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Grant Proposal Writing

Grant Proposal Writing. Dr. H Anwar Ahmad Hafiz.a.ahmad@jsums.edu. COMPONENT OF GRANT APPLICATION. Descriptive title Abstract/ Summary Background/ Significance Narrative Description Completion schedule Budget Applicant credentials Previous experience or preliminary description.

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Grant Proposal Writing

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  1. Grant Proposal Writing Dr. H Anwar Ahmad Hafiz.a.ahmad@jsums.edu

  2. COMPONENT OF GRANT APPLICATION • Descriptive title • Abstract/ Summary • Background/ Significance • Narrative Description • Completion schedule • Budget • Applicant credentials • Previous experience or preliminary description

  3. KEYS TO SUCCESS • Idea • Commitment • Proposal- Writing Skills

  4. STEPS TO DEVELOP COMPELLING, NOVEL IDEA • Identify the niche area (READ) • Collect and critically analyze background information related to the problem • Develop a preliminary idea • Assess the idea’s potential for success • Seek constructive criticism from knowledgeable colleagues • Refine the idea to maximize its potential for impact on your field

  5. ASSESSMENT OF IDEA’S POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS • Assess yourself • Assess the competition • Assess funding potential

  6. Agencies • Pak. US S&T • PARC/ USDA • HEC • UK and Australia Aid • NSF • USAID

  7. FIND THE AGENCY THAT FITS YOUR IDEA • Funding your proposal should help the agency achieve its goals • Know what an agency wants to fund • Contact the program officer • Make arrangements through emails and calls • Read in between lines

  8. THREE LEVELS AT WHICH PURPOSE MUST BE MET • The Grant Mechanism • Each section of the proposal • Components within each section

  9. REASONS FOR APPLICATION FAILURE • Lack of good, original idea • Lack of sufficient commitment • Poor packaging and presentation of idea

  10. GRANTSMANSHIP SKILLS ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESS • Maximally convey your enthusiasm • Write with maximal clarity & compelling logic • Anticipate problems and provide alternative approaches • Tell you reviewers what to expect for their investment • Make your application “reviewer friendly” • Avoid avoidable mistakes

  11. GOOD PROPOSAL WRITING • YOU HAVE TO SELL YOUR IDEA • A SUCCESSFUL SALESPERSON • Make a good first impression • Is well prepared • Is credible • Delivers a clear message • Provides supporting documentation • Has appropriate endorsement • Has something special to offer • Is persistent

  12. PREPARATION OF THE APPLICATION • Overview section • The second most important section in the grant application

  13. STRONG OVERVIEW SECTION Specific Paragraph Specific Aims Payoff Paragraph Creative and original Expected outcome Positive impact generality Introductory Paragraph • Opening sentence • Current Knowledge • Unknown or need • Unknown/need as a problem What, why, who paragraph • Long term goal • Overall objectives • Central hypothesis and how formulated Rationale • Well prepared

  14. SPECIFIC AIMS • Introductory Paragraph: • Open with real attention getter- clearly relate to agency’s mission. • Don’t give vague or generic statements • Jump to subject matter right away • Summarize current knowledge in the field • Delineate the scientific gap in the knowledgebase

  15. SPECIFIC AIMS • Conclude with why continued existent of the gap /need constitutes an important problem • Problem: the next vertical step in the field is being blocked by existence of the gap/ need

  16. LONG TERM GOAL • Not the goal of the current application • Be realistic

  17. OVERALL OBJECTIVE • Must be a appreciated as a step towards attainment of the long term goal • Define the purpose of the proposed research • Must be phrased in a way that the central hypothesis logically grows from it

  18. CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS • Real hypothesis • Directional, that gives focus to the proposed research

  19. CREATION OF A FOCUSING PROGRESSION • Long-Term Goal: Broadest • Overall Objective: Narrower • Central Hypothesis: Narrowest

  20. CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS Don’t write inadvertently your hypothesis to express bias, i.e., a predetermined conclusion

  21. RATIONALE • BASIS • What will become possible • Must be directly linked back to the problem

  22. SPECIFIC AIMS • Two-to-four at the most • Brief, focused and limited in scope • Each must be an eye-catching “headline” • Conceptual, NOT descriptive • Must collectively test all parts of the hypothesis

  23. SPECIFIC AIMS • Each must flow logically into the next • None should be absolutely dependent on an expected outcome of earlier aim

  24. SPECIFIC AIMS • Purpose of the specific aims: to test the parts of the central hypothesis. • The central Hypothesis must be tightly linked to the specific aims.

  25. SPECIFIC AIMS • Objectively identify psychologically manipulative ads • Objectively identify informative advertising

  26. EXCEPTION TO THE RULE • When a project is in its early stage of development, or when the focus is on qualitative assessments, it is quite possible that the goals/objectives may be of the descriptive • It is okay to have completion of a subsequent goal or objective being dependent upon prior completion of an earlier goal/objective, provided that you can assure the reviewer that there is no doubt that the earlier goal/objective can be achieved.

  27. PAYOFF PARAGRAPH • Key section in developing advocacy among those who have not seen your proposal before its review at the review panel meeting • Begin the paragraph with expected outcome • Conclude with a deliberately general statement regarding positive impact

  28. PREPARATION OF THE APPLICATION • Narrative Description

  29. NARRATIVE Each Specific Aim is a subsection: • Introduction • Justification & Feasibility Review of relevant literature Preliminary studies • Research Design • Expected outcome • Potential problems

  30. NARRATIVE Research Design • Use separate paragraphs/sections to develop each set of studies • Avoid inclusions of mindless detail • Succinctly provide only meaningful detail • Refer to, don’t detail, anything described in your teams' peer-reviewed publication

  31. NARRATIVE Expected outcome • A key, and often overlooked, subsection • Succinctly and realistically summarize most important results are expected to be • Integrate outcomes and show that they collectively attain the aim’s objective • Think of this as the return reviewers can expect

  32. NARRATIVE Potential Problems & Alternative Approaches • There is no such thing as problem free research • Positively acknowledge potential problems • Include only things that could, but probably won’t, go wrong • Most important problem is potential invalidity of the aim’s working hypothesis • Offer alternative approaches to problem---but • Don’t overemphasize them

  33. LITERATURE REVIEW • Write this subsection after research design part of the aim has been written • Provide an up-to-date, critical review that frames the gaps/ problems, not just who did what when • Logically build toward what you expect this aim will contribute • Include italicized sentences that tell reviewers why what you have just reviewed helps justify the need for what will be proposed • Cite by author, year- not with numerals

  34. PRELIMINARY DATA • Data presented should be highly selected to support feasibility • Data presented should be as simple as possible, but not “dumbed down” • Design each figure or table to convey a single point or idea • Avoid inclusion of extraneous or irrelevant data • Vary the style of presentation to make the data maximally appealing

  35. PRELIMINARY DATA: EDITORIAL • Place supporting figures/tables as close to where they are referred to in the text as possible • Include italicized sentences that tell reviewers how data presented support feasibility • Be certain that print in photo-reduced figures/ tables is legible • Put methodology into figure legends/ footnotes to table, not in the text.

  36. PRELIMINARY DATA: EDITORIAL • Be certain to distinguish between reporting of “data” versus reporting of “results” • Use the past tense • Lead your readers through the data • Flow the logic should be concept>question>strategy/approach>data> (interpretation)

  37. NARRATIVE- INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH • What goes into this brief paragraph becomes obvious after the rest of the aim is written • Introduce the aim with a brief paragraph that summarize its objectives

  38. PREPARATION OF THE APPLICATION • Justification of Need (Literature; Significance & Innovation; Creativity, Originality & Transformative Potential; Relation to Other Work In Progress)

  39. JUSTIFICATION OF NEED Significance: • substantiate that there is a gap/ need, that it’s an important problem, and what you contribution is expected to be • Italicized statement of significance • List of benefits that could credibly be expected to accrue to application of the new knowledge

  40. JUSTIFICATION OF NEED Innovation: • Cite literature that diplomatically frames the status quo • Italicized statement of innovation • Conclude with new relevant horizon

  41. JUSTIFICATION OF NEED Creativity, Originality & Transformative Potential • Should be addressed in the last, “payoff” paragraph of the overview and objectives section • Make sure your claim is credible • Be especially careful with your claim of transformative potential- don’t overreach

  42. JUSTIFICATION OF NEED Relation to Other Work In Progress: • By the PI: complementary; no conflict • By others: not duplicative; stress novelty and ‘catalytic impact’

  43. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH • Identify credible co-PIs, collaborators and consultants • No clones of your own expertise • Exclude former mentors from intellectual roles • No senior investigators as ‘window dressing’ • Need not limit search to your own institution • If no effort is included on the application, a letter of commitments must accompany the proposal

  44. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH • Thoroughly document credential of all key personnel • Emphasize aspects of training and experience that are most relevant to the application • Early stage/ beginning Investigators: emphasize extent and quality of training; experience to date • Don’t ‘pad’ the Biographical Sketch • All biographical sketch in the application should look a like

  45. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Personal Statement • Education/ training • Personal statement; TLDC • Position and Honors • Selected peer-Reviewed publications – up to 15 • Research support

  46. FACILITIES AND OTHER RESOURCES • Environment: Contribution to success • Facilities include: • Laboratory • Animal • Clinical • Computer • Office • Other • Major equipment's • Other resources

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