Download - Grant Proposal Writing
COMPONENT OF GRANT APPLICATION
o Descriptive titleo Abstract/ Summaryo Background/ Significanceo Narrative Descriptiono Completion schedule o Budgeto Applicant credentialso Previous experience or preliminary description
KEYS TO SUCCESS
oIdeaoCommitmentoProposal- Writing Skills
STEPS TO DEVELOP COMPELLING, NOVEL IDEA
1. Identify the niche area (READ)2. Collect and critically analyze background
information related to the problem3. Develop a preliminary idea4. Assess the idea’s potential for success5. Seek constructive criticism from knowledgeable
colleagues6. Refine the idea to maximize its potential for
impact on your field
ASSESSMENT OF IDEA’S POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS
oAssess yourselfoAssess the competitionoAssess funding potential
Agencies
• Pak. US S&T
• PARC/ USDA
• HEC
• UK and Australia Aid
• NSF
• USAID
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
THREE LEVELS AT WHICH PURPOSE MUST BE MET
oThe Grant MechanismoEach section of the proposaloComponents within each section
REASONS FOR APPLICATION FAILURE
• Lack of good, original idea
• Lack of sufficient commitment
• Poor packaging and presentation of idea
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
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
PREPARATION OF THE APPLICATION
•Overview section
– The second most important section in the grant application
STRONG OVERVIEW SECTION
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
Specific Paragraph
•Specific Aims
Payoff Paragraph
•Creative and original
•Expected outcome
•Positive impact generality
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
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
LONG TERM GOAL
• Not the goal of the current application
• Be realistic
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
CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS
• Real hypothesis
• Directional, that gives focus to the proposed research
CREATION OF A FOCUSING PROGRESSION
1. Long-Term Goal: Broadest
2. Overall Objective: Narrower
3. Central Hypothesis: Narrowest
CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS
Don’t write inadvertently your hypothesis to express bias, i.e., a predetermined conclusion
RATIONALE
• BASIS
• What will become possible
• Must be directly linked back to the problem
SPECIFIC AIMS
o Two-to-four at the mosto Brief, focused and limited in scopeo Each must be an eye-catching “headline”o Conceptual, NOT descriptiveo Must collectively test all parts of the
hypothesis
SPECIFIC AIMS
o Each must flow logically into the nexto None should be absolutely dependent on an
expected outcome of earlier aim
SPECIFIC AIMS
o Purpose of the specific aims: to test the parts of the central hypothesis.
o The central Hypothesis must be tightly linked to the specific aims.
SPECIFIC AIMS
1. Objectively identify psychologically manipulative ads
2. Objectively identify informative advertising
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.
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
PREPARATION OF THE APPLICATION
•Narrative Description
NARRATIVE
Each Specific Aim is a subsection:IntroductionJustification & Feasibility
Review of relevant literaturePreliminary studies
Research DesignExpected outcomePotential problems
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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)
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
PREPARATION OF THE APPLICATION
• Justification of Need(Literature; Significance & Innovation; Creativity, Originality & Transformative Potential; Relation to Other Work In Progress)
JUSTIFICATION OF NEED
Significance:
1. substantiate that there is a gap/ need, that it’s an important problem, and what you contribution is expected to be
2.Italicized statement of significance
3.List of benefits that could credibly be expected to accrue to application of the new knowledge
JUSTIFICATION OF NEED
Innovation:
1.Cite literature that diplomatically frames the status quo
2.Italicized statement of innovation
3.Conclude with new relevant horizon
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
JUSTIFICATION OF NEED
Relation to Other Work In Progress:
•By the PI: complementary; no conflict
•By others: not duplicative; stress novelty and ‘catalytic impact’
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
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
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Personal Statement
•Education/ training
•Personal statement; TLDC
•Position and Honors
•Selected peer-Reviewed publications – up to 15
•Research support
FACILITIES AND OTHER RESOURCES
• Environment: Contribution to success• Facilities include: – Laboratory– Animal– Clinical– Computer– Office– Other
• Major equipment's• Other resources
PREPARATION OF THE APPLICATION
• Budget and Justification
BUDGET AND JUSTIFICATION
• Budget should never drive the research unless there is a cap
• Reviewers invariably cut something is a myth
• Lack of adequate justification is the usual reason for cuts
• Every request must be credible and fully justified
PREPARATION OF THE APPLICATION
• Title and Project Summary
CREATING A TITLE
• The title makes your application’s first impression, which must be positive
• It should be equivalent to a ‘headline’• Maximal positive impact will come from
emphasizing the payoff of your research• The title should be changed to reflect the
payoff of each renewal• The title should include any programmatic
requirements
PROJECT SUMMARY
• The most important section during review• It must be interpretable by layperson• Don’t write in the first person• Write it last• Do not summarize past accomplishments or to
review background material• Should be a stand-alone section• Becomes part of the public domain
PROJECT SUMMARY
• Use minimums for font and margins; auto hyphenate
• Open with gap or need to drive the proposal • Highlighted sentences from Overview section and
Significance• Embellish with aims and key approaches/
methods• Conclude with the statement of significance• Edit to read well and to fit space allowed
PREPARATION OF THE APPLICATION
• Internal Review
INTERNAL REVIEW
• Get review from knowledgeable colleagues
• Chose the right colleagues to review your completed application
• Don’t restrict yourself only to colleagues in your field
• Give your colleagues time enough to help
• Do not ask for help when you are still making changes
COMMITMENT
CREATE TIME
Time to look for funding opportunitiesTime to write a competitive proposalTime to get critical review from your colleagues
KEYS TO SUCCESS
• Your Identification of a Need!
• Your Proposal Solution!
• Your Commitment!• Your Proposal Writing Skills!
