Developing a Funded Research Program

1. Developing a Funded Research Program Yale Faculty of Arts and Sciences– October 15, 2013

2. Why do I want to land a grant? • Proposal writing is key to: • Funding your own research • Creating and controlling your work environment • Independence • Getting a job • Getting a better job • Higher Salary • Being promoted

3. What proposal writing is like? • No sleep • Poor diet • Chaotic • Stressful • Annoy people with your needs • People annoy you • Temporary family disaster

4. Strategies to Secure Funding • Develop a goal oriented lifestyle • Write Publications • Partnering • Networking • Submit proposals • Develop a national reputation • Recognize an opportunity

5. Proposal Writing • Is one SMALL aspect of landing a grant. • Most workshops focus on the mechanicsof proposal writing. Most are lead by non grant active administrators. • Whether or not your proposal is funded depends on a well written proposal PLUS other aspects we will talk about today. • A poorly written proposal will disqualify you no matter how good the idea.

7. Goal Oriented Lifestyle • Develop THE PLAN. • What specifically is your area of expertise and interest? • Where do you want to be in five years? • Where do you want to be in ten years? • The biggest predictor of achieving your goals is being able to articulate them.

8. Determine Overarching Career Goals • Develop a timeline with goals and objectives. • Developing new goals = GOOD. • Giving up = BAD.

9. Proposal Writing Philosophy • EMBRACE REJECTION! • Successful PIs learn to navigate barriers. • Everybody encounters barriers, successful PIs learn to get beyond them.

10. PUBLICATIONS • Can NOT get a federal grant without them. • Set a minimum of two per year. • Hierarchy • Peer reviewed journals – shoot for tier 1 in your area • Chapters • Books • Briefs and Reports

11. Partnering • Who is interested in what you are interested in? • State and Federal Government • Community • Other departments/schools at Yale • Other Universities (ride on somebody else’s coat tails when you are junior)

12. Networking • Present at national conferences every year and eat dinner • Get involved in organizational administration • Review papers • Scientific panels • Sit on advisory councils • Attend coalition interest groups • Contact federal, state and local government • Contact national/international figures in areas of interest

13. Proposals • The biggest predictor of getting funding is applying • Write lots of proposals (3 per year) • Take the reviewer comments • Improve • Try again

14. Developing a National Reputation • Publications, Publications, Publications • Conference presentations • Review papers and proposals • National advisory committees • National Academy of Sciences • Make contact with others with national reputations

15. Recognize an Opportunity • Say “YES” when people ask you to collaborate • Don’t get bogged down with dead weight • Don’t invest your time in somebody else’s career • Its usually as much work to get a big grant as a little one

16. Strategies to Land Funding • APPLY! • Talk to program officers • Look at who and how somebody whose work is similar to yours secured funding • Collaborate with others who have funding

17. Money Attracts Money • Begin with low hanging fruit • Special federal grants for new PIs • Training grants • Seed Funding • Funding for administrators returning to research • State and community funding

18. Hang out with the popular crowd • Offer to be a CO-PI and write proposals with big named national reputations with funding • Collaborate on publications with leaders in your field

19. Improving your odds • Follow directions explicitly • Get letters of commitment NOT support • Add on areas of expertise even if you can do those things

20. What funding agencies & panels are looking for • Demonstrate a void you can fill • Show you can hit the ground running • Support and collaboration • Multidisciplinary applications • Somebody else invested in you • Sexy idea • Innovation • Topic is interesting AND important • You will make your funding agency look good

21. Identify Funding Sources • State • Federal • More than one avenue • The TOP funded researchers at US universities are not applying for RO1s • Foundation

22. Federal Funding – The Golden Standard • Must have an upward research trajectory • Imperative to show you are research active • Must show expertise through publications • Must demonstrate experience on managing smaller awards before chasing big dollars • R21 precedes an R01

23. Mechanics of Proposal Writing method problem goals staff appendix stats budget title evaluate

24. Outside the Scope of this presentation • EXERCISE: P & B

25. HINT # 1Make Life Easier • Borrow, copy, remodel, recycle • No need to reinvent the wheel • All your work should be leading to the same place so a proposal is not new work • You will learn to develop proposal language

26. HINT # 2Don’t Be Lazy! • NEVER EVER PLAGIARIZE! Software will tell • The application MUST match the RFA – don’t shove a square peg in a round hole • Same group of reviewers and they have good memories

27. HINT # 3Develop Yourself First • Writing an excellent research proposal is just one aspect of successfully funding a project • Developing a successful research PROGRAM is essential

28. HINT # 4Others Have Grants • Don’t bank on everything I say • There is more than one way to skin a cat • This presentation is a reflection of my experience with the grant process • Observe and mentor with other successfully grant funded researchers

29. HINT # 5You Cannot Fool a Panel! • Reviewers are experts in your area • That is why they are reviewers • They easily feel offended if you overlook their work • Cite their work • Be on top of the literature

30. HINT # 6Snap Judgments • It takes 30 seconds to judge you! • First impressions taint and frame the entire review. • Publications better be commensurate with experience, funding, and years out of training • References – 90-95% of the literature should be in the last five years except for seminal citations. Be on top of the literature. • PET PEEVE is grant apps with references that stop when investigator graduated school

31. HINT # 7Sell Yourself • Promote! Promote! Promote! • You must show you are amazing, going to solve an important issue, are brilliant, have the means to do it, know what you are doing. • You must do this even if it makes you uncomfortable • Cultural Issues

32. HINT # 8Be Responsive • Respond to Program Officer • Respond to RFA/RFP • Respond to foundation or center goals. They are usually on websites

33. HINT # 9Funding Faux Pas • There is no relationship between how much you ask for and being funded as long as you are below the cap • Asking for too little makes you seem naïve and a novice which makes your reviewer think negatively of you • A grant award results in a contract. You MUST deliver what you promise even if the funding is insufficient

34. HINT # 10Strategies for Career Stage • New Faculty • Research Active but not Grant Active

35. Time to Write a Grant • 300 Hours R01 • 400-600 for a Multi Investigator Program Grant • Get as much stuff done ahead. Bio-Sketch • Descriptions of facilities, resources, etc. • Borrow the “non-science” aspects from other proposals • Look at successful proposals

36. Ask for help, bounce off ideas, search for funding, how to get started, GRANTS THERAPY

37. Questions???