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The Craft of Grant Writing

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Title: The Craft of Grant Writing


1
The Craft of Grant Writing
  • Phyllis McBride, Ph.D.
  • Assistant Director
  • Office of Proposal Development
  • p-mcbride_at_tamu.edu

2
Writing for reviewers

3
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

4
Think about your reviewers
  • Smart
  • Accomplished
  • Dedicated
  • Fair

5
Think about your reviewers
  • Busy
  • Overworked
  • Tired
  • Skeptical

6
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.
  • Example from GWSW

7
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.
  • Example from GWSW

8
Write for your reviewers
  • In language, clarity is everything.
  • Confucius

9
Write for your reviewers
  • Make sure that all of your reviewers no matter
    what kind or level of expertise they may have
    will be able to follow your argument
  • You want your reviewers to be your advocate
  • For reviewers to be your advocate, they must be
    able to understand your proposed research project
    well enough to explain it to other reviewers

10
Write for your reviewers
  • Remember that the proposal is the only reality
  • Assume nothing
  • Include everything the reviewers will need to
    evaluate your proposed research and your
    qualifications to conduct that research
  • Remember that you are telling a story
  • Synthesize all key concepts for the reviewers
  • Clearly articulate the links between the overall
    goal, the individual objectives, the hypotheses,
    the rationale, the expected outcomes, and the
    significance and impact
  • Dont count on the reviewers to make leaps of
    logic for you

11
Create a reviewer-friendly application
  • Prepare reviewer-friendly text
  • Develop reviewer-friendly formatting
  • Incorporate reviewer-friendly graphics

12
Create reviewer-friendly text
  • Divide the proposal into the required sections
  • Place the sections in the required order
  • Use parallel structure at the section level
  • Incorporate logical paragraph breaks
  • Open paragraphs with clear topic sentences
  • 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, spelling
  • Run a spell check and proofread the application

13
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

14
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16
Create reviewer-friendly graphics
  • Make graphics large enough to be useful
  • 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

17
Reading the proposal solicitation

18
Read the instructions
  • Read the instructions!
  • Read all of the instructions!
  • Read all of the instructions carefully!
  • Read all of the instructions carefully again!
  • Agencys proposal preparation guide
  • Programs proposal solicitation
  • Solicitations supplemental instructions

19
Analyze the solicitation
  • The proposal solicitation is not
  • A list of suggestions
  • A menu or smorgasbord from which you can choose
    what to address
  • The proposal solicitation is
  • A non-negotiable list of proposal requirements
  • A treasure map

20
Analyze the solicitation
  • Use information presented in the announcement to
    help you develop a competitive proposal strategy
  • Remember that a proposal is a persuasive sales
    document
  • Emphasize hot buttons
  • Echo language of announcement
  • Address the review criteria
  • Call your program manager with questions

21
Preparing the application

22
Prepare the application
  • Cover sheet
  • Title
  • Abstract
  • Executive summary
  • Background
  • Significance
  • Project description
  • Project schedule
  • Biographical sketch
  • Resources
  • Grant support
  • Budget
  • Budget justification
  • Supplementary materials

23
Cover Sheet
  • Requires that you provide basic information
  • Program name and number
  • Principal investigator information
  • Administrative official information
  • Organization name and type
  • Requested award amount
  • Proposed project period
  • Human and animal subjects assurance numbers
  • Signatures
  • Oftentimes offers you the opportunity to indicate
    if you are a new investigator

24
Title
  • Create a good first impression
  • Must be informative
  • Must be interesting
  • Conform to restrictions on length
  • Know if restrictions apply to characters only,
    or to characters and spaces
  • Conduct market research
  • Ask colleagues to help you select the most
    compelling title

25
Abstract
  • Provides a concise overview of the proposed
    project
  • Requires that you provide a great deal of
    information within a tightly prescribed format
  • Who, what, when, where, why, and how
  • Additional agency-specific information
  • NIH Relevance of the research to public health
  • NSF Intellectual merit and broader impacts
  • Frequently becomes public record if the project
    is funded
  • Should be written in third person
  • Should not include confidential or proprietary
    information

26
Introduction / executive summary
  • Critically important
  • Often the only part of the proposal that all
    reviewers will have an opportunity to read
  • Must be able to stand alone
  • Must be clearly written
  • Must provide a conceptual overview
  • Must generate enthusiasm
  • Serves as a roadmap to the application

27
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

28
Second paragraph
  • Describe your long-term research goal
  • Should support the agencys mission
  • State the objective of the proposed research
    project
  • Should represent a step toward reaching your
    long-term goal
  • Present your central hypothesis or statement of
    need
  • If presenting a central hypothesis
  • Make sure it is a real hypothesis, not a
    predetermined conclusion, i.e., make sure it can
    be objectively tested to determine its validity
  • Explain your rationale
  • Explain what it will be possible to accomplish
    when your research is complete

29
Third paragraph
  • Describe your qualifications
  • Special training, and/or expertise
  • Quantity and quality of preliminary data
  • Unique approach, technology
  • Describe your research environment
  • Access to unique equipment and resources
  • Access to research subjects
  • Collaborations and partnerships

30
Fourth paragraph
  • Delineate your objectives / specific aims
  • Provide a reasonable number of objectives
  • Dont be under- or over-ambitious
  • Present objectives in a logical order
  • Make sure each objective can stand alone
  • Make sure no objective is dependent on the
    successful completion of another objective
  • Provide conceptual objectives that focus on your
    idea rather than descriptive objectives that
    focus on tasks

31
Fifth paragraph
  • Describe the projects innovation
  • Delineate the projects expected outcomes
  • List specific deliverables
  • Summarize the projects significance / impact
  • Fill a gap in the knowledge
  • Advance the field
  • Meet a need
  • Provide an application

32
Background
  • Demonstrate your familiarity with the field
  • Provide a context for the proposed project
  • Literature review
  • Preliminary studies

33
Literature Review
  • Cite only literature relevant to the proposed
    project
  • Dont try to be comprehensive
  • Provide a critical review of the relevant
    literature
  • Dont simply summarize contributions
  • Situate your proposed research project in the
    field
  • Explain how your proposed research project will
    contribute to and/or advance the field dont
    expect reviewers to make this leap for you

34
Preliminary Studies
  • Provide an account only of the preliminary
    studies relevant to the proposed research project
  • Determine how much preliminary data to include
  • Published studies
  • Summarize the results and provide offprints in
    the appendix
  • Unpublished studies
  • Describe the results in more detail to assure
    reviewers of the reliability of the results
  • Present the results in a logical order
  • Illustrate the results with graphics

35
Project Description
  • Organize the project description around the
    objectives
  • Try to devote an equal number of pages to each
    of the objectives
  • Use parallel structure to describe each of the
    objectives

36
Project Description
  • Title of objective
  • Introduction to objective
  • Hypothesis or statement of need
  • Strategy
  • Rationale
  • Project / experimental design for objective
  • Emphasize concept
  • Be specific when describing approach /
    methodology
  • Refer to your previous work, if appropriate
  • Expected outcomes for objective
  • Express confidence
  • Anticipated problems for objective
  • Provide solutions and/or alternative strategies

37
Project schedule
  • Indicate anticipated start date
  • Obtain this date from the proposal solicitation
  • Delineate key milestones
  • Base milestones on the objectives
  • Incorporate agency and program requirements
  • Include dates for reports and other deliverables

38
Project Schedule
39
Biographical Sketch
  • Highlight accomplishments that demonstrate your
    capacity to conduct and manage the project
  • Adhere to agencys formatting requirements
  • Use the required form (if applicable)
  • Follow the prescribed page limits
  • Include the required headings
  • Place information in the required order
  • If you are collaborating
  • Format your colleagues resumes like your own

40
Biographical Sketch
  • Name
  • Title
  • Institutional affiliation
  • Education
  • Field of study, degrees, years degrees were
    earned
  • Professional appointments
  • Department, institutional affiliation, term of
    appointment
  • Publications
  • Full bibliographic citations
  • Verify if inclusion of publications in press or
    submitted is allowed
  • Grant awards
  • Completed, ongoing, and pending support
  • Collaborators
  • Co-authors, co-editors, advisors, advisees

41
Resources
  • Demonstrate that it is feasible to conduct the
    proposed research project at your institution
  • Facilities
  • Office, laboratory, library
  • Equipment and instrumentation
  • Clinical
  • Animal
  • Computer
  • Other
  • Demonstrate that you are part of an
    intellectually stimulating and supportive
    research environment
  • Collaborations and partnerships
  • Affinity groups

42
Completed, Ongoing, and Pending Grant Support
  • Show that you have a clear research agenda
  • Show that you have been productive on past
    projects
  • Presented results of research at professional
    conferences
  • Published papers in peer-reviewed journals
  • 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

43
Completed, Ongoing, and Pending Grant Support
  • Contract number
  • Principal investigators name
  • Sponsors name
  • Project title
  • Project period
  • Project summary
  • Investigators role
  • Investigators percent effort
  • Annual and/or total direct costs

44
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 cost escalations for multi-year
    projects
  • Factor in both direct and indirect costs

45
Budget
  • Understand typical budget categories
  • Direct costs
  • Personnel
  • Equipment
  • Materials
  • Travel
  • Indirect costs

46
Budget Justification
  • Use this section to continue to persuade
    reviewers that you are a thoughtful investigator
  • Provide a clear and persuasive explanation of
    why each budget request is needed
  • Include sufficient detail
  • Enables program managers to understand how the
    budget was calculated so that they can see that
    the request was reasonable
  • Allows program managers to negotiate the budget
    in the most appropriate way

47
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 or photocopies of publications
  • Samples of curricula
  • Samples of surveys, questionnaires, or data
    collection instruments
  • Clinical protocols or informed consent documents
  • Photographs, graphics, or other media
  • Letters of support or other endorsements

48
Vetting, editing, and proofreading the application

49
Vet your application
  • Identify colleagues to review the application
  • Select reviewers carefully
  • Provide reviewers with the information they need
  • Proposal solicitation
  • Complete application
  • Give reviewers ample time
  • You want them to conduct a thorough review
  • You want them to help you catch fatal flaws
  • In scholarship and/or science
  • In grantsmanship
  • Review, evaluate, and incorporate feedback

50
Revise your application
  • You will have to write and put away or burn a
    lot of material before you are comfortable in
    this medium. You might as well start now and get
    the necessary work done. For I believe that
    eventually quantity will make for quality.
  • Ray Bradbury

51
Edit your application
  • Set aside the instructions and application for a
    few days
  • Re-read the instructions and application
  • Ensure that you have included all required
    sections
  • Confirm that you have placed sections in the
    required order
  • Verify that you have addressed all review
    criteria
  • Ask yourself if you have told the story of
    your proposed research project in the most
    clear, compelling, and convincing way possible

52
Proofread your application
  • Check for errors
  • Facts
  • Spelling
  • Punctuation
  • Grammar
  • Usage
  • Style
  • Run a spell check

53
Route and submit your application
  • Remember that your institution will submit your
    application on your behalf
  • Allocate ample time to route your application
    for institutional approvals
  • Allow time to finalize application
  • Paper submissions
  • Allow ample time to photocopy, bind, and mail
    application
  • Electronic submissions
  • Allow ample time to e-mail and upload application

54
Wait for news
  • And wait . . .
  • And wait . . .
  • And wait . . .

55
Receive review comments
  • If your proposal is funded, celebrate!
  • Or, if it is not funded, . . .
  • Deal with rejection

56
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

57
Revising and resubmitting the application

58
Revise and resubmit your application
  • Respect the views of reviewers
  • Review the reviews
  • Discuss the reviews with senior faculty and with
    your program manager
  • Decide whether or not you have a viable project
  • If you dont, revise the idea or come up with a
    new one
  • If you do, revise and resubmit the application
  • Verify that the targeted program is the best one
    for the project
  • Respond to reviewer comments
  • Focus on submitting a great proposal

59
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

60
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