Grant Writing

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Grant Writing

• An Overview

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What is a grant?

• A grant is a mechanism by which an agency awards
  money to fund a research study or other activity,
  such as an educational program, service program,
  demonstration, or research project.
• Gitlin, Laura N., Kevin J. Lyons. Successful
  Grant Writing Strategies for Health and Human
  Service Professionals. 2nd ed. (2004).p.xi

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Why apply for a grant?

• Advance scientific knowledge in your field AND
  advance your professional career
• A grant means that experts in the field
  acknowledge your idea as important and worthy of
  public or private support.
• A grant means an enhanced prestige of your
  institution.
• A grant means a contribution to the financial
  health of your department, school or agency
• A grant means new opportunities for your research
  assistants.
• A grant means a new program that otherwise can be
  too expensive for your institution to support and
  implement
• (Gitlin Lyons, 2004)

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Why start now?

• Grant writing is an important part of your
  professional growth strategy. It should become a
  long-range plan for your professional growth and
  development
• Build individual credentials
• Build a track record of funding
• Work on teams with more experienced researchers
• Develop a plan for long-range, personal
  development
• (Gitlin Lyons, 2004)

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How do I get a grant?
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Funding your interest the interests of a
funding agency
Photo by Anne Hornyak

• No matter how good your idea and how
  well-written your proposal, if the agency to
  which you are applying is not interested in your
  project, you will not be funded!
• Rief-Lehrer, Liane. Grant Application Writers
  Handbook.
• 4th ed. (2005)

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Federal Government

• The majority of grants are received through the
  federal agencies.
• The Public Health Service within the Department
  of Health and Human Services and the
  U.S.Department of Education have a variety of
  programs of potential interest to the health
  professionals.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an agency
  of DHHS.

photo by Shubert
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Private Foundations

• 700,000 U.S. foundations offer grants to
  individuals, institutions, or other non-profit
  groups.
• Generally only independent foundations and
  community foundations provide grants to
  independent investigators.

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Corporations

• Large corporations are interested in the testing
  or evaluation of their own products. The private
  sector is a potential source of funding.
• Corporations provide grants for research projects
  that advance the interests of the company.

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In this tutorial, well be focusing on federal
grants.
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National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• The Federal focal point for medical research in
  the United States.
• NIH is comprised of 27 separate components
  (Institutes and Centers)

• The majority of NIH funding is distributed in the
  form of grants.
• To fulfill its mission, NIH
• Supports the research of non-Federal scientists
  in universities, medical schools, hospitals, and
  research institutions in the United States and
  abroad
• (Reif-Lehrer, 211)

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Mission of NIH

• Understanding what research NIH funds and why it
  does so can help you focus your application.
• NIH's mission is to create fundamental knowledge
  about living systems and apply that knowledge to
  reduce human illness and disability.

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NIH Agencys Mission

• Your project should meet the mission of the
  institute or agency likely to fund it.
• For example As one of NIH's 27 semi-autonomous
  institutes, National Institute of Allergy and
  Infectious Diseases (NIAID) supports basic and
  applied research to understand, treat, and
  prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic
  diseases.

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NIH Institutes and Centers

• http//www.nih.gov/icd/index.html

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Glossary of NIH Terms

• IC - Institutes and Centers
• PI - Principle Investigator (an individual, a
  recipient of the grant)
• PA - Program Announcement
• RFA - Request for Applications
• FOA - Funding Opportunity Announcement (PA or
  RFA)
• CSR - Center for Scientific Review
• For a complete list of terms and abbreviations
  click here

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What are the types of projects that receive
funding?

• Projects of High Scientific Caliber
• NIH looks for grant proposals of high scientific
  caliber that are relevant to public health needs
  and are within NIH Institute and Center (IC)
  priorities. ICs highlight their research
  priorities on their Web sites.

• Investigator-Initiated Research
• NIH strongly encourages investigator-initiated
  research across the spectrum of their mission.
  They issue hundred of FOAs in the form of PAs and
  RFAs to stimulate research in particular areas of
  science.

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What are Parent Announcements?

• Parent Announcements are requests for
  investigator-initiated, unsolicited research
  grant applications that do not fall within the
  scope of targeted announcements.
• The majority of NIH applications are submitted in
  response to parent announcements.
• Parent Announcements are also used for conference
  and scientific meetings grants

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Uniqueness

• By law, NIH cannot support a project already
  funded or pay for research that has already been
  done.

Photo by Knokton
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Types of NIH Grants

• NIH grants are grouped into Series, all of
  which are grouped according to the type of
  research being conducted.
• Research Grants (R series)
• Career Development Awards (K series)
• Research Training and Fellowships (T F series)
• Program Project/Center Grants (P series)
• Resource Grants (various series)
• Trans-NIH Programs

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Understanding Grant Process
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Understanding Grant Process
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Understanding Grant Process
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Priority Scores

• The lowest scores indicate the highest level
  of merit.

• 100-150 Outstanding
• 150-200 Excellent
• 200-250 Very Good
• 250-350 Good
• 350-500 Acceptable

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Competition

• The NIH receives thousands of applications for
  each application receipt round. Funding on the
  first attempt is difficult, but not impossible.

Photo by Marc Soller
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Planning

• Develop your ideas for funding
• An idea must fit with your long term career
  interests, as well as the interests of a funding
  source
• Examine these seven sources
• Clinical or professional experience
• Professional literature
• Communications with colleagues and funded
  investigators
• Social trends
• Legislative initiatives
• Public documents
• Goals and priorities of funding agencies
• (Gitlin, 59)

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Even the best idea will not be funded unless it
matches the interest of a funding agency.
Competitive ideas must reflect both contemporary
thought in a field and the interests of an agency
(Gitlin, 66)
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More Planning

• Learn about your institution
• Knowing your institutions policies early in the
  proposal development will help you expedite the
  process, prepare a budget, and complete the
  application.
• If your research proposal involves human
  subjects, plan ahead for its approval by your
  Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to
  conducting any type of research.
• (Gitlin, 69)

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Searching for Grants

• Determine what type of grant you will be using
  and which IC is most appropriate to fund this
  type of research
• Search for the proper FOA through grants.gov
• Once you have identified the FOA, read the FOA in
  detail, read the instructions carefully and
  follow the instructions exactly
• Finding and Applying for
  NIH Grants. SJM Family Foundation, Inc., 2008.
  p.21

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Search Exercise
Click here
Take 5 minutes to search for a grant on the
www.grants.gov web site. Suggested topic
obesity and diabetes in children
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Writing

• Be prepared to write, rewrite, and rewrite.
• Writing takes time plan a working schedule.
• A well-written proposal should be clear, focused
  and precise.
• A poorly written proposal has the potential to
  limit the chances of having a competitive idea
  funded.
• (Gitlin, 149)

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Tips for Grant Writing

• Follow an outline
• Prepare figures, tables, and images before you
  write your proposal
• Be accurate
• Be clear consistent
• Use words correctly

• Use sentences of 17 to 23 words
• Start paragraphs with clear, informative topic
  sentences
• Think about style
• Know when to avoid highly technical language
• (Reif-Lehrer
  ,137-145)

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Submitting an Application

• Applications are submitted electronically.
• NIH expects applications to be submitted on-time.
• Electronic submission involves two separate
  systems working together Grants.gov and eRA
  Commons.
• Grants.gov requires a one-time registration by
  the applicant organization. The applicant
  organization and the Principle Investigator (PI)
  must also complete a one-time registration in the
  eRA Commons.
• (NIH Guide to Writing a Grant, 20.)

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Strategies for Novice Grant Writers

• Identify a research area
• Start a comprehensive literature review
• Develop a presentation at the professional
  meeting
• Write an article and submit to a smaller, local
  or state journal.
• Contact a publisher in your field and offer to
  review books
• Get experience in conducting research
• Seek out funding for a small project first
• Collaborate with experienced researches
• (Gitlin, 17)

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Understanding the NIH Review Process

• Evaluative Criteria
• Significance
• Approach
• Innovation
• Investigator
• Environment
• Click here to view a video on Peer Review at NIH
• (39 minutes)
• This video is recommended but not required
  for a completion of the tutorial.

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Recommended Resources

• Grants and Funding BU Medical Library subject
  guide
• Gitlin, Laura N., Kevin J. Lyons. Successful
  Grant Writing Strategies for Health and Human
  Service Professionals. 2nd ed. (2004).
• Rief-Lehrer, Liane. Grant Application Writers
  Handbook.
• 4th ed. (2005)
• Finding and Applying for NIH Grants. SJM Family
  Foundation, Inc., 2008.
• Grant Process Overview - from Office of
  Extramural Research, NIH

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Questions?

• Please contact your section instructor
• http//courseinfo.bu.edu/courses/09sprggmsms640_a1
  /
• Thank you!