The Craft of Grant Writing

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The Craft of Grant Writing

• Phyllis McBride, Ph.D.
• Assistant Director
• Office of Proposal Development
• p-mcbride_at_tamu.edu
• 979-862-4183

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Goal of todays presentation

• To give you a high-level overview of the grant
  writing process
• Understanding the review process
• Writing for reviewers
• Preparing the application (review samples)
• Vetting, editing, and proofreading the
  application
• Revising and resubmitting the application

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Understanding the review process

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Know the review criteria

• Realize that criteria vary from one agency and
  even one program to the next
• Identify the review criteria for your targeted
  agency, program, solicitation
• Understand how the agency defines each of the
  criteria
• Determine how the agency weights each of the
  criteria (if applicable)

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Consider typical review criteria

• Investigator(s)
• Education, training, expertise, relevant
  experience, track record
• Environment
• Access to and suitability of facilities, support
  of institution
• Significance
• Importance of project to the field
• Approach
• Feasibility of methods
• Innovation
• Originality of research
• Budget
• Appropriateness of budget

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Understand the review process

• Realize that the review process varies from one
  agency and even one program to the next
• Identify your targeted programs review process
• Merit review
• Typically external, but sometimes internal at
  mission agencies
• Administrative review
• Typically internal
• Note that most agencies rely on a combination of
  both merit and administrative reviews

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Writing for reviewers

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Think about your reviewers

• Remember that while your application will be
  submitted to an agency, it will be read by people
• Prepare your application with your reviewers in
  mind

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Think about your reviewers

• Smart
• Accomplished
• Dedicated
• Conscientious
• Fair

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Think about your reviewers

• Busy
• Overworked
• Tired
• Skeptical
• Probablynot as familiar with your topic as you
  are

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Think about your reviewers

• NIH mailroom on deadline day

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Think about your reviewers

• Distinguishing between innovations that emerge
  from empirical testing of concepts and
  pre-existing notions and practices currently
  embraced by businesses to distinguish themselves
  from competitors in a given local consumer market
  illustrates the extent to which competitive
  incentives to offer new and potentially
  innovative products may encourage such businesses
  to adopt practices from other markets, thereby
  avoiding costs associated with research and
  development of those new products.
• From Morrison and Russell, Grant
  Application Writers Workbook

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Think about your reviewers

• We will use the previously designed data
  collection instrument, described in section B.3.1
  on page 16, and the statistical analysis, similar
  to that which is in the methods section of the
  reprint attached as appendix VI, to measure the
  extent to which our healthcare assessments
  approaches will be reflective of the community
  standards described in Section B.2.1 on page 5.
• From Morrison and Russell, Grant
  Application Writers Workbook

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Write for your reviewers

• In language, clarity is everything.
• Confucius

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Help your reviewers be your advocate

• Realize that the application is the only thing
  reviewers will have in hand in order to evaluate
  your idea
• Realize that when youre so close to your topic,
  its easy to assume that everyone else
  understands it as fully as you do
• Remember that youre telling a story

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Create reviewer-friendly text

• Divide the proposal into the required sections
• Place the sections in the required order
• Use parallel structure from one section to the
  next
• Incorporate logical paragraph breaks
• Open paragraphs with clear topic sentences
• Discuss important items first
• Avoid the use of inflated language
• Use declarative sentences
• Define potentially unfamiliar terms
• Spell out acronyms and abbreviations
• Employ appropriate style and usage
• Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling
• Run a spell check and proofread the application

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Create a reviewer-friendly format

• Observe page limitations
• For whole proposal
• For individual proposal sections
• Observe margin requirements
• Observe font and point size requirements
• Incorporate headings and subheadings
• Incorporate ample white space

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Create reviewer-friendly graphics

• Place graphics as close to the text they are
  meant to illustrate as possible
• Refer to graphics in the text
• Number and title all graphics
• Prepare a caption for all graphics
• Label axes and data points, as needed
• Provide a legend, as needed
• Make graphics large enough to be useful
• Provide color copies if color and/or color
  gradient is important

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Preparing the application

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Before you begin . . .

• Make sure you have identified the following
• Goal
• Indicates what your overall purpose is
• Should be aligned with the agencys mission
• Rationale
• Indicates why you want to achieve your purpose
• Should be clear and logical
• Objectives
• Indicate how you will achieve your purpose
• Should be specific and measurable
• Expected outcomes
• Indicate what will change as a result of your
  research(e.g., behavior, performance, process,
  produce)
• Should include both immediate and long-term
  outcomes

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Before you begin . . .

• Talk with your program manager!
• Do your homework
• Make an appointment
• Listen to the response
• Request clarification
• Follow up

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Prepare the application

• Evaluation and assessment
• Ethics
• References
• Biographical sketch
• Resources
• Grant support
• Supplementary materials

• Cover sheet
• Title
• Abstract
• Introduction / executive summary
• Significance
• Background
• Research and project design
• Project schedule
• Budget
• Budget justification

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Cover Sheet

• Requires that you provide basic information about
  yourself, your institution, and your proposed
  research project
• Oftentimes offers you the opportunity to indicate
  if you are a new investigator

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Title

• Used by agency administrators to route your
  proposal to the appropriate reviewers
• Should provide an accurate representation of
  your proposed project
• Should generate interest in and enthusiasm for
  your proposed project
• Should conform to agency requirements
• Program name
• Number of characters

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Abstract

• Used by agency administrators to route your
  proposal to the appropriate reviewers
• Provides a concise overview of the proposed
  project
• Requires that you provide a great deal of
  information within a very limited amount of space
  
• Sometimes requires that you provide this
  information in a prescribed format
• Becomes public record if the project is funded

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Introduction / executive summary

• Critically important
• Must provide a conceptual overview
• Must outline the project goals, objectives, and
  outcomes
• Must be clearly written
• Must grab the reviewers attention
• Must generate enthusiasm for the project
• Must be able to stand alone
• Often the only part of the proposal that all
  reviewers will have an opportunity to read

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First paragraph

• Introduce the project
• Relate the project to the agencys mission
• Educate the reviewer
• Summarize the important knowns
• Identify the gap in the knowledge and/or state
  the critical need
• Explain why the gap or need presents a problem
• Remember You must present a way to solve the
  problem or fill the need
• Adapted from David Morrison and Stephen
  Russell, Write Winning Grants

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Second paragraph

• State your goal for the proposed research project
• Should support the agencys mission
• Present your central hypothesis or statement of
  need
• If presenting a central hypothesis, make sure you
  are presenting a real hypothesis one that can
  be tested not a predetermined conclusion
• Explain your rationale
• Should explain what it will be possible to
  accomplish when your research is complete
• Adapted from David Morrison and Stephen
  Russell, Write Winning Grants

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Third paragraph

• Describe your qualifications
• Special training, expertise, and experience
• Quantity and quality of preliminary data
• Unique approach, technology
• Describe your research environment
• Collaborations and partnerships
• Access to research subjects
• Access to unique equipment and resources
• Adapted from David Morrison and Stephen
  Russell, Write Winning Grants

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Fourth paragraph

• Delineate your objectives / specific aims
• Ensure that all objectives link back to and
  support your overall goal
• Provide a reasonable number of objectives
• Present objectives in a logical order
• Define a specific purpose, hypothesis and/or
  need, and expected outcome for each objective
• Make sure each objective can stand alone
• Make sure no objective is dependent on the
  successful outcome of another objective
• Adapted from David Morrison and Stephen
  Russell, Write Winning Grants

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Fifth paragraph

• Reiterate the projects significance and
  innovation
• Fill a gap in the knowledge
• Advance the field
• Meet a need
• Provide an application
• Delineate the projects expected outcomes
• List specific deliverables
• Summarize the projects benefits
• Adapted from David Morrison and Stephen
  Russell, Write Winning Grants

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Background

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the field
• Contextualize the proposed project
• Nature of the problem
• Extent of the problem
• Significance of the problem
• Provide a literature review and a description of
  your preliminary studies

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Literature review

• Cite only that literature which is directly
  relevant to the proposed project
• Provide a critical evaluation of the literature
  you cite
• Situate your proposed research project in the
  field

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Preliminary studies

• Provide an account only of the preliminary
  studies relevant to the proposed research project
• Determine how much preliminary data to include
• Present the results in a logical order
• Consider illustrating the results with graphics

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Project description

• Organize the project description around the
  overall project goal and objectives
• Try to devote an equal number of pages to each
  of the objectives
• Use parallel structure to describe each of the
  objectives

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Project description

• Provide a title for the objective
• Introduce the objective
• Describe the approach to the objective
• Identify anticipated problems for the objective
• Delineate the expected outcomes
• Delineate the evaluation and assessment plan
• Delineate the potential immediate and long-term
  benefits
• Discuss all relevant ethical issues

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Project schedule

• Indicate the anticipated start date
• Delineate the key milestones
• Incorporate the agency and program requirements

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Budget

• Understand typical budget categories
• Direct costs
• Personnel
• Equipment
• Materials
• Travel
• Indirect costs

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Budget

• Adhere to agency and program requirements
• Include only allowable costs
• Request what you need to complete the project
• Make sure the budget reflects the research
  projects objectives, scope, and duration
• Base budget on real costs
• Remember that reviewers know what things cost
• Factor in both direct and indirect costs
• Factor in cost escalations for multi-year
  projects

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Budget justification

• Provide a clear, appropriately detailed, and
  persuasive explanation of why each budget request
  is needed
• Ensure that the budget numbers mentioned in the
  proposal narrative, the budget, and the budget
  justification are consistent

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Project evaluation and assessment

• Kinds of evaluation plans
• Formative
• Take place during the project
• Often qualitative
• Summative
• Take place at the end of the project
• Often quantitative

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Project ethics

• Address all relevant ethical issues regarding
  inclusion of human and animal subjects and use of
  hazardous materials, select agents, or rDNA
• Justify use of human and animal subjects and or
  hazardous materials, select agents, or rDNA
• Demonstrate that potential benefits outweigh
  potential risks
• Explain safeguards from potential risks

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Biographical sketch

• Emphasize qualifications relevant to the proposed
  project
• Ability to conduct project
• Ability to manage project
• Adhere to agencys formatting requirements
• Use the required form (if applicable) or follow
  the required format
• Stay within prescribed page limits
• Include the required headings
• Place information in the required order
• If you are collaborating
• Format your colleagues resumes like your own

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Biographical sketch

• Name
• Title
• Institutional affiliation
• Education
• Professional appointments
• Publications
• Grant awards
• Collaborators
• Co-authors, co-editors, advisors, advisees

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Resources

• Demonstrate that it is feasible to conduct the
  proposed research project at your institution
• Demonstrate that you are part of an
  intellectually stimulating and supportive
  research environment

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Grant Support

• Show that you have a clear research agenda
• Show that you have been productive on past
  projects
• Demonstrate that you have sufficient time to
  conduct and manage the proposed research project
• Demonstrate that there is no overlap between one
  of your already funded projects and your
  proposed research project

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Supplementary materials

• Verify that supplementary materials are accepted
• Avoid using supplementary materials to circumvent
  page limitations
• Include only supplementary materials that support
  the application
• Offprints of publications, manuscripts, abstracts
• Clinical protocols or informed consent documents
• Samples of surveys, questionnaires, or data
  collection instruments
• Samples of curricula
• Photographs, graphics, or other media
• Other materials, as required
• Letters of support or other endorsements

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Vetting, editing, and proofreading the application

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Vet, edit, and proofread your application

• Vet your application
• Identify colleagues to review the application
• Provide reviewers with the information they need
• Give reviewers ample time to read the application
• Review, evaluate, and incorporate feedback
• Edit your application
• Ensure that you have included all required
  sections
• Confirm that you have placed sections in required
  order
• Verify that you have addressed all review
  criteria
• Ask yourself if you have told the story of your
  project
• Proofread and spell check your application
• Facts, spelling, punctuation, grammar, usage, and
  style

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Revising and resubmitting the application

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Receive review comments

• If your proposal is funded . . .
• Celebrate!

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Receive review comments

• If your proposal is not funded . . .
• Deal with rejection

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Deal with rejection

• We have read your manuscript with boundless
  delight. If we were to publish your paper, it
  would be impossible for us to publish any work of
  lower standard. And as it is unthinkable that in
  the next thousand years we shall see its equal,
  we are, to our regret, compelled to return your
  divine composition, and to beg you a thousand
  times to overlook our short sight and timidity.
• Rejection slip from a Chinese economic journal

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Revise and resubmit your application

• Never give in, never give in, never, never,
  never, never in nothing, great or small, large
  or petty never give in except to convictions or
  honor and good sense.
• Winston Churchill

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Craft of Grant Writing

• Thank you, and Good luck with your application!