Overview of workshop by

1
Overview of workshop by

• Mike Cronan, Office of Proposal Development,
  Texas AM University Office of Vice Chancellor
  for Research Federal Relations
• Lucy Deckard, Office of Proposal Development,
  Texas AM University

2
Breakout session moderators

• Earth, environmental related physical sciences
• Jean Ann Bowman, PhD, OPD, Texas AM
• Social and behavioral sciences education
• Robyn Pearson, OPD, Texas AM
• Health and Biomedical Sciences
• Susan Maier, PhD, OPD, Texas AM/HSC
• Research Educational Partnerships
• Mike Cronan, PE, OPD, Texas AM/System VCRFR
• Engineering Engineering Technology
• Jorja Kimball, SRD, TEES

3
Overview of workshop

• Overview of breakout topics
• Competitive by geography, demographics, etc.
• System wide research connectivity
• Selection of topics
• Objectives of topic discussions
• Panels and panelist role in breakouts
• Participant role in breakouts
• Research specific to topic, tier 1 breakout
  discussion
• Research intersections across topics, tier 2
  group
• Identification of tire 1, tier 2 activities
• Identification of sustaining activities, group

4
Presentation topics

• Generic competitive proposal writing strategies
• Identifying external funding
• Analyzing the funding agency
• Reading the proposal solicitation
• Understanding the review process
• Craft of Proposal Writing

5
Looking For Funding Opportunities
6
Six major funders for TAMU-System
7
Ways to Find Funding

• Talk to colleagues doing similar research
• Look for funding sources credited in books and
  journal articles describing similar research
• Use the web and other information resources

8
Unsolicited vs. Solicited Proposals

• Unsolicited
• Investigator-initiated no specific solicitation
  or RFP
• Typically long-running program relatively
  general statement of research topics of interest
• For NSF and NIH, recurring due dates or target
  dates each year
• Common for foundations
• Rare for Mission Agencies (DOE, USDA)

9
Unsolicited vs. Solicited Proposals

• Solicited
• Terminology
• Request for Proposal (RFP)
• Program Solicitation
• Request for Application (RFA)
• For NIH, Program Announcement (PA)
• Tied to specific agency initiative
• May only last a few funding cycles or may go on
  for years
• Have specific additional evaluation criteria
• Often have specific formatting requirements

10
Information on the Internet

• Funding Agency websites
• Compilations of funding opportunities
• Automatic e-mail notifications services
• Database services
• Google is your best friend

11
Funding opportunities search criteria

• Define disciplinary domain of interest
• Characterize the nature of the research (basic,
  applied, applications)
• Identify a subset of funding agencies whose
  mission, strategic plan, and investment
  priorities are aligned with these specific
  research interests.

12
Refining the funding search

• Identify research opportunities with regular
  grant cycles within a particular agency
• Identify new research opportunities and
  investment directions at funding agencies
• Expand the base of potential research funding
  sources.

13
Funding Agencies Hotlinks Table

• Funding Agencies Hotlink Table.doc
• Federal Grant Making Agencies.doc
• Notes about agency web sites
• First place funding opportunities will show up
• Pages with funding opportunities can be buried
  when you find a good one, make a note of the url
• Look for unsolicited proposal opportunities
• Look for additional info on opportunities

14
Compendia of Funding Opportunties

• All Federal Funding Opportunities
• http//www.fedgrants.gov/Applicants/index.html
• Foundations
• http//fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/index.jhtml
• University grants office websites
• Iowa State
• http//www.vpresearch.iastate.edu/OSP/FundingOppor
  tunities.html
• http//www.vpresearch.iastate.edu/OSP/Maillogs.htm
  l
• Duke University http//www.ors.duke.edu/find
• University of Iowa http//research.uiowa.edu/dsp/m
  ain/?getfundingoppsqaction

15
Fedgrants.gov

• One of the best portals to funding opportunities
• Tabular listing current funding opportunities and
  URLs for 45 research funding agencies (see
  following slide)
• FedGrants
• http//www.fedgrants.gov/Applicants/index.html
• FedGrants Grants Synopsis Search
• http//www.fedgrants.gov/grants/servlet/SearchServ
  let/
• FedGrants Notification Service
• http//www.fedgrants.gov/ApplicantRegistration.htm
  l

16
University Grants Websites (contd)

• Cornell http//www.osp.cornell.edu/Funding/
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst
  http//www.umass.edu/research/ogca/funding/
• University of Oregon http//rfd.uoregon.edu/fundin
  g/government.htm
• University of Vermont Research Funding
• http//www.uvm.edu/ospuvm/?PageFunding_Opportuni
  ties/Funding_Highlights/fh.htm

17
Email Alert Services

• Email Alert Services for Funding
  Opportunities.doc
• NSF
• http//www.nsf.gov/mynsf/
• NIH Guide LISTSERV_
• http//grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/listserv.htm
• Dept. of Education
• http//listserv.ed.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A1ind05Ledinf
  o
• http//www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/edinfo/index.ht
  ml
• Federal Grants
• http//fedgrants.gov/ApplicantRegistration.html
• Foundations
• http//fdncenter.org/newsletters/
• NASA
• http//research.hq.nasa.gov/subs.cfm

18
Grants.gov

• Home page http//www.grants.gov
• To receive automated funding alerts tailored to
  your research interests, visit http//www.grants.g
  ov/Findreceive.
• Select one of four automated funding alert
  options Selected Notices Based on Funding
  Opportunity Number, Selected Agencies and
  Categories of Funding Activities, Selected
  Interest and Eligibility Groups, or All Grants
  Notices.
• Click on the link for the option that best suits
  your needs, enter the required information, and
  click on the Submit to Mailing List button.

19
Google is Your Best Friend

• http//www.google.com/
• Find funded programs, abstracts
• Find workshops, conferences, seminars
• Find reports, publications, project documents
• To search within a site, type keywords siteurl
  of site
• E.g., preservation languages sitewww.nsf.gov

20
Ways to Improve Your Success in Finding Funding

• Get to know most likely funding agencies
• Mission, vision
• Funding mechanisms
• Recurring funding opportunities
• More on this later
• Check funding opportunities regularly
• Fine-tune search parameters for subscription
  databases
• Learn how to quickly evaluate a potential funding
  opportunity (more later)
• Keep a list of funding agencies, funding
  opportunities with urls (e.g., MS Word table with
  hotlinks)

21
Backgrounding an agency and evaluating a
potential funding opportunity
22
Funding Agency Culture Mission What type of
Agency is It?

• Basic Research Agency (NSF, NIH)
• Independent agency management
• 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
• Mission Oriented Agency (DOE, ED, NASA, USDA,
  etc.)
• RD serves agency goals but reflects governmental
  policy
• Awards based on merit but also other factors
  (geography, etc.)
• Predominately internal review by program officers
• Intramural and extramural research
• Foundations, Professional Organizations (Kellogg,
  APS)
• Specific purpose based on founders vision or
  organization goals
• May be highly idiosyncratic

23
Backgrounding the Funding AgencyQuestions to Ask

• What are its mission and goals?
• What are its investment priorities, strategic
  plan?
• What time horizon are they aiming for?
• How do they get their funding?
• What procedures do they use to notify the
  community of funding opportunities?
• Who influences their planning and goals?
• What language do they use?

24
Backgrounding Funding AgencyQuestions to Ask

• What is their culture like?
• What procedures do they use to review proposals
  and make funding decisions?
• What are their review criteria?
• How are they organized?
• Who are the personnel and what is their
  background?
• What have they funded in the past?
• What is their budget?

25
Backgrounding the Funding AgencySources of
Information

• Web site
• Solicitation
• Organization Chart
• Strategic Plan/ Roadmap
• Bios of Program Officers
• Reports, Publications
• Contacts with Program Officers (visits,
  conferences, phone and e-mail conversations)
• Agency workshops and seminars

• Leadership Speeches
• Congressional Testimony
• Current Funded Projects Databases
• Project Abstracts
• Contacts with Funded Researchers
• Contacts with former Program Officers
• Contacts with former Reviewers

26
Funding Agency Investment PrioritiesExamples

• National Science Foundation
• Strategic Plan 2003-08 (http//www.nsf.gov/od/gpra
  /Strategic_Plan/FY2003-2008.pdf)
• 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/)

27
Funding Agency PrioritiesExamples

• Department of Education
• Dept of Ed Strategic Plan http//www.ed.gov/about/
  reports/strat/plan2002-07/index.html
• Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
  Services
• Mission Statement, Strategic Plan and Goals
  http//www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/aboutus
  .html
• Reports and resources http//www.ed.gov/about/offi
  ces/list/osers/reports.html

28
Funded Projects Databases

• NSF Award Search Site (abstracts of awards
  available) http//www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/index.js
  p
• NIH Award Search Site (abstracts of awards
  available) http//crisp.cit.nih.gov/crisp/crisp_qu
  ery.generate_screenhttp//crisp.cit.nih.gov/ DoD
• SBIR/STTR Search http//www.dodsbir.net/Awards/Def
  ault.asp
• NEH Awards Search http//www.neh.gov/news/recentaw
  ards.html
• USDA Awards information and Forms
  http//cris.csrees.usda.gov/
• US Dept. of Education Awards Search (limited)
  http//wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/grantaward/start
  .cfm

29
Reading the Solicitation

• Read and re-read the solicitation!
• The solicitation is not a list of suggestions it
  is a list of requirements
• It is a window into the thinking of the funding
  agency

30
Things to Look for in the Solicitation

• Purpose of the program
• Research topics of interest
• Changes from previous programs
• Inspiration for program and references
• Program requirements
• Proposal requirements
• Budget guidelines
• Review criteria
• If you are pursuing an unsolicited
  opportunity, you will have to find these things
  out using other available information sources

31
Review Criteria

• Most important part of solicitation!
• Plan how you will meet each review criterion
• Structure your proposal outline to reflect review
  criteria
• If you are weak in an area, plan how you will
  address this

32
Review Process

• Could be
• Standing review committee
• Ad hoc panel
• Ad hoc mail reviews
• Internal review
• Combination
• Who will be your reviewers and what is their
  background?

33
Unspoken Expectations

• Qualifications and experience of PI(s)
• Infrastructure provided by PIs institution
• Preliminary data
• Very important!
• Varies greatly depending on agency, discipline,
  etc.
• Info sources
• Previous awardees
• Previous reviewers
• Program officers and previous program officers

34
Talking to the Program Officer

• Do your homework first
• Read solicitation carefully
• Read background documents
• Investigate previously funded projects
• Prepare a concise description of your project
• Goals, objectives, outcomes
• One short paragraph
• Try e-mail and phone
• If possible, use e-mail to set up phone
  conversation
• Ask open-ended questions and listen carefully

35
Talking to Previous Awardees

• Most previous awardees very generous (unless they
  will be competing with you for renewal)
• Ask about program reviews, feedback from program
  officer
• Be aware that programs may evolve and criteria
  change
• Previous awardees often also reviewers
• May make sense to cite results of previous
  awardee or forge a connection with previously
  funded programs

36
Preparing to Write

• Research agency
• Research program
• Develop detailed outline
• Research literature and previous work
• Generate preliminary data, if needed
• Develop collaborations, partnerships, support, if
  needed
• Line up institutional support, if needed
• Line up colleagues to edit your outline and
  proposal
• Generate schedule for producing your proposal

37
Collaborations/Partnerships

• Work on these before you start writing
• Be clear about roles of collaborators and
  partners
• Establish split of resources
• Be sure collaborators and partners get something
  out of participating in the project
• If you need a letter of collaboration, offer to
  write a draft for your collaborator to edit
• Include specifics on what they will do and
  support they will provide
• Explain who the collaborator is and their
  motivation

38
Writing the Proposal
39
Introductory writing tips

• Summary and introduction are key
• May be all reviewers read
• Must excite and grab the attention
• 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

40
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
  research
• Proposals are not journal articlesproposals must
  be user-friendly and offer a narrative that tells
  a story that is memorable to reviewers

41
Following agency guidelines

• Read solicitation and/or proposal guide carefully
  for formatting requirements and follow
  scrupulously
• Font and font size
• Page limits
• Biosketch formats
• Citation format
• Avoids disqualification of your proposal
• Avoids irritating reviewers

42
Make your proposal easy to read

• Reviewers often have 8 or 10 proposals to read
• Use white space, underlining, bold, bullets,
  figures, flowcharts to make main points easy to
  find
• Put main idea of sections and paragraphs up front

43
Must Convince Reviewers

• Your proposed research should be funded
• Its important and supports the agency mission
  and program goals
• Its exciting
• It has a good chance of succeeding
• You are the person who should conduct the
  proposed research
• You are knowledgeable and well-qualified
• You have the support and resources required

44
Structure of Proposal

• Often dictated by solicitation or other agency
  document
• NSF Grant Proposal Guide
• NIH PHS 398
• DoD Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)
• Also guided by evaluation criteria
• ED often assigns points for each criterion

45
Proposal Sections Examples

• Project Summary
• Project Description/Research Narrative
• Goals/Objectives/Specific Aims
• Introduction/Overview
• Background and Significance
• Approach/Methodology
• Research Plan
• Preliminary Data
• Broader Impacts (NSF)
• Literature Cited
• Budget
• Budget Justification
• Biosketches
• Funded Projects
• Equipment and Facilities

46
Summary

• May be the only thing the reviewer reads
• Must grab the reviewer
• Should communicate concisely
• Intellectual framework of proposed project
• The goals and signficance of the proposed project
• Who will be conducting the project and, briefly,
  their qualifications
• Project outcomes
• Must communicate excitement
• Check for additional requirements
• E.g., intellectual merit and broader impacts in
  NSF proposals
• Project name, category, etc.

47
Goals/Specific Aims

• State specific, measurable goals of your project
• Tie to program/agency mission and goals
• If hypothesis-based research, state your
  hypothesis
• Discuss expected outcomes

48
Introduction/Overview

• Provides a framework for the reviewer
• Remainder of proposal will flesh out this
  framework
• Opportunity to make important points up front
• Communicate your excitement!

49
Background/Literature Review

• Spend some time researching this
• This section should tie closely to your proposed
  research
• What are the holes in current knowledge that your
  work will fill?
• How does your research extend and advance
  knowledge in the field?
• Do not be dismissive of previous research
• Be thorough in citing important work but be
  concise

50
Significance

• Explain explicitly why proposed research is
  important
• Tie to agency and program goals
• Relate to review criteria
• Make this easy to find

51
Preliminary Data/Previous Work

• Be aware of expectations regarding amount of
  preliminary data
• Varies by agency
• Varies by program
• Varies by discipline
• Higher risk projects may require more preliminary
  data
• Discussion of preliminary data must connect
  clearly to proposed project

52
Approach/Research Plan/Methodology

• Be very clear about how you will accomplish your
  stated goals and objectives
• Include details
• What, specifically, will you do when you get the
  money?
• Schedules and milestones may be helpful
• This is especially important if you are a
  relatively new researcher
• Address any potential dead ends, roadblocks,
  show-stoppers and how you will deal with them
• Avoid ambiguous terminology be very specific!

53
Connect narrative text to budget

• Budget categories are defined by the funding
  agency
• Be sure activities discussed in narrative are
  reflected in budget
• Connect narrative text to the budget to ensure
  appropriate balance and proportion,
• If a budget justification section is requested,
  use it to complement and deepen the narrative
  detail

54
Beware of Boiler Plate

• Thinking of proposal narrative as boiler plate
  will result in a mediocre, disjoint proposal
• 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

55
Project assessment and evaluation

• How will you know if you were successful?
• Describe what will be measured in order to assess
  how well project met each of its objectives
• Who will conduct assessment?
• Discuss logistics
• Formative assessment conducted throughout
  project and results fed back to improve project
• Summative assessment final assessment at end of
  project

56
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
• 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

57
Interpreting Reviews

• If you are funded..
• If not.
• Put the reviews away for a few days
• Then take them out and read carefully
• Call the program officer for more feedback
• Evaluate if you should resubmit

58
Interpreting Reviews Planning to Resubmit

• Were certain issues mentioned consistently?
• Plan how to address those issues
• Did the reviewers misunderstand your proposal?
• Plan how to make your text more clear
• Was no clear issue mentioned?
• May not have excited reviewers enough
• May not be an area they wish to fund now
• May not fit into their research portfolio
• Many funded proposals were funded after multiple
  submissions intelligent perseverance is
  the key!

59
Early Career Programs for Faculty

• NSF CAREER
• DoD
• Young Investigator (ONR, ARL)
• Congressionally Mandated Directed Medical
  Research Programs Young Investigator
• NASA New Investigator Program in Earth-Sun
  Systems
• NIH
• Scientist Development Award for New Minority
  Faculty
• Career Development Awards (K-awards)
• Esp. Career Transition (K22) Award
• NIAMS Small Grants Program for New Investigators

60
Early Career Programs for Faculty

• Foundations
• Burroughs Wellcome Fund
• PhRMA Foundation
• Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Early Career
  Fellowship in Economic Studies
• Kellogg Forum Rising Stars, etc.
• Professional organization early career or
  young investigator programs
• American Philosophical Society Franklin
  Research Grants
• Listing of Programs
• http//www.unh.edu/osr/funding/support/young_pi.pd
  f
• http//www.spo.berkeley.edu/Fund/newfaculty.html

61
Questions and Discussion