Visitors are coming to our class..

• October 17, 2006– Seth Donahue, Engineering– Bruce Seely, Social Sciences– Victor Busov, Forestry

• October 31, 2006– Dave Reed, VP for Research– Anita Quinn, Director of Research Services– Lisa Jukkala, Research Services– Jackie Huntoon, Graduate School– Pete Larsen, Research Services

INTRODUCTION

• First 1-2 pages described what research activity you want to pursue

• You told reviewers your objectives and how you plan to achieve them

• You told them about the methods

• You told them about significance

• Now they are hooked and hungry for more!

Background information

• Why? • Because they should know what do you know! • Start from broad topics and narrow down to

specifics of your proposal• Review of literature: know difference between

thesis, publications & proposal• You want to show them your depth of knowledge

and understanding of the current literature and research trends

• Build your story on the basis of what is known!

References

• How many are too many?• Depends on your field• Use 30-40 best ones that serve YOU the best!• Give some popular review articles (recent)• Don’t say: Recently in 1955…• Cite leaders, old-timers and little people too• Ego trip! So let some ride on it too (no attacks!)• Cite those who support your train of thoughts

Background informationAssignment for the next class

• Write background section (3-4 pages)

• Develop logical flow of ideas published in the literature

• Cite relevant publications

• Use both recent and old citations

• Submit e-copy to Megan and hard copy to me in the class

This Thursday..

• Come prepared to discuss among your peers my successful and unsuccessful NSF proposals kept at our class site.

• Bring written points on– What did you like about them?– What did you dislike about them?– What activity is proposed?– Why you think one succeeded and other failed?

• Submit to me at the end of the class• Read and discuss one pager that your peers have

submitted to me.• You will get one-two more proposals in email soon.

Five things Reviewers look for before they even think about

reading your proposal• Who is proposing it? CV and support..

• Where are you coming from?

• How much are you asking?

• What is the title of your proposal?

• What activity you are proposing: Summary

How to submit a NSF proposal?

• Electronic via FASTLANE

• Reach there by Deadline but don’t wait till last minute (Target date?)

• How it is processed at NSF

• Three major steps to survive the first cut– Read the instructions– Read the instructions– Read the instructions

Project Description• Format

– Pagination: You do it just before submission– 15 page limit– Previous NSF grants (max 5 pages)– 10 points or larger font– Density 15 characters per 2.5 cm– 6 lines per 2.5 cm vertical space– margins in all directions 2.5 cm– My suggested font will be Times New Roman 12 point– References not included in the 15 page limit– But figures and tables are..

What if I do not follow these guidelines?

How can I use all the space that I got?

• Leave some blank space for aesthetic purpose. Solid page is hard to read!

• Use some figures and pictures to break the monotony. (Color better!) (But no clip arts, please)

• Show one diagram of interrelationship among various proposal components

• Explain the figures/tables that you put there!• Personalize proposal with your unique style!

– Picture/figure on the first page may be better

Don’t forget the basics • Grammar, spellings and style counts!• Use Bold, underline, and bullets to draw attention (1 of 3)• Write each paragraph so that it builds on the preceding

paragraph. Make your ideas connect and flow. Each new paragraph is a step toward the final paragraph to solve the problem. Each new paragraph adds excitement and urgency of doing proposed work (Bev Browning)

• You should answer every question that comes next to your mind when you read your own narrative

• Limit flowery words to three-four in the entire proposal• This is not a story although it should read like one.• They should not stop reading and go back and forth• Touch their heart, mind and intellect and wallet!• Always start fresh..

What is the goal? What are the main objectives?

• Goal: one sentence statement about the END that one strives to attain

• Objectives: attainable milestones or checkpoints to be achieved to know how far are we from our goal?

• A Timetable is must!

• Use active words: will be established, proven, discovered..

How will we submit the proposals for this class?

• I have already formed five peer groups of 5-6 students.

• All the assignments will be circulated among peers from your group.

• Everyone is expected to give input to each other• Forms will be kept on my website. You download

them, fill them up and submit to me by e-mail.• The final proposal will be a single, collated

document in the pdf format that will go to your peer group, outside evaluators and professors for grading.

How will proposals be evaluated?• We will use the same two criteria that NSF uses (Read

GPG).• Intellectual merit

– How important for advancement of knowledge?– Qualification of PI and quality of proposal?– Creative and original concepts? – How well conceived and organized is this activity?– Sufficient resources available?

• Broader impacts– Advance discovery and understanding– Can promote teaching and research integration– Diversity (gender, ethnicity, disability, geographical)– Infrastructure development– Dissemination of information obtained – What is the benefit to society?

Grant Proposal Writing

Valorie Troesch’s top 10 Don’ts

No!

No!

No!

No!No!

No!

No!No!

No! No!

Top 10 Don’ts

10Don’t wait until the last

minute.

Top 10 Don’ts

9.Don’t ignore or

undervaluethe boring parts:

management plan

education & outreach

project evaluation, etc.

This is boring and it isn’t my

area of expertise.

Who will care anyway if I

omit it?

8.Don’t ignore any instructions in

the RFP.

Request for

Proposals

Instructions

Do this

Do that

Mail to

Email to

Sections required

Page limits

Margin & font sizes

Etc.

Top 10 Don’ts

7.

Don’t lie. Don’t plagiarize.

Top 10 Don’ts

6.Don’t promise something that

you can’t deliver.

I sure hope I can do this.

Well, miracles do

happen!

Top 10 Don’ts

5.Don’t try to cram

everything but the kitchen sink

into your proposal.

Top 10 Don’ts

4.Don’t ever say “it

is obvious” or “it is apparent.”

Assume that nothing is obvious or apparent.

It is obvious that…..

Top 10 Don’ts

Top 10 Don’ts

3.Don’t have any misspelled words

or grammatical errors

Dictionary

Top 10 Don’ts

2.Don’t ignore the reviewers’

comments

Top 10 Don’ts

1.Don’t give up!

You can’t win if you don’t enter!

My top 10 Do’s

Top 10 Do’s

10.Do develop a good idea that someone will want to fund

Top 10 Do’s

9.Do start early &

allow enough time to write a good proposal

Top 10 Do’s

8.Do ask for and use

available help:• Program Officers• Colleagues• University resources• Reviewer comments• Prior awardees

Top 10 Do’s

7.Do learn to accept

criticism.

Do use constructive

criticism wisely.

That idiot doesn’t know

anything!!!!!

Now that’s a good

idea. I’ll try that.

Top 10 Do’s

6.Do understand about “goals,”“objectives,” and “activities.”

Activities

The “to do” list

Chronological order

Objectives

What you want to achieve in the short-term

Immediate results from your project

Goals

Long-term changes or contributions of your project.

The BIG PICTURE things

Top 10 Do’s

5.Do understand the goals of the

funding agency.

NSF’s goals

Your project

Top 10 Do’s

4.Do show your

passion.

Top 10 Do’s

3.

Do sell yourself and your product.

2. Do make your proposal as easy and as pleasant to read as possible for the reviewers:

well-organized 1st person and direct sentences pleasing to the eye: lots of white space;

use diagrams, tables, and pictures but keep them simple

read it aloud and have others critically read it

make your abstract as good as it can be Highlight the review criteria so reviewers

don’t miss them

This Not this

Top 10 Do’s

1.1.

Be an Be an optimist!optimist!