Preparing the Executive Summary

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Preparing the Executive Summary

• Office of Proposal Development
• Phyllis McBride, Ph.D.
• June 18, 2008

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Review process

• Understand how the executive summary is used in
  the review process
• Remember that reviewers must generally evaluate
  numerous applications
• Realize that reviewers must generally conduct
  their evaluations fairly quickly
• Strive to make a good first impression

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Executive summary

• Realize that reviewers often rely heavily on
  executive summaries when conducting their
  evaluations
• Write clearly
• Grab the reviewers attention
• Generate enthusiasm for your proposed research
  project

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Executive summary

• Realize that the executive summary must fulfill
  several important functions
• Provide reviewers with a context for your
  proposed research
• Help reviewers understand your research topic
• Persuade reviewers of the need for your research
• Assure reviewers of your qualifications
• Assure reviewers of your access to appropriate
  resources
• Outline your research objectives
• Describe your expected outcomes
• Demonstrate the significance of your research

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Template

• Offers a useful approach
• Encourages you to think through your idea
• Use template when preparing first draft of
  summary
• Prompts you to cover all major points
• Use summary as a roadmap for proposal proper
• Remember that your funding agencys requirements
  always supercede the template guidelines
• Adjust template as needed

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First paragraph

• Introduce the project
• Relate your project to the funding agencys
  mission
• Educate the reviewer
• Summarize the important knowns
• Identify the gap in the knowledge and/or state
  the critical need
• Explain why the gap or need is problematic
• Present a way to solve the problem or fill the
  need

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Second paragraph

• Describe your long-range career goal
• Should support the agencys mission
• State your overall goal for the proposed project
• Should represent a step toward reaching your
  long-range goal
• Present your central hypothesis or statement of
  need
• If presenting a central hypothesis
• Present a real hypothesis, not a predetermined
  conclusion
• Explain your rationale
• Should explain what it will be possible to
  accomplish when your research is complete

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Third paragraph

• Delineate your objectives / specific aims
• Ensure that all objectives link back to and
  support your overall goal
• Provide a reasonable number of objectives
• Dont be under- or over-ambitious
• Present objectives in a logical order
• Define a specific purpose, hypothesis and/or
  need, and expected outcome for each objective
• Make sure each objective can stand alone
• Make sure no objective is dependent on the
  outcome of another objective

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Fourth paragraph

• Describe your qualifications
• Special training, expertise, and experience
• Quantity and quality of preliminary data
• Unique approach, technology
• Describe your research environment
• Access to unique equipment and resources
• Access to research subjects
• Collaborations and partnerships MALRC!

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Fifth paragraph

• Delineate your projects expected outcomes
• List specific deliverables
• Fill a gap in the knowledge base and/or meet a
  need
• Advance the field
• Provide an application
• Reiterate the projects innovation, significance,
  and impact
• Summarize your projects overall benefits

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Revisions

• Revise, revise, revise!
• Ask colleagues to review your executive summary
• Request feedback on scientific/technical issues
• Request feedback on grantsmanship
• Incorporate appropriate revisions
• Proofread the final draft carefully
• E-mail the final draft to your program manager
  well before you begin working on the rest of your
  proposal
• To confirm that you are targeting the right
  program
• To obtain suggestions on how to improve proposed
  project and proposal

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Questions?