introduction to grants nsf nihv.2 - university of...
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May 15 9:00am-3:30pm Introduction to NSF/NIH Grants Alumni Center
May 25 Participants submit first draft Specific Aims to VPR office:
[email protected] May 27 3:00pm-5:00pm Workgroup discussion of Specific Aims
Physics Conference Room 334 June 1 10am-12pm Writing Tutors; Writing Center June 8 10am-12pm LaGorce House, 170; June 15 10am-12pm 1228 Dickingson Drive June 17 Participants submit revised Specific Aims to VPR office:
[email protected] June 24 3:00pm-5:00pm Feedback on Specific Aims
Physics Conference Room 334
Important Dates!
Overview!
Overview!
1. How to get started!
2. Types of grants!
3. Review Process!
4. Components of the application!
5. How to write!
General Information!How to get started!
Essentials!
Essentials!
1. What do you want to accomplish with the funds?!
2. Why is it important?!
3. Who will benefit from the work and how?!
4. How are you qualified for this project?!
Essentials!
Essentials!
1. Grants need time – schedule enough time to devote to writing!!
2. Read program goals & eligibility – make sure your project fits!
3. Write an overview – discuss merit/fit with PO!
4. Research previous awards in this program area – does your
project fit?!
5. Let your peers review your application before submission!
Essentials!
Common mistakes!
Programmatic Rejection:!
• Did not match program RFP!
• Did not follow proposal directions; e.g. format, budget!
• Incomplete animal/human subject parts!
• Incomplete proposal!
Essentials!
Common mistakes!Reviewer rejection:!
• Sloppy, with obvious mistakes; incomprehensible writing!
• Insufficient evidence of need/significance; unimportant idea!
• Unclear hypothesis/aims!
• Diffuse, superficial, unfocused approach!
• No acceptable rationale!
• Insufficient preliminary data demonstrating knowledge in the field!
• Overly ambitious!
• Insufficient discussion of outcomes, pitfalls/alternatives and how to deal with them!
Essentials!
AVOIDING mistakes!• Do not be last minute!
• Discuss ideas with peers early-on to get feedback (brainstorming)!
• Distribute drafts to colleagues (specialists and generalists)!
• Follow guidelines, format, required documents etc.!
• No typos or grammatical errors!
• Avoid long paragraphs!
• Avoid abbreviations!
• Correct references!
• LOGICAL flow!
Essentials!
AVOIDING mistakes!
• Can scientists NOT in the specific area of expertise understand the grant?!
• Well-laid out, organized grant makes it easier to “see the science”!
• Logical, well thought through content!
Types of Grants!… and how to find them!
Types of Grants!! Program Areas!
National Science Foundation (NSF) !!• Crosscutting & NSF-wide
• Biological Sciences
• Computer & Information Science & Engineering
• Education & Human Resources
• Engineering
• Environmental Research & Education
• Geosciences
• International & Integrative Activities
• Mathematical & Physical Sciences
• Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences
Types of Grants!
Special Programs!National Science Foundation (NSF) !
!
• For undergraduate students
• For graduate students
• For postdoctoral fellows
• For K-12 educators
• Small business programs
• For veterans
• Broadening participation (e.g. ADVANCE)
Types of Grants!
National Science Foundation (NSF) - Grants!• Unsolicited, investigator-initiated: Traditional, disciplinary core research projects
• Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER): high-risk, high-pay off projects,
proof of concept work, generation of preliminary data
• Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID): require quick response, limited availability of
an essential component; e,g, research on natural/anthropogenic disasters
• Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
• Proposals for Equipment
• Proposals for Conferences, Symposia and Workshops: in the special areas of science and
engineering
• Solicited Proposals
Types of Grants!
National Science Foundation (NSF) - Grants!
Search NSF-specific funding:
www.nsf.gov/funding
Types of Grants!
Types of Grants!National Institute of Health (NIH)!
!
• Research Grants (R series)
• Career Development Awards (K series)
• Research Training & Fellowships (T&F series)
• Program Project/Center Grants (P series)
• Resource Grants (various)
Types of Grants!
National Institute of Health (NIH)!Research Grants!
• R01: Research Project Grant Program
• discrete, specified, circumscribed research project; generally 3-5 years;
requires extensive preliminary data
• R03: Small Grant Program
• pilot/feasibility studies, collection of preliminary data, secondary
analysis of data, small, self-contained research projects etc;
• 2 years, up to
• $50,000/year
Types of Grants!
National Institute of Health (NIH)!Research Grants!
• R21: Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program
• Exploratory/developmental research projects; early stage project
• Total direct costs $275,000
• U01: Research Project Cooperative Agreement
• Discrete, specified projects performed by investigator(s) in their specific
area of expertise
• Substantial programmatic involvement between awarding institute and
center
Types of Grants!
National Institute of Health (NIH)!Research Grants!
• R41/42: Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
• Stimulate scientific/technological innovation between small business concern & research
institution
• Assists in commercializing innovative technology
• Three phases: I – feasibility study to establish merit of R&D efforts (1 yr/$150,000); II – full
R&D efforts (2 yrs/$1,000,000); III – Commercialization stage (cannot use STTR funds)
• US small business units only
• R43/44: Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)
• R&D for for-profit institutions for ideas that have potential for commercialization
• Assists small business research community in commercializing innovative technologies
• Three phases: I – feasibility study to establish merit of R&D efforts (6 months/$150,000); II –
full R&D efforts (2 yrs/$1,000,000); III – Commercialization stage (cannot use STTR funds)
• US small business units only
Types of Grants!
National Institute of Health (NIH)!
To find general information on NIH programs:
www.grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/funding_program.htm
To find NIH funding opportunities
www.grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/index.html
Types of Grants!
Select other Sponsors!• Department of Energy
• Department of Education
• Department of Transport
• Department of Defense
• Environmental Protection Agency
• NASA
• Department of Commerce
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• Florida Department of Health
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Types of Grants!
Other Search Engines!
InfoEd Spin
www.infoedglobal.com
www.infoed.med.miami.edu/spin/spinmain.asp
Others
www.grants.gov
Review Process!… know what you are “up against”!
Review Process!
Review Process, Example: NIH!
First level review by Scientific Review Officer:
• Complete application
• Manage conflict of interest
• Recruit qualified reviewers
• Assign applications to reviewers for critique preparation & criterion scores
• Attend & oversee administrative & regulatory aspects of peer review meetings
• Prepares summary statement
Review Process!
Review Process, Example: NIH!
Study Review Group:
• Chair facilitates discussion on scientific/technical merit
• Assigned reviewers (generally 3) prepare written critique based on review criteria & merit
• Assign numerical score to each scored review criterion
• Make recommendations concerning protection of human subjects, inclusion, animals and other
applicable areas
• Make recommendations on appropriateness of budget
Review Process!
Review Process, Example: NIH!Scored Review Criteria:
• Overall Impact: overall priority score; likelihood for the project to sustainably and powerfully
influence research field; under consideration of following review criteria:
• Significance: importance of problem to scientific field; importance of improvements/changes
gained by results
• Investigator: sufficient expertise, experience training; appropriateness of collaborations?
• Innovation: utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches, methodologies, instrumentation,
interventions? Novel to one field of research or novel in a broader sense?
• Approach: overall strategy, methodology, analyses sound, well-reasoned and appropriate to
accomplish the specific aims? Are potential problems, alternative strategies and benchmarks for
success presented?
• Environment: institutional support, equipment, other physical resources present?
Review Process!
Review Process, Example: NIH!
Additional Review Criteria:
• Protection of Human Subjects
• Inclusion of Women, Minorities, Children
• Vertebrate Animals
• Biohazards
• Resubmission (if applicable)
• Renewal (if applicable)
• Revision (if applicable)
Review Process!
Review Process, Example: NIH!
Review Process:
• Assigned reviewers give preliminary scores
• Assigned reviewers present strengths/weaknesses
• Open discussion of entire review panel
• Final scoring of overall impact score by private ballot by all reviewers
Review Process!
Scoring (NIH)!• Not recommended for further consideration: serious problems, or does not meet the program
requirements
• Not discussed: unanimous decision that application is less competitive; no numerical impact score
• Overall Impact Score: mean score from all members’ impact scores, multiplied by 10; final overall impact score from 10 (high impact) to 90 (low impact)
Review Process!
NSF Review Criteria!• Intellectual Merit
• Advancing knowledge
• Qualification of proposer
• Explores creative, original concepts
• Organization of research plan
• Access to resources
• Broader Impacts
• Promotes teaching, training, learning
• Dissemination of new knowledge
• Participation of minority groups
Individual Rankings: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor
Panel Rankings: High Priority, Medium Priority, Low Priority
Only proposals with majority of “excellent” are likely to get funded
Components of a Grant!… the “essential” set-up!
Components of a grant!
Components!1. Summary/Abstract
2. Specific Aims/Objectives
3. Significance/Innovation
4. Research Plan/Approach
5. References
6. Budget & Budget Justification
7. Facilities
8. Personnel, Biographical Sketches
9. Appendix
10. Components special to some sponsors: Broader Impacts, Data management plan
DO NOT WRITE IN ORDER!
Components of a grant!
SPECIFIC AIMS!• Most important page
• One page
• Contains
• Goals
• Hypothesis
• Rationale
• Aims/Objectives
• Pay-off
• NO direct interdependence
SPEND THE MOST TIME ON THIS PART!
MAKE REVIEWERS YOUR ADVOCATES
Components of a grant!
SIGNIFICANCE!= the positive effect your results are likely going to have
A CLEARLY DEFINED VERTICAL STEP
• Is this an important problem? Why? How? For whom?
• Does this address a critical barrier to progress in the field?
• What contribution to scientific society, mankind, community etc. do the results have?
• Often, investigators add their background data here; HOWEVER, with short-term memory of reviewers, background information should only be given immediately before it is pertinent
• No more than 3 pages (often ½ page):
1. brief, very relevant literature review directly targeted toward the gap in knowledge;
2. Statement of significance – what is the positive impact (specific and substantive);
3. Discussion of future benefits (results will permit others….); validating your assertion of significance
Components of a grant!
RESEARCH PLAN!• Describe overall strategy/methodology that addresses the specific aims/
objectives
• Sufficient detail to understand the methods and analyses, but concise
• Benchmarks of success
• Often helpful: Visualize the overall project with a drawing
• Follow outline introduced with specific aims
• Add expected results, potential pitfalls and alternate approaches after each section
• Be realistic
This part will be scrutinized by the expert reviewers.
Convince the reviewer that you have thought the procedure through carefully and that you have the expertise and facilities to carry this out.
Components of a grant!
RESEARCH PLAN!• Connect the research plan to your specific aims/objectives
• Justify your approach; why is it the best way to address your hypothesis?
• Use correct terminology, but avoid jargon and abbreviations
• Add statistics where appropriate; e.g. justify sample size; data analysis
• Any sample size, number of animals, human subjects, number of measurements etc needs to be clearly defined and justified
• What information will be collected?
A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!
- study design illustration
- flow chart
- data analysis chart, etc
Components of a grant!
RESEARCH PLAN – Deal Breakers!
1. Study design does not address hypothesis; does not follow specific
aims
2. Research cannot be completed in the allotted time
3. No statistical justifications
4. Unclear study design, unfocused, hard to follow
Components of a grant!
REFERENCES!
• Double-check your references to make sure they are correct
• Must be complete and accurate
• Make sure all names are spelled correctly
• Make sure no important publications are omitted
• Be sure that the reference list is current
Components of a grant!
FACILITIES!
• Emphasize unique features of your facility, in particular that will aid
in accomplishing your project
• Can contain:
• Lab (size, special features etc)
• University facilities use for THIS project (e.g. cores, computer,
library etc)
• Common equipment available for use
If equipment is missing, do not hide, but budget purchase
Components of a grant!
Biographical Sketch!• Has to convince the reviewer that you are competent to perform the project
• Emphasize any special qualifications
• Emphasize any special collaborations and their benefits
• Needs to contain:
• Name (for NIH also Commons Username)
• Title
• Education (highest degree, postdoc)
• Experience (professional appointments)
• Honors/awards
• Special assignments (committees, editorial boards etc)
• Publications (most recent first)
New NIH Biosketch: http://uresearch.miami.edu/research-resources/research-and-proposal-development/proposal-development
Components of a grant!
APPENDIX!
• Do NOT use to gain additional space
• Provide support letters from collaborators, institutional support, core facilities etc., if applicable
Components of a Grant!… SPECIFIC AIMS!!!!!!
Specific Aims!
What are the “Specific Aims”?!
1. “Masterplan” to your entire proposal!
2. Should contain all information that makes your proposal exciting,
unique and important – without details!
3. Should convey that you are THE team to pursue this problem!
4. Arguably the most important part of your application!
Specific Aims!
Why are the SPECIFIC AIMS so important?!1. You make or lose reviewers as advocates for your project!
2. Roadmap to your entire grant!
3. Reviewers often determine merit already after only reading the
Specific Aims!
4. Unassigned reviewers most likely only read the specific aims!
5. Will be used by SRO to recruit reviewers!
Specific Aims!
Specific Aims - Outline!
!First Sentence
1st Paragraph
2nd Paragraph
3rd Paragraph
4th Paragraph
Set the Stage
Known-‐Unknown-‐ the GAP
Long-‐term Goals Objec;ves Hypothesis Ra;onale
SPECIFIC AIMS
Pay-‐Off Innova;on
Expected Outcomes
Specific Aims!
q Begin with one sentence that summarizes your proposal and its
importance!
q Why are you writing all the subsequent information?!
q Create interest!
FIRST SENTENCE!
Overview!
1st PARAGRAPH!Introductory paragraph!
1. Establish the scientific (and health) problem!
2. Introduce current knowledge in the field!
3. What is the gap in current knowledge?!
!- it is the gap that is holding back the field that you will address!
2nd PARAGRAPH!The “What, Why, Who” paragraph!1. Describe the long-term goal of your research !
– “big picture”!
2. Objective of THIS application !– links to “gap in knowledge”!
- emphasize the product, not process!
3. Central Hypothesis!- link to objective, which will be accomplished by testing the hypothesis!
4. Rationale!- why do you want to conduct this research; what will become possible if you get to
conduct this research?!
Hypothesis!Ê Although NSF does not require a hypothesis, they do like to see it
Ê Write a real hypothesis:
A tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences (Webster)
Ê Directional hypothesis; gives focus to proposal
(no fishing expedition); provide alternative strategy throughout proposal, if hypothesis is invalid
Ê Hypothesis must be linked to specific aims that test the hypothesis
3rd PARAGRAPH – AIMS!!! !
The “Specific Aims” paragraph!Requires that aims and objective/hypothesis are in concordance!
1. Aims should be brief, not descriptive!- avoid words such as “describe”, “compare”, “correlate”, “investigate” etc.!
2. Write headline (in bold), then one expected outcome (not bold) per aim!
3. Why is the research done, not what is done!
4. 2-4 aims, depending on mechanism; do not be overly ambitious!
5. Avoid complete interdependence of aims, but have logical flow!
6. Aims together test the hypothesis!
Overview!
4th PARAGRAPH - AIMS!
The “Pay-Off” paragraph!
1. Develop advocacy for your proposal among reviewers !
2. One sentence of expected outcomes!
3. Detail “pay-off” – significance!
!
Specific Aims!
Specific Aims - Outline!
!First Sentence
1st Paragraph
2nd Paragraph
3rd Paragraph
4th Paragraph
Set the Stage
Known-‐Unknown-‐ the GAP
Long-‐term Goals Objec;ves Hypothesis Ra;onale
SPECIFIC AIMS
Pay-‐Off Innova;on
Expected Outcomes
!
QUESTIONS?
May 15 9:00am-3:30pm Introduction to NSF/NIH Grants Alumni Center
May 25 Participants submit first draft Specific Aims to VPR office:
[email protected] May 27 3:00pm-5:00pm Workgroup discussion of Specific Aims
Physics Conference Room 334 June 1 10am-12pm Writing Tutors; Writing Center June 8 10am-12pm LaGorce House, 170; June 15 10am-12pm 1228 Dickingson Drive June 17 Participants submit revised Specific Aims to VPR office:
[email protected] June 24 3:00pm-5:00pm Feedback on Specific Aims
Physics Conference Room 334
Important Dates!