Developing a Plan of Action

1
Developing a Plan of Action

• Dr. Jan Dorman
• University of Pittsburgh
• School of Nursing
• jsd_at_pitt.edu

2
Why Write a Grant?

• Grants provide you with resources needed to
  complete a major project that interests you
• Grants allow you to set your own career goals and
  increase your autonomy
• Grants help you achieve recognition and enhance
  your professional reputation
• Grants generate resources for graduate students

3
Why Write a Grant?

• Grants offer salary support and potentially
  release time
• Grants fund personnel, equipment and travel
• Grants can be used to support conferences
• Grants may be required for tenure
• Grants provide prestige to you and your school

4
What Type of Grants?

• Project grants
• Research
• Conferences
• Books
• Career development grants
• Fellowships
• K awards
• Institutional Training Grants

5
Need an Idea that FITS

• Fills a gap in knowledge
• Important
• To you and long-term career path
• To your institution
• To the field
• To the funding agency
• To the reviewers
• Tests a hypothesis
• Short-term investment leads to long-term gain
• Impact
• Sustainability

6
Ideas May Come From

• Clinical experience
• Literature
• Presentations at professional meetings
• Discussions with colleagues
• Funded investigators
• Emerging health-related issues
• Solicited reports (e.g. IOM)
• Current agency priorities
• NIH-sponsored conferences

7
Current Hot Topics

• Community-based participatory research
• Interdisciplinary initiatives
• Underserved populations
• Technology
• Translational research
• Biobehavioral science
• Genomics
• Patient safety

8
NINR Program Areas

• Health promotion and disease prevention
• Managing symptoms in acute and chronic illness
• Self-management in health and illness
• Caregiving
• Health disparities
• End of life/palliative care

9
CRISP

• Information on grants and programs funded by HHS
• Search database to see what has been funded that
  relates to your topic
• Can obtain copy of the proposal
• Contact PI
• Contact NIH Freedom of Information Office
  Coordinator

10
(No Transcript)
11
Communicate Intent

• To mentor/advisor/department chair
• To Research Administration
• To program staff from the funding agency
• Do homework first!

12
Before You Start Writing

• Conduct comprehensive literature review
• Your question should be based on gaps in the
  literature
• Why is your research compelling, necessary,
  timely, significant?
• What are your goals and outcomes?
• Brainstorm with colleagues
• Identify Co-investigators and a statistician
• Consider theoretical frameworks

13
Before You Start Writing

• Draft your Specific Aims
• All proposals require a narrative
• Read funded proposals
• Develop an outline
• Consider developing a presentation of your
  proposal
• Consider publishing your narrative (after your
  grant is submitted!)
• Do you need pilot data?

14
Before You Start Writing

• Develop study design and methods
• Identify study population
• Determine
• How your project will be conducted
• Recruitment needs
• Data to be collected to address your question
• Resources will be required
• If your environment is appropriate
• Do you need community support?
• Develop timeline
• Talk with a statistician

15
Before You Start Writing

• Carefully read grant guidelines and review
  criteria
• Determine whether you are eligible to apply NIH
  says
• Any individual with the skills, knowledge and
  resources necessary to carry out the proposed
  research is invited to work with their
  institution to develop an application for
  support.
• Additional qualifications depend on the funding
  agency and mechanism

16
Before You Start Writing

• Talk with your colleagues and mentors
• You will want them to review your proposal
• Include people who do and do not know the area
• Visit your Universitys Office of Research
  Website
• Make an appointment with your schools research
  administrators

17
Before You Start Writing

• Do you have institutional support?
• Do you have the needed infrastructure?
• When are applications due?
• Can you apply later?
• When are they reviewed?
• Are there budgetary restrictions?
• When do you need the money?
• How much money do you anticipate needing?

Key Question GO/NO GO?
18
Rules to Follow If Its a Go
19
Rule 1

• Get Started Early!

20
Rule 1

• Establish benchmarks and deadlines
• Start 3 months before its due
• Are internal reviews are needed?
• Is the submission electronic?
• Register with agency weeks in advance
• Need 10 extra days
• Allow time for feedback
• Dont be defensive

21
Rule 2

• Read the
• Instructions!

22
Rule 2

• Follow instructions exactly!
• If not, application may be returned
• Use Appendices wisely
• Dont put anything in an Appendix that the
  reviewer needs to read
• Check key websites frequently
• Make contact with agency as needed

23
Rule 3

• Make It Easy
• For the Reviewers

24
Rule 3

• Write from the reviewers perspective
• Assume that they are NOT experts
• Make it EASY for the reviewers
• Let there be white!
• Clarity is key avoid detours
• Use subheadings, tables, figures

25
Rule 3

• Keep it simple, focused and interesting to
  reviewers and funding agency
• Identify potential problems /limitations
• Address them in the proposal
• Talk up strengths
• Say its significant because

26
Rule 4

• Play It Straight!

27
Rule 4

• Dont pad biosketches
• Do not list conference presentations or book
  chapters if youre applying to NIH
• Dont over- or under-estimate the budget
• NIH has 2 tier review
• Toot your horn but dont deafen the reviewers!
• Grants are awarded to your institution, not you!

28
Rule 5

• Dont Work in
• A Vacuum!

29
Rule 5

• Lots of resources on the web
• Meet with collaborators early and often
• Update internal and external staff frequently
• Get feedback from colleagues
• Senior investigators, non-experts

30
(No Transcript)
31
(No Transcript)
32
(No Transcript)
33
(No Transcript)
34
(No Transcript)
35
Additional Things to Consider

• Take additional grant writing courses
• Read books
• Gerin W. Writing the NIH Grant Proposal, Sage
  Publications, 2006
• Ogden TE and Goldberg IA. Research Proposals A
  Guide to Success. Academic Press. 2002.
• Reif-Lehrer L. Grant Application Writers
  Handbook. Jones and Bartlett, 2005.
• Take a course in accounting
• Write (or help write) lots of grants!

36
Rule 6

• Dont Give Up!