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How Research Gets Funded

How Research Gets Funded. A report by Wayne Wakeland from a workshop given at PSU in late Sept. ’06 by The Grant Institute. Topics. Compelling story…abstract More on story: clarity Build relationship with program admin. Review process Strong team Fit of proposed research with program

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How Research Gets Funded

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  1. How Research Gets Funded A report by Wayne Wakeland from a workshop given at PSU in late Sept. ’06 by The Grant Institute

  2. Topics • Compelling story…abstract • More on story: clarity • Build relationship with program admin. • Review process • Strong team • Fit of proposed research with program • Advice • Finding sources of funding • PSU specifics

  3. Compelling Story • What?  key problem, issue, need, goal, objective, aim • e.g.: answer a burning question or test provocative hypothesis • How?  your research design in a nutshell • Why?  importance/significance • Innovation • Research environment and team • Dissemination • Evaluation (how will you know if successful?)

  4. More on Story: Clarity • Succinct, clear, precise sentences • See Journalism department • Never make the reader work to follow your thought process • Funding sources don’t care what you want to do • Who will benefit • First sentence is critical!

  5. Build Relationship • Call program administrator • It’s their job to talk with prospective new researchers • They want to fund exciting new research • Ask for clarification • Bounce off main idea(s) • White paper • Listen to their advice

  6. Review Process • Half of the submissions are not reviewed! • Mostly because instructions were not followed • 10-15 person review panel • Everyone reads abstracts of all proposals • 2 or 3 people are assigned to review a given proposal in detail • They serve as advocates assuming the narrative is clear and compelling • A proposal with a weak abstract unlikely to be funded

  7. Strong Team • Credibility of PI and co-PI’s • Track record • Evidence of potential • The research environment is also crucial • New researchers must forge a credible support team and/or partnerships

  8. Fit of Proposal with Program • Common weakness: funder not interested in the problem • Aim the narrative directly at the scoring criteria • Make it easy to find how proposal addresses each criteria

  9. Advice • Be persistent (3 tries is typical) • Don’t wait until the last minute to write prop. • Thoughtful review, improvement takes time • Submit your proposal well before the deadline! • Allow time so that your proposal carefully reviewed internally • Follow directions exactly • Narrative in body of proposal must be clear • Budget must be sensible

  10. Advice, continued • Make it easy to skim • Use bullets • Use boldface • Active verbs • Simple language

  11. Finding Sources of Funding • www.nsf.gov • Community of Science (www.cos.org) • Carefully study program purpose and specific objectives or target areas • Review prior awards for insights

  12. PSU Specifics • Proposal Internal Approval Form (piaf) • Must be filled out well before grant is due • Office of Grants and Sponsored Research • Can help with process and approvals, but you must allow sufficient time

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