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ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL GRANTS
Sobha Jaishankar, Ph.D.Assistant Vice President for Researchsjaishan@ufl.edu392-9271
Research at UF
1st grant @ 1946 from ONR to Chemistry Dept. @ $10K
FY 09-10 = $574M 59% = Federal Agencies 9% = Industry 15% = State/Local Gov’t. 12% = Foundations 5% = Other
5,887 proposals submitted 6,974 active awards 1,007 different sponsors
Why write grants?
Grants fund MORE than research* Education – graduate/undergraduate programs * Student training – summer internships* Community outreach programs – schools, youth
groups* Money to host conferences* Funding for travel * Fellowships for scholarly activities* Workforce development* Summer support
Strengthens your CV
What a grant proposal is …..
a sales document
Hartley, C. (2002). Getting grants from the Department of Defense. Seminar presented in the College of Engineering. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
What a grant proposal isn’t……..
a comprehensive review of the literature
a report suitable for journal publication
a place to express your personal philosophies or political convictions
• The MOST important – YOUR IDEA (CREATE A NICHE)!
• The TIME you dedicate to your idea
• Your proposal-writing skills
Bottom line: any creative, well-trained person can acquire grant-writing skills and be extremely successful
Creating your niche
Questions to ask:* What is your niche?* What other related work is out there?* How are you different?* How will your work move the field forward?
(Me too work!)* Refine your idea so the impact on the field is maximum* Be critical of your ideas* Seek feedback
“It’s important that the project not sound like it is happening in a vacuum.There should be recognition that others are addressing the same issue and a
description of how your project fits into the overall context of the problem.” (Donna Dunlop)
Finding the TIME
Successful grants come from time invested in researching, planning, writing and rewriting
Cannot be done overnight! (or in a week)
This MUST become a priority
Learn to say NO to some activities!
Proposal writing skills
Are ACQUIRED (no one is born with it!)
Practise makes perfect! Hone your skills by being persistent
Find a mentor/trusted colleague who will give you HONEST feedback
Getting Started Start EARLY!!!!!! Contact your Research Dean/Sobha (for
Interdisciplinary Work) early on Find a mentor Services offered through VP Research
Identify funding opportunities Find collaborators with specific expertise Collect background information for the grant Organizing the grant Administrative support Review and edit grant (internal/external) Assistance in repackaging and submitting to
alternate sources We WILL NOT write your proposal!
Who funds grants???
Government Federal State Local
Private Foundations Private Industry
Office of Research
Research Support – 2nd Floor Grinter Hall – 392-4804
Division of Sponsored Research – 2nd Floor Grinter Hall – 392-1582 Proposal Processing Awards Administration Compliance (IRB; IACUC; Conflict of
Interest) Office of Technology Licensing – 3rd Floor
Walker Hall – 392-8929 Research Communications – 3rd Floor
Walker Hall
Office of Research Internal Funding Programs
Special Matching Requests Support for Meetings, Workshops, Conferences Graduate Student Travel Research Opportunity Incentive Seed Fund Fine Arts & Humanities Scholarship Enhancement
Fund UFRF – Professorships; Matching Funds for New
Training Grants
Grant Information Services
Central Research Support Unit 2 Senior Information Specialists Monitor Grant Opportunities University-wide Disseminate Info to Colleges, Depts, Individual PI’s Funding Searches Faculty training Provide support for interdisciplinary/Center type of
grants
Information Dissemination Tools
Web-Based Funding Newsletter “FYI”
Text Descriptions + Links to Download Applications Biweekly throughout the Year http://apps.research.ufl.edu/research/fyi/ Information collected by Staff
Funding Alerts to Individual PI’s
Community of Science Weekly/Periodic Email Alerts Email Alerts from private & government sources Notices from Office of Research
Other Email Alerts
Grants.gov (all federal grants, including NEA, NEH)
FedBizOpps (fbo.gov) (all federal contracts)
Agency Alerts (NSF, NIH, EPA, NASA, Energy, USDA, etc.)
Foundation Center’s “RFP Bulletin” & “Arts Watch” (http://fdncenter.org/newsletters/)
Archive of Arts & Culture grants from the Bulletin (http://www.fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_arts.jhtml)
Your Personal Research Expertise Profile
“Electronic CV” Maintained by Community of Science/Scholars for
UF Expertise & Research Interests very important Funding Alerts based on this info Annual email reminder to update your profile
Other Office of Research Web-Based Sources
Federal Register* Florida Administrative Weekly* Links to All Federal Agencies* Links to Foundations* Foundation Center Guide to Funding Research
(http://fdncenter.org/getstarted/ tutorials/gfr/ Fundsnet Services (www.fundsnet.com/)*Access from Office of Research websitehttp://www.rgp.ufl.edu/researchsupport/external_funding.html
What is interdisciplinary research?
Crosses multiple disciplines – not limited to any one
Between different departments, colleges, institutes Mathematical Biology Nanomedicine Environmental science Genomics/Bioinformatics Training – students, post-doctoral fellows
Identifying a Sponsor
FIND THE AGENCY THAT FITS YOUR IDEA!Resources at UF Research Support Unit Foundation Relations – UFF Online resourcesUse these resources to find out what an agency WANTS
to fundRemember - you are helping the agency fulfill ITS
missionContact the agency (program officer) and listen
carefully!(Send them an overview of your program – the White
paper)
Points to ponder before writing your program overview – the white paper!
What is the funding agency’s agenda? What does the agency WANT to fund? How does your area of expertise help them
fulfill THEIR mission?
“A proposal succeeds because there is congruence of their ideas and our priorities. We are looking for unusual ways to solve problems.” (Norman Brown)
Your White Paper (Program Overview)Write the White Paper FIRSTThis is a concise presentation of your program/philosophy
It MUST set the flow of logic – from the more general to the narrower focus the individual proposal is to fund.
Most difficult to write!Remember – you are going to use this to sell your idea to the agency!!
Your White Paper…..
• Your vision – how does your work mesh with the mission of the agency?
• Your Long-term Goal - Identify the niche YOU will fill. Say why you are best-suited for this work
• Objective – of this particular proposal• The hypothesis around which the current
work is based• What will be the benefits of the work?
White Paper ……..
Should not be too long – 2 pages
Have it critiqued by your colleagues/mentor
Send it to the program officer at your chosen agency
Pay close attention to their feedback!
BEFORE you write the proposal !!!!
Read the Program Announcement/agency guidelines.
Formatting – font size, margins, line spacing Page limits – absolutely enforced Attachments – only send what is requested Budget – determine floor and ceiling; how
many will be funded Read the review criteria – some programs
have special emphases for review
BEFORE you write ……….
Note the deadlines:Letter of IntentProposal submission date
Set your self a time line – plan to finish at least 10 days before the proposal is due at the agency
Who is the program officer?
The proposal ……….. Remember – your language must be simple
– reviewers should not have to reread to understand.
Thus, one team project that might emerge would be a project on group identity and ancestry that puts indigenous social constructions of identity at the center of the project obtains community consent, and examines the genetic consequences of social constructions (assortative mating, admixture, etc.), while also comparing genetics research on various Native tribes in the US and comparing it to the tribes’ conceptualization of tribal and Indian identity as reflected in cultural texts, thus attending to the question of potentialsocial consequences of genetics research.
Thus, one team project that might emerge could be on group identity and ancestry. Having obtained community consent, participants could examine the genetic consequences of social constructions (assortative mating, admixture, etc.). In addition, students could compare genetics research on various Native tribes in the US with the tribes’ conceptualization of tribal and Indian identity.
The proposal ………..
Make the grant reviewer friendly
Use graphs and tablesLeave spaces between lines
Use formatting (underline, italics, bold font) not only to emphasize key points, but also to maintain continuity and flow.
Write as if you are writing an article for the newspaper
Anatomy of a Grant
Abstract/Summary Significance Review of literature Specific Aims of this proposal Research Plan (Rationale, protocols,
expected outcomes) Alternative hypotheses, approaches ** Benefits of the proposed work Resources Broader Impacts (NSF)
Significance
The significance must be relevant to the mission of the funding agency
Is probably the most important paragraph in your proposal
Start by identifying the gap in existing knowledge base
How does your proposed work fill that gap? What will be the long term benefit of your
work?
Review of literature
Does not have to be a completely exhaustive review
Provide a critical review of the relevant work
Identify the gap in the existing knowledge in the field
Introduce what your contribution can be What makes you the best suited to do this
work?
Resources
Do NOT gloss over this section Emphasize institutional commitment
(space, equipment, release time) Intellectual resources: other colleagues
doing complementary work – will they be co-investigators on your proposal?
Broader Impact This is an NSF requirementhttp://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2004/nsf042/bicexa
mples.pdf Most faculty have difficulty with this section The activity you propose has to be an
integral part of your application – and not a stand alone entity.
It cannot be put in just to satisfy the requirement
Try to generate an activity that is creative CPET – Center for Precollegiate Education
and Training. http://www.cpet.ufl.edu/ Director - Dr. Koroly Spring graduate course conducted by Bruce
MacFadden on Broader Impactsbmacfadd@flmnh.ufl.edu
Developing a Budget
Be reasonable – you don’t have to ask for the maximum allowed
Read the guidelines to determine what a particular program will pay for
Provide complete justification for your request
Agencies will often cut your budget – sometimes due to financial constraints, but more often if the request is not justified adequately
Biosketches
Each agency has a preferred format – obtain the relevant forms
Pay attention to the instructions – starting with the most recent, or vice versa
Stay within the specified page limits For proposals involving multiple PIs, use the same
font/size for all the biosketches Be consistent in the way the list of publications is
assembled Current and pending support
Grants vs. Contracts
Grants give you money to carry out work knowing that the results are unpredictable.
They are ‘relatively unrestricted’ in their specification of what funds can be used for
Annual reporting is required Contracts have more conditions and
stipulations attached and usually have timelines for deliverables
Contracts can be either for services rendered, or for deliverables
Contracts are negotiated by with the sponsor by DSR only
Administrative issues …
The award goes to the University Faculty do not receive the funds directly Faculty conduct the work; The University provides assurance that the work will
be conducted in an ethical manner Faculty may NOT sign grants or contracts on behalf
of the institution If you are hosting a conference/workshop, and
charging registration fees – go through DSR to collect them.
ONLY DSR can negotiate indirect costs with the sponsor. We have standard negotiated rates that are applicable – otherwise we use the rate allowed by the sponsor
Administrative issues …
COST SHARING
Institutional Review Board
Animal Care and Use
Electronic submission!!!!!
SUBMISSION guidelines
Getting institutional signatures (DSR 1)Department ChairDean of the CollegeUniversity
Go to ‘Proposal Processing’ 207 Grinter Hall Copying the proposal FedEx
A FINAL TIP FOR SUCCESS……
BE PERSISTENT!!!
We will help you repackage and get funded!
How can you help???
Background information - institutional Budget preparation Biosketches Resources Coordinate the assembly of the grant Maintain timelines References Checking for consistency
THANKS!!!!!!!!
Questions???
Concerns???
AcknowledgementsGuide to Proposal writingDr. Vivian Correa
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