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Writing Effective Research Grant Proposals Office of Proposal Development Presentation to WTAMU Lucy Deckard L-deckard@tamu.edu October 26, 2005. Overview of Presentation. Office of Proposal Development – who we are Identifying Funding Opportunities

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Overview of Presentation

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  1. Writing Effective Research Grant ProposalsOffice of Proposal DevelopmentPresentation to WTAMULucy DeckardL-deckard@tamu.eduOctober 26, 2005 Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  2. Overview of Presentation • Office of Proposal Development – who we are • Identifying Funding Opportunities • Understanding the Funding Agency and Program • Preparing to Write • The Craft of Writing a Competitive Proposal • Funding Opportunities for Junior Faculty Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  3. Office of proposal development • A unit of the Office of Vice President for Research at Texas A&M University, partnered with: • Office of Vice Chancellor for Research and Federal Relations, • Office of Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, and the • Health Science Center Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  4. Office of proposal development • Supports faculty in the development and writing of large and small research grants to federal agencies and foundations. • Focuses on support of center-level initiatives, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research teams, research affinity groups, new and junior faculty research, diversity in the research enterprise, and long-term proposal planning. • Helps develop partnership initiatives at Texas A&M, across the A&M System universities, and HSC. • Supports proposal development activities and training programs to help new faculty write more competitive proposals. Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  5. Office of proposal development • Jean Ann Bowman, Research Scientist • B.S., Journalism; B.S. and Ph.D., Hydrology and Physical Geography • Focuses on proposals dealing with earth, ecological, and environmental sciences, as well as those dealing with agriculture. • Libby Childress, Administrative Assistant • Handles scheduling, resources, and project coordination. • Mike Cronan, Director • B.S., Civil Engineering (Structures); B.A., Political Science; M.A., English; • Registered Professional Engineer, Texas (063512) • Helps develop partnerships. Leads center- and program-level proposals. Establishes new initiatives and sets the direction of the office. • Lucy Deckard, Associate Director • B.S. and M.S., Materials Science and Engineering • Leads the new faculty initiatives. Focuses on proposals dealing with the physical sciences, interdisciplinary materials group, and equipment and instrumentation. Also leads training seminars on graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, undergraduate research, and CAREER awards. Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  6. Office of proposal development • Susan Maier, Research Development Officer • B.A., M.A., and Ph.D., Psychology • Focuses on the Health Science Center’s NIH biomedical science initiatives, as well as on the HSC’s University partnership initiatives. Leads training seminars on NIH. • Phyllis McBride, Assistant Director • B.A., Journalism and English; M.A. and Ph.D., English • Leads the one-day Craft of Grant Writing Seminars and the fifteen-week Craft of Grant Writing Workshops. Focuses on DHS and NIH initiatives, and provides editing and rewriting. • Robyn Pearson, Research Development Officer • B.A. and M.A., Anthropology • Focuses on proposals dealing with the humanities, liberal arts, and social and behavioral sciences, and education. Provides support for the development of interdisciplinary research groups and provides editing and rewriting. Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  7. Looking For Funding Opportunities Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  8. Types of Funding Agencies • Basic research agencies • (e.g, NSF, NIH) • Mission-oriented agencies • (e.g., NASA, DoD, ED) • Foundations • Other • (industry, professional organizations, etc.) Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  9. Unsolicited vs. Solicited Proposals • Unsolicited • Investigator-initiated; no specific solicitation or RFP • Typically long-running program; relatively general statement of research topics of interest • For NSF and NIH, recurring due dates or target dates each year • Common for foundations • Rare for Mission Agencies (DOE, USDA) Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  10. Example Program Description(unsolicited) “The Geography and Regional Science (GRS) Program sponsors research on the geographic distributions and interactions of human, physical, and biotic systems on the Earth's surface. Investigations are encouraged into the nature, causes, and consequences of human activity and natural environmental processes across a range of scales. Projects on a variety of topics (both domestic and international) qualify for support if they offer promise of contributing to scholarship by enhancing geographical knowledge, concepts, theories, methods, and their application to societal problems and concerns. Support also is provided for projects that explicitly integrate undergraduate and graduate education into the overall research agenda.” Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  11. Unsolicited vs. Solicited Proposals • Solicited • Terminology: • Request for Proposal (RFP) • Program Solicitation • Request for Application (RFA) • For NIH, Program Announcement (PA) • Tied to specific agency initiative • May only last a few funding cycles or may go on for years • Have specific additional evaluation criteria • Often have specific formatting requirements Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  12. Solicitation: Example “This solicitation invites proposals for "information infrastructure testbeds", each of which would include the development of the next generation of cybertools applied to data from various sources collected in two areas of research fundamental to social and behavioral scientists: organizations and individuals. The tools that are developed on these platforms must not only change ways in which social and behavioral scientists research the behavior of organizations and individuals, but also serve sciences more broadly. It is envisioned that proposals for the "organization information testbed" will address three specific components: • the development of tools that facilitate the integration of qualitative and quantitative information from heterogeneous sources, multiple media, and/or multiple modes; • investment in basic research that addresses the protection of the confidentiality of respondents in computerized, widely accessible databases; and • the development of incentives, standards and policies for collecting, storing, archiving, accessing, and publishing research results using organization-relevant information. It is envisioned that proposals for the "individual information testbed" should concern cybertools that can be applied to both large scale and distributed data-sets. Proposals should address cybertools that facilitate automatic collection, integration, annotation, archiving, accessing, and analyzing of • existing distributed data sets and/or • extensive audio and video recordings and details of physical artifacts, while paying special attention to • the protection of the confidentiality of participant identity in widely accessible, computerized databases. “ Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  13. Ways to Find Funding • Talk to colleagues doing similar research • Look for funding sources credited in books and journal articles describing similar research • Use the web and other information resources Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  14. Funding opportunities search criteria • Define disciplinary domain of interest (e.g., science, social sciences, humanities, education, health and biomedical sciences, engineering); • Characterize the nature of the research (basic, applied, applications); • Identify a subset of funding agencies whose mission, strategic plan, and investment priorities are aligned with these specific research interests. Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  15. Refining the funding search • Identify research opportunities with regular grant cycles within a particular agency (e.g., NIH and NSF have regular grant cycles of specific research programs that remain open for many years; • Identify new research opportunities and investment directions at funding agencies; • Expand the base of potential research funding sources. Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  16. Information on the Internet • Funding Agency websites • Compilations of funding opportunities • Automatic e-mail notifications services • Database services • Google is your best friend Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  17. Funding Agencies Hotlinks Table • Funding Agencies Hotlink Table.doc • Federal Grant Making Agencies.doc • Notes about agency web sites: • First place funding opportunities will show up • Pages with funding opportunities can be buried; when you find a good one, make a note of the url • Look for unsolicited proposal opportunities • Look for additional info on opportunities Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  18. Compendia of Funding Opportunties • All Federal Funding Opportunities • http://www.fedgrants.gov/Applicants/index.html • Foundations • http://fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/index.jhtml • University grants office websites • Iowa State • http://www.vpresearch.iastate.edu/OSP/FundingOpportunities.html • http://www.vpresearch.iastate.edu/OSP/Maillogs.html • Duke University http://www.ors.duke.edu/find • University of Iowa http://research.uiowa.edu/dsp/main/?get=fundingopps&q=&action= Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  19. Fedgrants.gov • One of the best portals to funding opportunities • Tabular listing current funding opportunities and URLs for 45 research funding agencies (see following slide) • FedGrants • http://www.fedgrants.gov/Applicants/index.html • FedGrantsGrants Synopsis Search • http://www.fedgrants.gov/grants/servlet/SearchServlet/ • FedGrants Notification Service • http://www.fedgrants.gov/ApplicantRegistration.html Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  20. FedGrants Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  21. University Grants Websites (cont’d) • Cornell http://www.osp.cornell.edu/Funding/ • University of Massachusetts, Amherst http://www.umass.edu/research/ogca/funding/ • University of Oregon http://rfd.uoregon.edu/funding/government.htm • University of Vermont Research Funding • http://www.uvm.edu/~ospuvm/?Page=Funding_Opportunities/Funding_Highlights/fh.htm Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  22. Email Alert Services • Email Alert Services for Funding Opportunities.doc • NSF • http://www.nsf.gov/mynsf/ • NIH Guide LISTSERV_ • http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/listserv.htm • Dept. of Education • http://listserv.ed.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A1=ind05&L=edinfo • http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/edinfo/index.html • Federal Grants • http://fedgrants.gov/ApplicantRegistration.html • Foundations • http://fdncenter.org/newsletters/ • NASA • http://research.hq.nasa.gov/subs.cfm Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  23. Federal Grants Notification Service Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  24. Grants.gov • Home page: http://www.grants.gov • To receive automated funding alerts tailored to your research interests, visit http://www.grants.gov/Find#receive. • Select one of four automated funding alert options: “Selected Notices Based on Funding Opportunity Number,” “Selected Agencies and Categories of Funding Activities,” “Selected Interest and Eligibility Groups,” or “All Grants Notices.” • Click on the link for the option that best suits your needs, enter the required information, and click on the “Submit to Mailing List” button. Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  25. Grants.gov Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  26. MyNSF Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  27. NIH Guide LISTSERV Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  28. NEH Connect! Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  29. Google is Your Best Friend • http://www.google.com/ • http://www.yahoo.com/ • Search for research opportunities • Backdoor/end run to subscription funding services • E.g., IRIS • http://carousel.lis.uiuc.edu/%7Eiris/deadlines/all/ • Find funded programs, abstracts • Find workshops, conferences, seminars • Find reports, publications, project documents • To search within a site, type keywords site:url of site • E.g., preservation languages site:www.nsf.gov Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  30. Ways to Improve Your Success in Finding Funding • Get to know most likely funding agencies • Mission, vision • Funding mechanisms • Recurring funding opportunities • More on this later • Check funding opportunities regularly • Fine-tune search parameters for subscription databases • Learn how to quickly evaluate a potential funding opportunity (more later) • Keep a list of funding agencies, funding opportunities with urls (e.g., MS Word table with hotlinks) Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  31. Six major funders for TAMU-System Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  32. “Backgrounding” an agency and evaluating a potential funding opportunity Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  33. Backgrounding the Funding Agency:Questions to Ask • What are its mission and goals? • What are its investment priorities, strategic plan? • What time horizon are they aiming for? • How do they get their funding? • What procedures do they use to notify the community of funding opportunities? • Who influences their planning and goals? • What language do they use? Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  34. Backgrounding Funding AgencyQuestions to Ask • What is their culture like? • What procedures do they use to review proposals and make funding decisions? • What are their review criteria? • How are they organized? • Who are the personnel and what is their background? • What have they funded in the past? • What is their budget? Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  35. Web site Solicitation Organization Chart Strategic Plan/ Roadmap Bios of Program Officers Reports, Publications Contacts with Program Officers (visits, conferences, phone and e-mail conversations) Agency workshops and seminars Leadership Speeches Congressional Testimony Current Funded Projects Databases Project Abstracts Contacts with Funded Researchers Contacts with former Program Officers Contacts with former Reviewers Backgrounding the Funding AgencySources of Information Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  36. Funding Agency Culture & Mission • Agency reflects vision, mission, objectives, and strategic goals of founding intent; • Operational components of agency reflect a range of objectives, for example: • Strategic research plan • Strategic investment plan • Research portfolio & investment time horizon • Technology transfer, patenting, licensing, commercialization • Research priorities & characteristics Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  37. Funding Agency Culture & Mission Basic Research Agencies (NSF, NIH) • Independent agency & management • Independent research vision, mission, & objectives • Award criteria based on intellectual and scientific excellence • Peer panel reviewed, ranked, and awarded by merit • Focus on fundamental or basic research at the “frontiers of science,” innovation, and creation of new knowledge • Open ended, exploratory, long investment horizon; • Non-classified, non-proprietary Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  38. Funding Agency Culture & Mission Mission-oriented federal agency research & development • R&D serves agency goals and objectives, but reflect Executive Branch policy directions, or congressional • E.g., Agriculture, Energy, Education, Defense, Health • Scope of work tightly defines research tasks/deliverables • Predominately applied research for meeting near term objectives, technology development & transfer, policy goals • Predominately internal review by program officers • Awards based on merit, but also on geographic distribution, political distribution, long term relationship with agency, Legislative & Executive branch policies • Classified and non-classified research Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  39. Funding Agency Investment PrioritiesExamples • National Science Foundation • Strategic Plan 2003-08 (http://www.nsf.gov/od/gpra/Strategic_Plan/FY2003-2008.pdf) • Office of the Director (http://www.nsf.gov/od/) • National Institutes of Health • NIH Roadmap (http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/) • NIH Director Elias Zerhouni (http://www.sciencemag.org/feature/plus/nihroadmap.pdf) • NIH Director’s Page (http://www.nih.gov/about/director/) Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  40. Funding Agency PrioritiesExamples • Department of Education • Dept of Ed Strategic Plan http://www.ed.gov/about/reports/strat/plan2002-07/index.html • Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services • Mission Statement, Strategic Plan and Goals http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/aboutus.html • Reports and resources http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/reports.html Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  41. Funded Projects Databases • NSF Award Search Site (abstracts of awards available) http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/index.jsp • NIH Award Search Site (abstracts of awards available) http://crisp.cit.nih.gov/crisp/crisp_query.generate_screenhttp://crisp.cit.nih.gov/ DoD • SBIR/STTR Search http://www.dodsbir.net/Awards/Default.asp • NEH Awards Search http://www.neh.gov/news/recentawards.html • USDA Awards information and Forms http://cris.csrees.usda.gov/ • US Dept. of Education – Awards Search (limited) http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/grantaward/start.cfm Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  42. Sifting through RFPs • What do they want to accomplish through this program? • How much money is allocated and how many awards are anticipated? • Who is eligible to apply? • What are the budget guidelines? • What, if any, partnerships are required? • Have other grants been made under this program? Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  43. Program Description Mission Context Eligibility Information Award Information Review Criteria Program Officers Reference Documents Award Administration Proposal Guidelines Format Document Order Project Description Scope of Work Performance Goals Management Attachments Budget Guidelines Request for Proposals, RFP Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  44. Performance Expectations • Publications • Curriculum • Commercialization • Patents • Degrees awarded • Technologies • Map to RFP & Evaluation Criteria • May require internal and/or external evaluation; annual performance review Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  45. Researching a Specific Funding Opportunity Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  46. Reading the Solicitation • Read and re-read the solicitation! • The solicitation is not a list of suggestions; it is a list of requirements • It is a window into the thinking of the funding agency Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  47. Things to Look for in the Solicitation • Purpose of the program • Research topics of interest • Changes from previous programs • Inspiration for program and references • Program requirements • Proposal requirements • Budget guidelines • Review criteria * If you are pursuing an unsolicited opportunity, you will have to find these things out using other available information sources Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  48. Purpose of the Program • Commonly discussed in “background” section • Make sure the goals of your proposed project mirror the program goals • Look for words that are repeated often • e.g., “innovative” • You will want to use those words to describe your project (and back up those claims) • The outcomes of your proposed project should support program objectives Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  49. Research Topics of Interest • Understand which topics are fundable under this solicitation • Read solicitation • Look at funding history (use databases, if available) • Talk to Program Officer • Note terminology and language used; you will want to use similar terminology in your proposal Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

  50. Inspiration for Program and References • Program may be result of committee report (e.g., National Academies, National Science Board, special study committees) • May be documented in Workshop presentations and reports • May be documented in final reports and publications of previously funded projects • May be outgrowth of agency roadmap, strategic planning • Read and cite these reports in your proposal Office of Proposal Development Texas A&M University

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