Grant  Wri)ng  

Jan  Buitelaar  Talk  at  Karakter,  March  17th,    2015  

Type  of  grants  

•  Small  –  large  -­‐  really  big  grants  •  Personal  grants  – Talent  NWO  – Rubicon/Veni/Vidi/Vici  – ERC  star)ng  /  advanced  

•  Consor)um  grants  – e.g.  Horizon2010  – NIH,  ZonMW-­‐TOP  

Recommenda)ons  

•  Plan  Ahead  

•  Make  it  perfect  

•  Seek  Support  

•  Keep  trying  

Read  the  call  !!  

•  Analyse  the  call  word  by  word  •  Close  reading  •  Talk  to  others  •  Call  grant  officers  (if  possible,  if  allowed)  •  Check  eligibility  criteria  

The  call:  TACTICS  

Read  and  prepare  

•  Read  examples  of  successful  applica)ons  •  Analyse  them  carefully    •  Iden)fy  what  has  been  granted  in  the  past  •  Talk  to  successful  applicants  •  The  more  personal  contacts  you  make,  the  be]er  for  you    

Seek  your  collaboraters  carefully  

•  Complementary  exper)se  –  learning  from  others  !  

•  Iden)fy  your  compe)tors  and  consider  to  invite  them  to  collaborate  !  

•  “If  you  cannot  beat  them,  join  them  …”  •  Collabora)on  is  some)mes  easy,  but  can  also  be  very  difficult  

•  Gender  balance  /  country  balance  

Basics  

• You  need  a  really  good  idea  !  

• Propose  feasible  research  

Content  

•  Theory  guided  research  •  Mix  of  conceptual  improvements  /  accuracy  and  relevant  data  collec)on  

•  Propose  detailed  and  realis)c  research  •  Infra-­‐structure  !  •  List  /  sell  your  achievements  !  •  Pilot  studies  

Why  ?  

•  Why  now  ??  

•  Why  you  ??    (Why  this  team  ??)  

Visualize  !  

Visualize  !  

Visualize  !  

Impact  

•  Society  •  Health  care    diagnosis  ?  Treatment  ?  •  Pa)ents  ?  Families  ?  •  Professional  rou)nes  /  guidelines  ?  •  Valorisa)on  ?    Industry  ?    SME  ?  •  Realis)c  )me  plan  ?  

Dissemina)on  

•  Of  course:  papers,  lectures,  thesis,  symposia  

•  But  also:  reach  out  to  general  public,  media  

•  Website  

•  Papers  in  Dutch  journals  

Implementa)on  

•  Work  with  stakeholders  •  Assess  opinions/agtudes  of  professionals,  pa)ents,  colleagues,  experts  

•  Assess  all  sorts  of  prac)cal  problems  •  Explore  /  measure  budget  issues  and/or  cost  effec)veness  

•  Explore  poten)al  resistances,  barrieres  

The  wri)ng  itself  

•  Is  for  the  most  part  just  a  ma]er  of  technique  !  

The  wri)ng  itself  

•  Buzz  words:  Use  the  same  terms  in  your  proposal  that  are  used  in  the  call  

•  Less  is  More!      •  A  catchy  Name  /  Title  /  Acronym  !  •  Good  wri)ng  should  be  easy  to  read  and    understand    

•  No  sentences  longer  than  2  lines  

The  wri)ng  itself  

•  Abstract  should  have  it  all,  should  be  perfect  •  Tell  very  concretely  and  specifically  what  you  propose  to  do,  and  why  !  

•  Make  it  fun  !  •  Show  yourself  aware  of  previous  work  /  projects  •  Sustainability  is  a  big  issue    •  Present  clearcut  deliverables  and  milestones  

Reply  to  reviewers’  comments  

•  Stay  friendly  •  Convince  the  commi]ee  (not  the  reviewers)  •  Be  fair  •  If  you  have  been  misunderstood,  say  so  •  Short  and  focused