Strategic Planning for Grant Funding NRSA F32

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Strategic Planning for Grant Funding - NRSA (F32)
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• Janet Gross, Ph.D.
• Grants Tutorial Director
• Office of Postdoctoral Education

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• What is the
• Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award
  (NRSA F32)?

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NRSA F32 Mission

• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards
  individual postdoctoral research training
  fellowships to promising applicants with the
  potential to become productive, independent
  investigators in research fields relevant to the
  missions of participating NIH Institutes and
  Centers.
• The primary objective of this funding opportunity
  is to help ensure that diverse pools of highly
  trained scientists will be available in adequate
  numbers and in appropriate research areas to
  carry out the Nations biomedical, behavioral and
  clinical research agendas.

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Why Should I Apply for This Grant?

• Stepping stone for an academic career
• Build a track record of fundable research
• NRSA v. other grant opportunities
• v. prestige
• Small, competitive awards v. no award

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• NIH Awards the NRSA
• There are other vehicles for
• Training Awards
• Career Development Awards
• Fellowship grants

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• Application,
• Guidelines and
• Funding Information
• for the NRSA

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NRSA Program Announcement PA-07-107

• 416-1 Fillable Forms and Instructions
• http//grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/416/phs416.ht
  m
• Last paper submission Dec 8, 2008
• Online submission April 8, 2009

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• Important Grant Application Considerations

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Eligibility Issues for the NRSA

• Program Announcement PA-07-107
• Citizenship
• at least permanent resident
• years of previous postdoctoral training
• Previous and current funding situation
• combined postdoctoral T32 F32 cannot exceed 3
  years

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Basics

• DUNS number
• Funding dates
• Award cycles
• Stipend levels and payback requirements
• Payback any academic, scientific, teaching work

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How Do I Learn About Matching My Interests and
the Funders?

• NIH websites offer excellent guidance for early
  career funding
• Is there a match between your interests and the
  agencys mission?
• Find I/C Contact List - get pre-application advice

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Useful Training Websites

• NIDA Training Information Site
• http//www.nida.nih.gov/ResearchTraining/Trainingh
  ome.html
• NINDS Training Information Site
• http//www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/training_an
  d_career_development/index.htm
• NIH Grant Review Process - Video
• http//www.drg.nih.gov/Video/Video.asp

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Grant Writing Strategies

• Review a successful proposal - do not be naïve
• Make contact with the funder - is your science
  fundable?
• Find a coach or coach yourself
• Collect tips and hints
• Develop a strategic plan for your proposal
• Use a timeline to write - time management
  priorities
• Have confidence in your research and writing plan
• Arms Length approach to reading your own work
• Get others to read and critique your work

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Contact with the NIH?

• http//grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-07-
  107.html
• Section VII. Agency Contacts
• Each NIH Institute and Center has a unique
  scientific purview and different program goals
  and initiatives that evolve over time. Prior to
  preparing an application, it is critical that all
  applicants consult the appropriate Institute
  website (listed with each Institute's name at the
  beginning of this announcement) for details of
  research areas supported by that Institute.
• Applicants should also contact the appropriate
  Institute representative to obtain current
  information about specific program priorities and
  policies. This action is of utmost importance
  because applications with marginal or no
  relevance to the participating Institutes will
  not be accepted for review or possible funding.
  .....

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Contact with the NIH?

• Scientific/Research Contacts Applicants should
  refer to the (http//grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/c
  ontacts/pa-07-107_contacts.htm) for information
  for each I/C scientific/research contact for this
  NRSA F32 program.
• Pay special attention to Institute/Center
  Specific Information if the I/C has this noted.

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• NRSA
• Application
• Nuts and Bolts

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The NRSA PHS 416-1 Application

• Section 1 - Applicant (numbered items indicate
  Form Pages)
• Cover Letter
• Face Page
• Contact Information and Description
• Goals, Activities Planned, Training Sites
• Table of Contents
• Biographical Sketch - Applicant/Fellow
• Previous Research Experience
• Research Training Plan
• Checklist A, C, and D
• Personal Data Page

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The Application

• Section 2 - Sponsors/Co-Sponsors Information
• Biographical Sketch-Sponsor, Co-sponsor
• Sponsor and Co-Sponsors Information
• Research Support Available
• Previous Trainees
• Training Plan, Environment, Research Facilities
• Number of Fellows/Trainees to be Supervised
• Applicants Qualifications and Potential

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The Application

• Section 3 - References
• Appendix
• 5 copies of CD

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• Use
• Effective Grant Writing
• Strategies

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Research Career Trajectory

• In the proposal, you must remind the reader that
  you are on track to become an independent
  scientist
• NRSA funding for training development not
  just funding research

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This is a person on the path to becoming an
independent researcher

• Biographical Sketch (follow format - 4 pg max.)
• Form Page 5, item 27.
• Doctoral Dissertation and Other Research
  Experience (2 pages max.)
• Can you create linkages in the readers mind?
  Tell your story. Use of 1st person is ok.

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Organization is Essential!

• Choose an outlining style
• CAPS, bold, italic, underlining, etc.
• Be consistent throughout - parallel formatting
  for each Specific Aim and for each Experiment
• Refer to your Specific Aims in your Preliminary
  Studies
• Refer to your Preliminary Studies in your
  Research Design and Methods
• Refer to your training potential throughout

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Timeline
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You will be rewarded if youDO

• Read all directions
• Follow all guidelines
• Make yourself a personal to do list check
  list
• Pace yourself - Cramming is a killer!
• Get feedback

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Important, Unforgivable DONTS

• Dont exceed the page limit
• Dont use the wrong font, pagination, spacing
• Dont skip any sections
• Dont think This section couldnt possibly be
  important/necessary/essential...
• Dont do this solo

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COMMON MISTAKES

• Scope
• Overly ambitious
• Too unfocused or too broad
• Resources not adequately explained
• Lab does not have established techniques, models
  related to your training and research goals
• Insufficient collaborative support or supervision
• Sponsors experience is insufficient

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COMMON MISTAKES

• Experimental Design
• Hypothesis is ill-defined, lacking, faulty,
  diffuse
• Methodology is questionable, unsuited or flawed
• Data collection procedures are not clear
• Time line is unclear or overly ambitious
• Data management plan is unclear or absent
• Will the analytic techniques yield the
  anticipated outcomes?

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COMMON MISTAKES

• Training Plan
• Lacks cohesiveness
• Is too brief generic not personalized
• Doesnt include future research or mentored career

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What if I dont get funded?
Reapply if your training potential is still good
or Work on your
publications and apply for another type of grant
where you will be more competitive
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What if Im not eligible/competitive for the NRSA

• Seek other funding opportunities
• Many private foundations do not have citizenship
  restrictions
• Disease-specific organizations
• MDA, AHA, ACS, Colitis and Crohns
• Department of Defense - ALS research
• NSF

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How do I look for other opportunities?

• Community of Science - Woodruff Library
• Foundation Directory - online database
• Science
• Searchable database GrantsNet
• http//sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/funding
• http//sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_develo
  pment/tools_resources/how_to_guides/how_to_get_fun
  ding

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What Should I Be Doing Now?With 2 months to go

• Find copy of a successful proposal
• Start NRSA notebook -obtain all necessary forms
  and information start on forms Print out forms
• Proofread from paper not the computer screen
• Participate in regular, ACTIVE discussions with
  mentor
• Formulate RESEARCH TRAINING PLAN - draft an
  outline with all required sections
• Identify individuals who can provide REFERENCES
• Learn your departments procedure for OSP
  processing, etc. There are many levels of
  bureaucracy.

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What Should I Be Doing Now?With 1 month to go

• Write/Revise full-length drafts of your proposal
• Complete information on Form Pages
• Check on your REFERENCES - be clear on due date
• Circulate your proposal for critique and review
• Review Sponsor section with your Sponsor
• Start ordering the final pages of the proposal in
  a folder
• Create final pages of Appendix produce CD