally to
  constitute the charge to external reviewers and
  review panels.

61
Be Thoroughly Versant with Review Criteria

• In many ways, review criteria are like a judge's
  instructions to the jury before they begin
  deliberations. They set the standard of
  judgment. Review criteria are detailed and
  linked to the agency mission.
• Review criteria address performance expectations,
  institutional expertise, technical or
  programmatic soundness, experience of the
  principal investigators, outcomes, resource
  allocations, intrinsic merit, and demonstrated
  organizational commitment to the project.

62
Understand Agenda Behind Review Criteria

• Develop information on agency review criteria
• Talk to those who have reviewed for an agency
• Talk to those who have been funded by an agency
  ask to read reviews
• Talk to those who have been denied funding by an
  agency ask to read reviews
• Read abstracts of funded projects to identify
  common themes of the successful applicants

63
Know Yourself--Know Your Competition

• Know institutional strengths and weaknesses,
  experience, capacity to perform, and uniqueness
  (e.g., technical, geographic, demographic)
• Clearly state how these capacities relate to
  funding agency mission, e.g., by circumstance
  such as geography, demographics, target
  population, or by technical expertise and the
  capacity for innovation
• Know or anticipate your competition
• Identify strengths and weakness of competition
  vs. your own
• Anticipate competitors arguments

64
Purposes of the Succinct Proposal Introduction

• Serves as reviewers road map to the full text
• Functions as a miniature, condensed proposal
• States vision, concepts, goals, objectives,
  outcomes, and deliverables
• Briefly tells who you are what you are going to
  do how you are going to do it who is going to
  do it why you are going to do it and
  demonstrates your capacity to perform

65
Connect Narrative Text to Budget

• Budget categories are defined by the funding
  agency
• Budget and text must be integrated thematically
  for a competitive proposal
• Connect narrative text to the budget to ensure
  appropriate balance and proportion, i.e., budget
  categories and level of requested funding will
  affect the arguments made in the text and the
  detail and length of narrative components
• If a budget justification section is requested,
  use it to complement and deepen the narrative
  detail

66
Beware of Boiler Plate Dont Pirate, Copy Paste

• Boiler plate refers only to the grant application
  forms required by the funding agency
• Thinking of proposal narrative as boiler plate
  will result in a mediocre, disjoint proposal
• Never pirate text if your own, be very careful
• Begin each proposal as a new effort, not a copy
  paste
• Be very cautious integrating text inserts
• Strong proposals clearly reflect a coherent,
  sustained, and integrated argument grounded on
  good ideas

67
Deliverables, Outcomes, or Unit of Change

• Develop short, hard-hitting, informational lists
  off-set by bullets or other typographical formats
  that clearly and quickly illuminate for the
  reviewers the proposal deliverables, outcomes or
  unit of change
• Develop a logical order to the deliverables
• Define the problem
• Make the argument
• Develop a solution
• Present the deliverables
• Develop a visual time-line and schedule of
  performance

68
Proposal Aesthetics

• Make the text reviewer friendly
• Use white space, font size and style, line
  spacing, tables, figures and graphics, and good
  writing for a professional package
• Follow funding agencys proposal format
  guidelines

69
Craft of Grant Writing Web Sites

• http//cpmcnet.columbia.edu/research/writing.htm
• http//nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/19
  99/08/27/1
• http//grants.library.wisc.edu/index.html
• http//www.research.umich.edu/proposals/PWG/pwgcom
  plete.html
• http//www.asru.ilstu.edu/grantwritingseries.htm

70
Craft of Grant Writing Web Sites

• http//grants.nih.gov/grants/grant_tips.htm
• http//www.epa.gov/seahome/grants/src/title.htm
• http//www.nsf.gov/pubs/2004/nsf04016/start.htm
• http//www.aecom.yu.edu/ogs/Guide/Guide.htm
• http//www.awag.org/Grant20Seekers20Tool20Kit/i
  ndex.htm
• http//www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDet
  ail/assetid/23947?fulltexttrueprintyesprintye
  s
• http//www.pitt.edu/offres/proposal/propwriting/w
  ebsites.html

71
A stepwise process for developing a competitive
research proposal

• Preparing to write
• Developing the hypothesis research plan
• Preliminary data research readiness
• Writing the proposal
• Post review process
• Competitive resubmissions
• Multidisciplinary research collaborations

72
Preparing to write the competitive proposal

• Understanding the program guidelines
• Relationship with program officers
• Developing a sound, testable hypothesis
• Understanding funding agency culture (
  sub-cultures), language, mission, strategic plan,
  research investment priorities
• Understanding agency review criteria, review
  process, review panels

73
Developing the hypothesis research plan

• Who is your audience (e.g., agency, program
  officers and reviewers) and how do you best
  address them?
• What is a fundable idea and how is it best
  characterized?
• How are claims of research uniqueness and
  innovation best supported in the proposal text?
• Can research plans be overly ambitious?
• Important distinctions to note between mission
  focused agencies (NASA, USDA) and basic research
  agencies (NSF, NIH) in proposing research plans?
• Differentiating between hypothesis driven
  research application (goal) driven at basic
  research and mission agencies
• How do you best communicate passion, excitement,
  commitment, and capacity to perform to review
  panels?

74
Preliminary data research readiness

• What evidence needs to be presented to show that
  the proposed work can be accomplished?
• What evidence of institutional support for the
  research, e.g., facilities, equipment
  instrumentation, etc., is important to
  demonstrate and address in the proposal?
• What counts as preliminary data and how much is
  sufficient?
• How do you best map your research directions and
  interests to funding agency research priorities?
• What do you need to know about research currently
  funded by a particular agency within your
  research domain, e.g., through reports,
  publications, journals?

75
Writing the proposal

• Who do you need to impress with your research?
• How do you tell a good story grounded in good
  science that excites the reviewers and program
  officers?
• The successful proposal represents an
  accumulation of marginal advantage accrued at
  decision points over a period of weeks or months
  to ensure the proposal is competitive for
  funding
• What are key decisions points in proposal
  development?
• How do you best plan and schedule proposal
  writing?
• How do you use program guidelines as a proposal
  template?
• Importance of good writing, clear arguments, and
  reviewer friendly text, structure, and
  organization in proposals
• What are other core competitive characteristics
  of a successful proposal needed to complement
  research merit?

76
Post review process

• Respecting views of peers
• Response to reviewer comments
• Discussion of reviews with program officers
• Discussion of reviews with senior faculty
• Reviewing the reviews
• How do you make an assessment of reviews as a
  reliable guide for the next funding cycle?

77
Competitive resubmissions

• How do you best plan and position for a
  competitive resubmission?
• How do you conduct a reassessment of the
  intellectual merit and excellence of your
  research based on reviews?
• How to you assess if a research direction should
  be abandoned, or the research submitted to
  another agency?
• What are strategies for identifying more
  appropriate research directions and funding
  opportunities?

78
Visualize the Process

• An important transition must take place in which
  the grant writer moves from promoting ideas to
  describing in the text how those ideas will be
  manifested in practice. This is often a very
  difficult transition to make, but it is a
  critical one because reviewers and funding
  agencies need to clearly understand the detail
  and process by which funds will be expended on a
  project and have confidence that the performance
  objectives will be achieved. Having good ideas is
  often the easiest part of grant writing. The
  hard part is translating those ideas into the
  day-to-day details of project operations,
  performance objectives, and deliverables, or the
  "product" produced with the agency's money. One
  good technique for making the transition from
  project ideas to project operations is to
  visualize the process in much the same way that
  many athletes visualize their event.

79
Collaborative Proposals

• Developing Collaborative Proposals in Science and
  Education
• (Mission, Craft Writing, Finding Funding)

80
Analysis of the RFP/Proposal Team

• Assemble proposal development team
• Partnerships/collaboratives are often more
  competitive
• Ensure team members bring something to the
  table
• Clearly define reasons for and nature of
  partnership
• State concise benefits of the partnership
• Review each team members relevance to the RFP
• Use RFP as road map to concept development
• Develop major concepts specific to each RFP item
• Develop global arguments specific to each RFP
  item
• Initial teaming process and brainstorming will
  not be linear
• Distill concepts and arguments into linear
  presentation
• Converge drafts and interactions to final text.

81
Partnerships Consortia

• Partnerships and consortia are the trend in
  funding, but they require
• More effort and longer lead time for proposal
  development
• Fiscal trust among the partners
• A true partnership in terms of equivalent
  commitment and effort
• Continuous communications among partners

82
NSF Science Education Partnerships

• Undergraduate Students
• http//www.nsf.gov/funding/education.jsp?fund_type
  1
• For K-12 Educators
• http//www.nsf.gov/funding/education.jsp?fund_type
  4
• Research in Undergraduate Institutions
• http//www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id55
  18fromfund

83
NSF Science Education Partnerships

• Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology
  http//www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/nsf05558/nsf05558.htm
  
• Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement
  http//www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/nsf05559/nsf05559.htm
  
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
  Talent Expansion Program
• http//www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/nsf05519/nsf05519.htm
  

84
Department of Education

• Unsolicited Applications Announcement
• http//www.ed.gov/programs/edresearch/unsolicited.
  html
• Department of Education Grant Awards Search
• http//wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/grantaward/start
  .cfm
• Gaining Early Awareness Readiness for
  Undergraduate Programs
• http//www.ed.gov/programs/gearup/index.html

85
NIH Bridges to Baccalaureate

• Each proposed Bridges program must consist of a
  partnership between at least two institutions.
• One must be an institution that offers the
  associate degree as the only undergraduate degree
  in the sciences within the participating
  departments AND has a significant enrollment of
  underrepresented minorities.
• Another partner must be a college or university
  offering the baccalaureate degree in areas
  relevant to the biomedical sciences.
• http//grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-0
  2-084.html

86
How To Conduct Electronic Searches For Research
Funding Opportunities

• How To Conduct Electronic Searches For Research
  Funding Opportunities
• (Mission, Craft Writing, Collaborations)

87
Finding Funding on the Internet

• Funding opportunities hotlink table
• Funding agencies hotlink table
• Email alert services
• Leverage the Web
• Google is your best friend

88
Research Funding Agencies on the Internet

• The Internet is the writer's best partner in
  developing a competitive proposal. It opens a
  portal to critical information on an agency's
  mission, objectives, and funding history.
  Competitiveness depends on both tactical and
  strategic decision making throughout the proposal
  development period. Competitive advantage
  represents an accumulation of many small
  advantages gained at decisions points throughout
  proposal development. Knowledge about an agency
  helps the writer make good decisions.
  Researching a funding agency--at the agency web
  site and linked sites where funded projects are
  in operation--allows the writer "to enter the
  mind of the agency" and understand its internal
  decision making process. That allows better
  internal decisions to be made as the proposal is
  written.

89
Agency Information from the Internet

• Organizational structure
• Programs
• Program managers
• Agency mission
• Strategic documents, studies, reports,
  publications, web links
• Information on funded projects, e.g., abstracts,
  principal investigators, progress reports,
  evaluation and assessment data
• Future directions in programs, funding, and
  objectives
• Agency budgeting categories

90
Email Alert Services

• Email Alert Services for Funding
  Opportunities--TAMUC Workshop.doc
• US NSF - MyNSF.pdf
• Weekly new document summary.eml
• NIH Guide LISTSERV_ Subscribe.pdf
• NIH GUIDE TOC - MARCH 4, 2005.eml
• EDInfo Home Page.pdf
• DoED Notices Inviting Applications (March 4,
  2005).eml
• US Dept_ of Education Grants Forecast FY 2005.htm
• Grants Posting System.htm
• Grants_gov Opportunities Posting Update.eml
• PND RFP Bulletin.htm

91
Leverage the Web

• The Fellowship Database at Cornell
• http//cuinfo.cornell.edu/Student/GRFN/
• Iowa State University
• http//www.vpresearch.iastate.edu/OSP/FundingOppor
  tunities.htmldeadline
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst
• http//www.umass.edu/research/ogca/funding/alert.h
  tml

92
Leverage the Web

• Duke Office of Research Support
• http//www.ors.duke.edu/find/
• University of Oregon Office of Research
• http//oregonstate.edu/research/osprc/preparation/
  alert.htm
• University of Vermont Research Funding
• http//www.uvm.edu/ospuvm/?PageFunding_Opportuni
  ties/fundingopsintro.htmlSMFunding_Opportunities
  /fundingmenu.html

93
Google is Your Best Friend

• http//www.google.com/
• http//www.yahoo.com/
• Search for research opportunities
• Backdoor/end run to subscription funding services
• http//carousel.lis.uiuc.edu/7Eiris/deadlines/all
  /
• Find funded programs, abstracts
• Find workshops, conferences, seminars
• Find reports, publications, project documents