PSU Granting Workshop For Science and Engineering

1
PSU Granting WorkshopFor Science and Engineering
Rufus Day, Ph.D.
Office of Research and Sponsored Projects
NGC5985
(Revised May 11, 2005, but still under
construction corrections/suggestions solicited
and appreciated)
NGC5981
NGC5982
(in Draco)
2
Acknowledgements

• For helpful suggestions and comments, thanks to
• Barbara Sestak
• Kat Weigant
• Martha Kierstead
• Bill Helsley
• Jong-Sung Kim
• Jason Podrabsky
• Marj Enneking
• Erik Bodegom
• Gene Enneking
• Olivia Thomas
• Gerardo Lafferriere
• Mike Bartlett
• Dirk Iwata-Reuyl
• Keith Garlid
• Ken Stedman

3
The nota bene page

• The strategy suggested here is a successful one
  (one of many). The author has derived it over
  the years from his own granting successes, from
  serving on grants panels, and from learning about
  writing.
• I encourage you to send your application for me
  to review and to make suggestions. Email it to
  me (Rufus Day) at rday_at_pdx.edu or bring it to
  111B Cramer Hall. Any questions or suggestions?
  Email or call at 5-8401.

4
Granting Workshop Content

• First What reviewers look for
• Selecting an Agency
• or Foundation
• Getting Ready
• Outlining the Application
• Abstract, Abbreviations, Project Summary,
  Introduction, Experimentation, Education and
  Outreach, and Summary
• The Budget
• Submitting the Application
• Writing Workshop

Hey! Thats our genome!
Double-stranded DNA
5
First, what are reviewers looking for? (1 of 2)
(straight from an NSF presentation)

• Is there a clearly stated research objective?
• Is the objective really research (not
  development, not computer programming)?
• Is the research well motivated?
• Is the research properly placed in context of
  extant knowledge and literature?
• Is there a viable plan to accomplish stated
  research objective?

6
First, what are reviewers looking for? (2 of 2)
(straight from an NSF presentation)

• Are the PIs capable of accomplishing the research
  plan?
• Is the institutional infrastructure adequate?
• What is the broader impact of the research? (See
  NSF advisory here.)
• What is the contribution to education?
• Is the budget reasonable?
• Is the proposed method self-consistent, is the
  math correct?
• Are the PIs available to perform the research?

7
Selecting an Agency or Foundation

• With your project in mind, find an agency or
  foundation with
• Interest in your greatest research strength
• Sufficient funding for the project
• Convenient deadline
• Possibilities
• Federal NSF, DOE, NIH, EPA, NASA, DARPA,
• Private Murdock, Keck, Dreyfus, Beckman, Allen,
  
• For more possibilities, search at the COS
  website

NSF
8
Web Site for finding funding sources

• Community of Science COS
• PSUs Office of Research and Sponsored Projects
  lots of info and links here.

Microprocessor chip
9
Web sites some funding sources

• FEDERAL
• NSF http//www.nsf.gov
• DOE http//www.er.doe.gov/production/grants/gran
  ts.html
• NIH http//www.nih.gov
• EPA http//www.epa.gov/ogd/grants/how_to_apply.h
  tm
• NASA http//research.hq.nasa.gov/research.cfm
• DARPA http//www.darpa.mil/body/off_programs.htm
  l
• PRIVATE
• Murdock http//www.murdock-trust.org
• Keck http//www.wmkeck.org
• Dreyfus http//www.dreyfus.org
• Beckman http//www.beckman-foundation.com
• Allen http//www.pgafoundations.com/default.aspx
  

Mount St. Helens
10
Important Notes

• Submit applications to Federal Agencies through
  the PSU Office of Research and Sponsored
  Projects. Prior to submitting your application,
  fill out a PSU Proposal Internal Approval Form
  (PIAF) and submit it to the Office for
  signatures. (For more information, telephone
  Barbara Sestak, 5-3340.)
• The PSU Development Office coordinates
  submissions to private foundations. If you have
  elected to apply to a private foundation,
  telephone Gail Schneider at the PSU Development
  Office before you plan any further work on your
  application (5-5032). If a go-ahead is given,
  then submit applications through the PSU Office
  of Research and Sponsored Projects as above.

11
Getting Ready The Instructions

• Print the application instructions.
• Read them and highlight these details (i)
  maximum allowable number of pages for the various
  sections, (ii) minimum font size, (iii) minimum
  margin size, (iv) deadline date and if its the
  date the application must arrive or be
  postmarked, and (v) mailing address for
  applications (if snail-mailing). Also note the
  (vi) budget limits, (vii) cost-share requirements
  and (viii) any restrictions. You will want to
  refer back to this information.
• Be sure that budget limitations, restrictions,
  and cost-share requirements meet your needs.

12
Getting Ready The Idea - 1

• The key to funding is a novel, intriguing idea.
  The idea has to be exciting to you. If it isnt,
  its difficult to get your reviewers excited.
• Incubate your idea on paper. Write it out. You
  think far more clearly when you put your thoughts
  on the written page than when you try to
  manipulate them in your head.
• Chase your idea on paper. Write down the train of
  thought that led to the idea, i.e. the supporting
  evidence and/or the gap that the idea fills.

13
Getting Ready The Idea - 2

• What unexplained published data does the idea
  explicate? How does following up the idea
  contribute to understanding? Why is the idea
  attractive? Keep writing on paper.
• What experiments or study does it suggest? If
  experiments, can they be properly controlled?
  What new vistas may be opened up by the results?
• Present your idea and approach in writing to a
  knowledgeable colleague or two. If theres
  something out of line, its better to find out
  now! Maybe youll get help fleshing out your
  idea.
• Work towards formulating your specific aims (next
  slide )

14
Getting ReadySpecific Aims or Goals

• Formulate your project as two or three specific
  aims (goals or objectives) the two or three
  most important contributions that you are hoping
  to make to new knowledge. Two is better than
  three. These should relate closely to your
  long-range goals. For a group grant, you can
  have up to four or five specific aims.
• If you have in mind four or more aims or goals
  for an individual grant, cut them down to two or
  three. Four or more will prompt at least one of
  your reviewers to say that your proposal lacks
  focus. This is fatal. Always be focused.
• Structure the remainder of your application
  around your specific aims. Coordinating your
  specific aims or goals is central to the success
  of your application.

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Outline the Application

• Abstract (if required)
• Abbreviations and Definitions
• Project Summary (including your specific aims)
• Introduction
• Experimentation
• Education and Outreach one page max
• Summary one page max
• References

A tRNA nucleoside found only in Archaea
These headings are expanded upon in the next
slides
16
Abstract (if required)

• Write a short version of your application, but do
  not copy any part of your write-up. If you force
  your reviewers to read the exact same written
  material twice, they will hold it against you.
• Make your abstract as complete as possible. Pack
  it with information. The reviewer who is
  presenting your case may read it aloud to the
  committee to inform them about the content. It is
  possible that the reviewer will elect to read
  aloud the first part of the project summary or
  introduction to inform the committee, but dont
  count on it.
• Dont force the reviewer to prepare a better
  summary than yours, be it in the Abstract,
  Project Summary, or Introduction.

17
Abbreviations and Definitions

• If you use numerous abbreviations and/or
  definitions in the text, be kind to the reviewers
  and collect them all in the first page of your
  application.
• You can set them off from the text by enclosing
  them in a box. Yes, the box counts towards the
  page limit.
• Next slide

18
Example Abbreviations in a Box

• Abbreviations UDS, unscheduled DNA
  synthesis XP, xeroderma pigmentosum XP group A,
  XP complementation group A CS, Cockaynes
  syndrome CSA, Cockaynes syndrome
  complementation group A ERCC, excision repair
  cross-complementing MNNG, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nit
  rosoguanidine m6G, O6-methylguanine MGMT,
  O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase NER,
  nucleotide excision repair LPMR, long patch DNA
  base mismatch repair TCR, transcription-coupled
  repair SUA2C, two component survival curve with
  UVd adenovirus SUAwt, wild-type repair of UVd
  adenovirus, HSSB, human single-strand DNA binding
  protein RPA, DNA replication protein A HHR23B,
  human homologue B of yeast rad 23 RFC, human
  replication factor C PCNA, proliferating cell
  nuclear antigen SCE, sister chromatid exchanges
  DNA-PK the DNA dependent protein kinase DMEM,
  Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium plus 10 fetal
  calf serum and antibiotics GTBP, GT mismatch
  binding protein NHF, normal human fibroblasts
  HNPCC, hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer dG,
  deoxyguanosine hMSH2, the human homolog of the
  yeast homolog 2 of E. coli MutS protein hMLH1,
  the human homolog of the yeast homolog 1 of E.
  coli MutL protein hPMS1 the human homolog of
  yeast post meiotic segregation gene 1

19
Project Summary (usually one page)

• Write a title that summarizes your study.
• Then present your specific aims accurately one
  sentence per specific aim. No preamble. Just the
  specific aims.
• Summarize briefly the most important knowledge in
  the area of research that your specific aims deal
  with.
• Identify the gap in knowledge that your research
  will fill (the need for the study or the
  importance of the study) in the next sentence or
  two. State your hypothesis. (Never state it any
  differently later on in the application.)
• Continued on next slide

20
Project Summary - 2

• Describe briefly, generally, but accurately how
  you propose to achieve your specific aims (two or
  three sentences).
• Describe your published and preliminary data that
  most closely relates to your specific aims in the
  next one or two sentences.
• Point to the intellectual merit of the study
  (required for NSF applications). Include how your
  research fills an intellectual gap.
• Point to the broader impacts your study will have
  on your field (required for NSF applications).
  Include how your research will lead to taking the
  next step.
• (If you want help in writing, see last section of
  this presentation, the writing workshop.)

21
Introduction

• Write an overall introduction to the project
  (provide the background) and describe the
  importance of doing the project.
• Write an introduction to specific aim 1 (a
  paragraph) then
• describe work of other labs related to specific
  aim 1 if any
• present your previous and preliminary work
  related to specific aim 1
• provide 2-3 sentences on your experimental
  approach to specific aim 1 (Later, you will
  describe this fully.)
• relate the significance of achieving specific aim
  1 to your work and to your field
• Ditto for specific aim 2

22
Experimentation (1 of 2)

• Provide an introduction to the experimental
  section include your experience with the
  methods. If you need to learn a method, propose
  (and arrange) to learn it at a laboratory with
  the expertise you need to acquire. Supply a
  letter of invitation if permitted by the granting
  agency.
• Give a title to and introduce the experimentation
  relevant to achieving specific aim 1. Then
• (if collaboration, list names of the researchers
  involved in specific aim 1 right along side the
  title)
• Describe your experimental design and/or analysis
  and why it will achieve specific aim 1
• Describe anticipated outcomes, anticipated
  problems
• Advantages of, and alternatives to, the proposed
  methodologies

23
Experimentation (2 of 2)

• Repeat last suggestion for specific aim 2
• Write a section on who will do what if more
  than one principal investigator is involved,
  describe this explicitly. Dont make the
  reviewer try to figure it out.
• Provide an anticipated timeline or timeframe for
  achieving experimental mileposts (short)

24
Education and Outreach

• Integrate your education and outreach activities
  into the project.
• If applicable, tell how the education component
  will affect graduate, undergraduate, and
  pre-college education (e.g. through Saturday
  Academy).
• Describe any current or planned participation in
  community education, e.g. Continuing Professional
  Development for Oregon educators.

25
Final Summary

• Summarize succinctly but thoroughly.
• Reiterate the intellectual merit and broader
  impacts (see NSF) of the study.
• Be sure to end with an upbeat sentence or two,
  but stay scientific.

26
The Budget

• Justify your expenses with details, details,
  details. Itemize each projected expenditure and
  justify.
• Equipment over 50,000 must go out for bids. (See
  http//www.bao.pdx.edu/forms/purchasingguide.pdf)
• Call Bill Helsley (ORSP, 5-3417) for help with
  your budget, including
• salaries and benefits
• internal and foreign travel List internal
  travel separately from foreign travel.
• to calculate indirect costs, exclude the
  following from the basis for calculation
• Equipment over 5000 (20 PCs _at_ 2000 are not
  equipment)
• Tuition remission
• Participant support (only if RFP states that its
  excluded)
• Contract amounts over 25,000 (e.g. 100,000 -
  25,000 75,000 excluded)

27
The Budget indirect costs

• For NSF grants, for example, PSU now charges 42
  of the adjusted cost of performing the work in
  the proposal as indirect costs.
• For more on PSUs indirect cost policy, see PSU's
  Policy on Indirect Costs
• Example of budget page

28
Sample NSF Budget Page
MTDC modified total direct costs Rate
indirect cost percentage
29
Submitting the Application

• Be sure to check whether you submit by mail or
  computer. Federal agencies are turning to
  electronic submission. NSF already requires
  electronic submission, but NIH does not.
• Be sure to note whether the deadline refers to
  the date by which your application must be
  received by the granting agency or to the date by
  which the application must be postmarked.

30
Writing Workshop

• It is said that scientists choose to do science
  in part because they lack facility in writing or
  reading - or both.
• We would welcome more graduate school courses in
  grant-writing.
• Good writing and good granting skills can be
  learned.
• The books on the next three slides can help to
  teach writing and granting

31
Writing Workshop

• The best guide I know of to writing clear,
  concise English is
• Style Toward Clarity and Grace
• by Joseph M. Williams
• ISBN 0-226-89914-4 Cloth
• ISBN 0-226-89915-2 Paper
• 10.40 at Amazon.com (May, 2005)

32
The Grant Writers Seminars and Workshops
Workbook and Website

• The absolute best guide to science and
  engineering granting I have seen is The Grant
  Application Writers Workbook. The information
  and suggestions are really worth the price (50,
  60 for updated version available summer 2005).
  See
• http//www.grantcentral.com/Workbooks.html
• The GWSW is a professional grant writers group
  that provides products including grant seminars
  and workshops for a price. They have some
  excellent granting ideas online. Click on the
  example pages that accompany their workbook ads.

33
Writing Workshop

• Easily available (Amazon.com) books on
  grant-writing Include
• Grant Writing for Dummies by Bev Browning ISBN
  0-7645-5307-0. 14.95 (May 2005. The title puts
  me off, but the book is good.)
• Demystifying Grant Seeking by L.G. Brown and M.J.
  Brown ISBN 0-7879-5650-3. 17.79 (May 2005)
• Ill Grant You That by J. Burke and C.A. Prater
  ISBN 0-325-00197-9. 27.00 (May 2005)

34
Writing Workshop

• The next slides approach (i) clarity in writing
  and (ii) writing cohesive paragraphs.

35
Writing Workshop

• Be clear and direct!

next slide
36
Be Clear and Direct
(from Style, p 17)

• How might we describe the difference between
  these two sentences?
• 1a. Our lack of knowledge about local conditions
  precluded determination of committee action
  effectiveness in fund allocation to those areas
  in greatest need of assistance.
• 1b. Because we knew nothing about local
  conditions, we could not determine how
  effectively the committee had allocated funds to
  areas that most needed assistance.
• To achieve clarity, use active verbs (knew,
  determine, allocated, needed) to replace nouns
  (knowledge, determination, allocation, need).
• Williams formulates two principles of clear
  writing

37
Be Clear and Direct
(from Style, p 21)

• The first two principles of clear writing
• Readers are likely to feel that they are reading
  prose that is clear and direct when
• (1) the subjects of the sentences name the cast
  of characters, and
• (2) the verbs that go with those subjects name
  the crucial actions those characters are part of.

38
Writing Workshop

• Write cohesive paragraphs!

next slide
39
Cohesive Paragraphs
(Not how to do it, but what to do from Grant
Writing for Dummies, p 137)

• 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 that asks for funding support to solve
  the problem.
• Each new paragraph adds excitement and urgency.

40
Cohesive Paragraphs
(How to do it - from Style, p 48)

• Two principles of cohesion
• (1) Put at the beginning of a sentence those
  ideas that you have already mentioned, referred
  to, or implied, or concepts that you can
  reasonably assume that your reader is already
  familiar with, and will readily recognize.
• (2) Put at the end of your sentence the newest,
  the most surprising, the most significant
  information information that you want to stress
  perhaps the information that you will expand on
  in your next sentence.
• In general give your readers a familiar context
  to help them move from the more familiar to the
  less familiar, from the known to the unknown.

41
Cohesive Paragraphs
Proper use of the passive voice

• Few principles of style are more widely repeated
  than use the direct active voice, avoid the weak
  and indirect passive. (Style, p 47)
• the main reason the passive exists in the
  language (is) to improve cohesion and emphasis.
  (Style, p 55)
• Example

42
Cohesive Paragraphs
(from Style, p 47-48)

• Consider
• a. A black hole is created by the collapse of a
  dead star into a point perhaps no larger than a
  marble. (passive voice)
• b. The collapse of a dead star into a point
  perhaps no larger than a marble creates a black
  hole. (active voice)
• Which (a or b) fits better as sentence 2 in the
  following paragraph?
• (1) Some astonishing questions about the nature
  of the universe have been raised by scientists
  exploring the nature of black holes in space.
  (2a/b)_____(3) So much matter compressed into so
  little volume changes the fabric of space around
  it in profoundly puzzling ways.
• Our sense of coherence should tell us that this
  context calls not for the active sentence, but
  for the passive. And the reasons are not far to
  seek When a black hole is at the beginning of
  sentence (2), it echoes the last few words of
  sentence (1).

43
Writing Workshop

• Style has further sections on
• How to provide emphasis
• How to be coherent
• How to be concise
• How to eliminate wordiness
• and more
• Style is worth 10.40.
• N.B. This office is not connected in any
  (economic) way with Joseph Williams or Beverly
  Browning, the sale of their books, their
  publishers, or anything to do with profiting from
  marketing books.

44
Eight Tips Dos and Donts (1 of 4)

• Do send your application to me for review. Ill
  make comments and get it back to you as rapidly
  as I can. Email it to me (Rufus Day) at
  rday_at_pdx.edu or bring it over to 111B Cramer
  Hall. Any questions or suggestions? Email or
  call at 5-8401

45
Eight Tips Dos and Donts (2 of 4)

• Make your outline obvious to the reviewers.
  Organize your proposal section with A, 1, a ,
  and 1) etc., or some method that you like. Title
  your sections. Organize items of critical
  information in bulleted lists. Put a list of
  abbreviations at the beginning.
• Be sure to tell how your proposed study will make
  an impact on your field. and on your own work.
  How will the new knowledge gained be useful to
  achieving your long term goals? How will others
  be able to use the results of your study?
• Use a thesaurus to widen your word usage and make
  your application more interesting and a
  dictionary to make sure of your spelling and word
  selection. For example, you are the principal
  investigator, not the principle investigator.
  And watch out for affect and effect. See
  http//wsuonline.weber.edu/wrh/words.htm.

46
Eight Tips Dos and Donts (3 of 4)

• You are the expert - educate but dont talk down
  to the reader. Its a fine line. You should
  review the basics thoroughly, but briefly, to be
  sure your reviewers are up-to-speed. Reviewers
  who learn from your writing will not feel that
  the time spent reading your application has been
  wasted.
• As a corollary, dont tell the reviewers how to
  review your application. Dont say that your
  proposed research is the most important thing
  thats come along in ten years. You can state
  that your research may be of the utmost
  importance, but give the reviewers their space.

47
Eight Tips Dos and Donts (4 of 4)

• If you are submitting a revision of a previously
  denied application, reply kindly to the
  reviewers comments. Never imply that the
  reviewers hadnt a clue. At your most abrasive,
  state that the reviewers might not have
  understood because you didnt make your case
  clearly.
• Expand your expertise by collaborating. Dont
  apply individually for a grant in an area in
  which your curriculum vitae shows little
  expertise. Your application will be judged along
  with applications from experts. Unless you can
  show that you are fully capable, e.g. solid
  knowledge of the field, convincing published and
  preliminary data, and cutting-edge methodology,
  you will have little chance. If you want to apply
  for the grant, find a well qualified
  collaborator.

48
Other Granting Help

• NSF Guide for Proposal Writing pdf file
• Search NSF for Proposal Writing Workshop
• University of Maryland - Computer Science
• UCLA - Grant Admin (proposal tool kit, good
  links)
• Virginia Tech - Research Division
• Marj Enneking's NSF Guide
• College of William Mary - Engineering
  (applying to NSF)
• Texas AM - Grants Resource Center

49
A Last Comment

• And did I mention sending your application to me
  for review and constructive suggestions? Either
  email it to me (Rufus Day) at rday_at_pdx.edu or
  bring it over to 111B Cramer Hall. Any questions
  or suggestions? Email or call at 5-8401. (Being
  0.49 time, I work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
  one week and Monday and Tuesday the next, etc.)

50
A bit about the author

• Rufus S. Day, III, Ph.D. Penn State, Biophysics,
  1967
• Served on grant review panels and as external
  grant reviewer
• Served on journal editorial board (Mutation
  Research)
• 95 peer-reviewed publications
• Damon Runyon Fellow, Paris (1969-1971)
• Researcher, NCI, NIH (1971-1986)
• Cancer research at the University of Alberta,
  Canada (1986-1997)
• Major research effort DNA repair mechanisms and
  their role in preventing human cancer
• See http//web.pdx.edu/rday

51
Good Luck and Good Granting!