Richard B. Kreider, PhD, FACSM, FISSNProfessor & Head, Department of Health & Kinesiology

Thomas A. & Joan Read Endowed Chair for Disadvantaged YouthDirector, Exercise & Sport Nutrition Lab

Texas A&M University

rkreider@hlkn.tamu.eduwww.ExerciseAndSportNutritionLab.com

Grant Writing: Corporate & Private Agencies

Research Impact

It’s not research unless it’s published!

It’s not good research unless it’s cited by others!

It’s not great research unless it makes an impact!

It’s not highly valued research unless others are willing to support and/or

fund the work!

Research Process

Idea

Identify Potential Funding Agency

Develop Research

Team

Design Study

Submit Proposal

Obtain Funding

Conduct Research

Present Findings

Publish Research

Assess Impact

Small Grant

Publication

Establish Expertise

Bigger Grant

More Impactful

Publications

Recognized Expertise

Solicited RFA’s

Funding Sources Federal

◦ Advantages Competitive Peer Review Process Funds Basic Research Multi-year funding with full IDC’s Prestigious

◦ Disadvantages Very competitive (often top 5%) Long application and review time Typically not as cutting edge

State◦ Advantages

Less competitive Generally funds applied research / state

research interests

◦ Disadvantages Not as much funding Lower or no IDC’s

Funding Sources Private Foundations

◦ Advantages More issue / need focused call for proposals Funds applied research / interventions

◦ Disadvantages Not as much funding Lower IDC’s

Corporate Funding◦ Advantages

More exploratory / cutting edge Typically study their emerging IP Faster review / approval of proposals Funds basic and applied research Patent Potential Full IDC’s

◦ Disadvantages Expect expeditious turnaround Don’t always understand IDC’s

Non-Federal Funding

Becoming an increasingly important source of external funding at universities

Often involves development of university – business relationships that can lead to grants, patents, royalties, and/or development support for facilities and endowments

Most tier I research intensive universities aggressively seek non-federal grants and contracts

Stanford University (FY14)

*27% of Total Directs

Why should the state or federal government fund research that others are

willing to support?

Scholarship Profile

Productivity◦ 3 Books◦ 24 Book Chapters◦ 112 Peer-Review Articles◦ 318 Published Abstracts◦ 161 Invited Lectures◦ 420 Research Presentations

Citations (Google Scholar)

◦ 4,931 Citations ◦ h-index = 37◦ i10-index = 80

Dedicated to evaluating the interaction between exercise and nutrition on health, disease, rehabilitation, and performance.

Established an extensive research collaboration network at TAMU and 17 institutions

Received over $12M in funding for clinical trials and collaborated on $10M in funding

ESNL research has resulted in over 150 peer-reviewed publications and over 500 national/international presentations

ESNL has supported and/or prepared over 75 PhD & MS students who have published hundreds of publications from their institutions

Research making a world-wide impact

Exercise & Sport Nutrition Lab

Funding Profile

Corporate (PI)◦ $11.75M

Corporate (CoPI/CoI)◦ $0.285M

Federal (CoPI) ◦ $1.05M

Federal (CoI/Consultant)◦ $9.04M

53%

1%5%

41%

Corporte - PI Corporate CoPI/CoI Federal CoPI

Federal CoI

Corporate grants/contracts can serve as a significant source of external funding to support a research program!

Keys to Getting Grants

Develop unique research skills or focus

Develop a fundable research lineMultidisciplinary / team approachSubmit cost effective, clear,

understandable, and concise proposals

Establish timely and significant presentation / publication record

Develop a website to highlight research and be willing to translate findings to the public

Sponsors seek out productive scholars to conduct research

Corporate Grants Companies need to conduct R&D University sponsored research is primary means of

conducting R&D◦ Proof of concept studies

◦ Basic research studies

◦ Applied structure and function studies

Sponsor typically finds researchers/labs conducting research in area of interest or with capabilities needed for research

Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) Asked to review IP and submit proposal; respond to

RFP; or, work with R&D director to develop proposal

Sponsor often solicits competitive proposals from several university and/or corporate research institutions

Sponsor CEO, investors, SAB, and/or scientific consultants review and award grant on competitive basis

Corporate Funding Proposal Understand audience, needs/interests, and

SAB member backgrounds Brief introduction

◦ Overview theory, rationale, claims◦ Describe purpose of study◦ Executive summary style, lay description

Description of Study◦ Participants, Entrance/Exclusion Criteria ◦ Study Design and Independent &

Dependent Variables◦ Overview of protocol / tests◦ Methods/Instrumentation◦ Diet, Exercise, Supplement Protocol◦ Safety Monitoring◦ Data Analysis and Power

Research Team Reasonable budget Timeline

Corporate Grants Once SOW is agreed upon, request

letter of funding intent from sponsor Once received, process through normal

university grant / contract processes◦ Budget review

◦ Routing of proposal and budget for approval

◦ Submit to sponsor for approval

◦ Development of contract

◦ Sponsor reviews and signs contract

◦ Grant budget established

Typically do not submit IRB until a letter of intent to fund is obtained or grant contract executed

Must meet timeline expectations in study completion, presentation, and publication

Corporate Grant Safeguards

Usually, pre-existing IP is owned by sponsor and university owns or shares any new IP generated

Typically will submit abstracts and articles for review and comment to sponsor before submission but we maintain full presentation and publication rights on clinical trials regardless of outcome

Typically do not seek publication of fee for service or proof of concept studies

Typically will send supplements for independent analysis of nutrient content

Internal data entry review and verification Follow FDA/GCP guidelines for record keeping Occasionally, sponsors will send external audit

teams to verify data entry Full disclosure of study sponsorship, CoI’s, and roles

of research team

Summary

It’s not easy to obtain non-federal funding but it can serve as an important source of funding

Need to develop relevant research expertise and be willing to conduct cutting edge research of interest to foundations and corporate sponsors

Proposal needs to be concise and describe potential impact of R&D

Corporate funding often leads to development of IP and patents providing additional revenue sources to the university

Grant Writing: Corporate & Private Agencies

Questions?