Presentation topics

 Overview of Office of Proposal Development  Generic competitive proposal writing strategies

 Identifying external funding

 Analyzing the funding agency

 Reading the proposal solicitation

 Understanding the review process

 Craft of Proposal Writing

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 1

Office of proposal development

 A unit of the Office of Vice President for Research at Texas A&M University, partnered with:  Office of Vice Chancellor for Research and Federal Relations,  Office of Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, and the  Health Science Center Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 2

Office of proposal development

    Supports faculty in the development and writing of large and small research grants to federal agencies and foundations. Focuses on support of center-level initiatives, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research teams, research affinity groups, new and junior faculty research, diversity in the research enterprise, and long-term proposal planning. Helps develop partnership initiatives at Texas A&M, across the A&M System universities, and HSC.

Supports proposal development activities and training programs to help new faculty write more competitive proposals. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 3

Office of proposal development

   

Jean Ann Bowman, Research Scientist

  B.S., Journalism; B.S. and Ph.D., Hydrology and Physical Geography Focuses on proposals dealing with earth, ecological, and environmental sciences, as well as those dealing with agriculture.

Libby Childress, Administrative Assistant

 Handles scheduling, resources, and project coordination.

Mike Cronan, Director

   B.S., Civil Engineering (Structures); B.A., Political Science; M.A., English; Registered Professional Engineer, Texas (063512) Helps develop partnerships. Leads center- and program-level proposals. Establishes new initiatives and sets the direction of the office.

Lucy Deckard, Associate Director

  B.S. and M.S., Materials Science and Engineering Leads the new faculty initiatives. Focuses on proposals dealing with the physical sciences, interdisciplinary materials group, and equipment and instrumentation. Also leads training seminars on graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, undergraduate research, and CAREER awards. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 4

Office of proposal development

  

Susan Maier, Research Development Officer

  B.A., M.A., and Ph.D., Psychology Focuses on the Health Science Center’s NIH biomedical science initiatives, as well as on the HSC’s University partnership initiatives. Leads training seminars on NIH.

Phyllis McBride, Assistant Director

  B.A., Journalism and English; M.A. and Ph.D., English Leads the one-day Craft of Grant Writing Seminars and the fifteen-week Craft of Grant Writing Workshops. Focuses on DHS and NIH initiatives, and provides editing and rewriting.

Robyn Pearson, Research Development Officer

  B.A. and M.A., Anthropology Focuses on proposals dealing with the humanities, liberal arts, and social and behavioral sciences, and education. Provides support for the development of interdisciplinary research groups and provides editing and rewriting.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 5

Identifying external funding

  Self-directed searches of funding agency web sites combined with the use of Google, Yahoo or other search tools are highly effective and efficient ways of identifying research and educational funding opportunities for the university researcher. Individual researchers have the most substantive and nuanced understanding of their research interests, directions, and capacities, and therefore it is most productive if the searches for research opportunities are primarily filtered through their own perspectives. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 6

Funding opportunities search criteria

 Define disciplinary domain of interest (e.g., science, social sciences, humanities, education, health and biomedical sciences, engineering);  Characterize the nature of the research (basic, applied, applications);  Identify a subset of funding agencies whose mission, strategic plan, and investment priorities are aligned with these specific research interests. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 7

Refining the funding search

 Identify research opportunities with regular grant cycles within a particular agency (e.g., NIH and NSF have regular grant cycles of specific research programs that remain open for many years;  Identify new research opportunities and investment directions at funding agencies;  Expand the base of potential research funding sources.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 8

Google is your best friend!

   Google and Yahoo searches offer a robust complement to known web sites containing funding opportunities information. A modified question used as the search text string will identify sites helpful in the search for funding opportunities, help narrow the focus of the search, and in many cases identify funding sources perhaps unknown to the researcher. The search text may be as simple as “

funding undergraduate research

”, “

funding graduate fellowships

”, or “

research funding alerts

.” Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 9

Google is your best friend!

 http://www.google.com/  http://www.yahoo.com/  Search for research opportunities  Find funded programs, abstracts  Find workshops, conferences, seminars  Find reports, publications, project documents Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 10

Six major funders for TAMU-System

Funding Agency

National Science Foundation Health & Human Services & NIH Grants & Funding NASA Research Opportunities Environmental Protection Agency Department of Defense  DARPA  Army Research Office  Naval Research Office  Air Force Research Office USDA/CSREES

URL Hotlink to Funding Opportunities

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/ http://www.dhhs.gov/grants/index.shtml

http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/index.cfm

http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/ http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/open_awards.htm

http://www.darpa.mil/baa/ http://www.aro.ncren.net/research/index.htm

http://www.onr.navy.mil/default.asp

http://www.afosr.af.mil/oppts/afrfund.htm#Research http://www.csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/research.html

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 11

Fedgrants.gov

     One of the best portals to funding opportunities Tabular listing current funding opportunities and URLs for 45 research funding agencies (see following slide)

FedGrants

 http://www.fedgrants.gov/Applicants/index.html

FedGrants

Grants Synopsis Search  http://www.fedgrants.gov/grants/servlet/SearchServlet/

FedGrants

Notification Service  http://www.fedgrants.gov/ApplicantRegistration.html

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FedGrants

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 13

Federal Grants Notification Service

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Grants.gov

    Home page: http://www.grants.gov

To receive automated funding alerts tailored to your research interests, visit http://www.grants.gov/Find#receive . Select one of four automated funding alert options: “Selected Notices Based on Funding Opportunity Number,” “Selected Agencies and Categories of Funding Activities,” “Selected Interest and Eligibility Groups,” or “All Grants Notices.” Click on the link for the option that best suits your needs, enter the required information, and click on the “Submit to Mailing List” button.

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Grants.gov

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Electronic Funding Alert Services/ Email



NSF, National Science Foundation

 http://www.nsf.gov/mynsf/  MyNSF, formerly the Custom News Service, allows you to receive notifications about new content posted on the NSF website.  Notification can be received via email or RSS.

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MyNSF

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Electronic Funding Alert Services/ Email



NIH National Institutes of Health Listserv

 http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/listserv.htm

 Each week (usually on Friday afternoon), the NIH transmits an e-mail with Table of Contents (TOC) information for that week's issue of the NIH Guide, via the NIH LISTSERV.  The TOC includes a link to the Current NIH Guide Weekly Publication as well as links to each NIH Guide RFA, PA and Notice published for that week.

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NIH Guide LISTSERV

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Electronic Funding Alert Services/ Email

 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

 http://research.hq.nasa.gov/subs.cfm

 Once you are registered for this service you can receive email notification of the release of research announcements pertaining to any or all of NASA offices.

National Center for Environmental Research, Environmental Protection Agency

 http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_list/elists/  Use this page to subscribe or unsubscribe to the NCER e mail mailing list. NCER periodically sends out emails to our subscribers announcing new grant and/or funding opportunities or highlight new documents in specific subject areas.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 24

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 25

NCER E-mail Lists

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Electronic Funding Alert Services/ Email

 

U.S. Dept. of Education, EDINFO

  http://listserv.ed.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A1=ind05&L=edinfo Information from & about the U.S. Department of Education publications, funding opportunities & more.

NEH Connect, National Endowment for the Humanities

 http://www.neh.gov/news/nehconnect.html

 Stay connected to the humanities with NEH Connect! Each month NEH Connect! delivers the latest news, projects, upcoming events, and grant deadlines from NEH.

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EDInfo: Archives

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NEH Connect!

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Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allows users to subscribe to several mailing lists via the CDC World Wide Web site.  To subscribe, go to http://www.cdc.gov/subscribe.html

the on-line form. and fill out Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 31

Subscribe to a CDC Mailing List

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DOE Pulse & JUST INFO

 Department of Energy. DOE Pulse, a bimonthy newsletter, highlights work being done at the Department of Energy's national laboratories. Each issue will include research highlights, updates on collaborations among laboratories, and profiles of individual researchers. To subscribe, go to http://www.ornl.gov/news/pulse/pulse_home.htm

.  Department of Justice. JUST INFO, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), is a biweekly e-mail newsletter that reports on a wide variety of criminal justice topics. To subscribe, send a message to [email protected]

. In the body of the message, type: subscribe JUSTINFO . Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 33

Here's What's New at the National Labs

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National Institute for Standards and Technology

 NIST Update is a bimonthly report that highlights research, activities and services at National Institute for Standards and Technology.  To begin receiving e-mail copies, sign up at http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/mailform.ht

m Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 35

National Institute of Standards & Technology

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 36

NCHRP

 Transit Cooperative Research Program and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program  To register to receive e-mail notification that Requests for Proposals have been published on the NCHRP and TCRP Homepage, just complete the form on web at http://www4.nas.edu/trb/crpmail.nsf/registrati on . Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 37

National Cooperative Highway Research Program

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Leveraging the internet in funding search



VPR/Office of Proposal Development

 

VPR/OPD Funding Opportunities Table

http://anthropology.tamu.edu/downloads/ResearchFunding.pdf

 Monthly compilation of upcoming funding opportunities in all academic disciplines

distributed System-wide

by email  Subscribe:

[email protected]

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Leveraging the internet in funding search



Duke University Funding Alert Newsletter

 http://www.ors.duke.edu/index.html

    Arts & Humanities; Community Development; Curriculum Development Environmental & Life Sciences; Funding News; Graduate Funding Health Sciences; International Opportunities; Multidisciplinary Physical Sciences & Engineering; Postdoctoral Funding; Social Sciences Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 41

Duke University Research Support

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Leveraging the internet in funding search

 

University of Iowa, Funding Opportunities



http://research.uiowa.edu/grantTrack/grantbulletin.php

 Arts and Humanities; Biological Sciences; International; Multidisciplinary; Physical & Mathematical Sciences; Social Sciences 

Iowa State Opportunities by Due Date

http://www.vpresearch.iastate.edu/OSP/FundingOpportunities.html



http://www.vpresearch.iastate.edu/OSP/Maillogs.html



Michigan State U. Graduate Fellowship Listings

 http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3gradinf.htm

 Michigan State University provides links to fellowship funding lists in over 40 different academic disciplines.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 43

University Iowa Grant Bulletin

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Weekly Funding Opportunities

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Leveraging the internet in funding search

 

Townsend Center for the Humanities, UC Berkeley

 http://townsendcenter.berkeley.edu/postdocs.shtml

 This is excellent listing of national Postdoctoral fellowships in the humanities organized in a table of URLs.

The University of California at Berkeley

 http://www.spo.berkeley.edu/funding.html

 Links to table of programs, profiles, and URLs for researchers seeking funding in the following areas: Faculty Individual Prizes and Awards, Equipment Grants, New and Young Faculty Grants, Travel Grants, Women and Minorities Grants, and Postdoctoral Funding in the Biosciences.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 46

Leveraging the internet in funding search



U. Massachusetts New Faculty Research Funding

  This site offers an excellent, comprehensive compilation of federal agency and foundation research awards targeting tenure track faculty in the following areas: Agriculture & Food Science, Arts & Humanities, Cancer, Chemical Sciences, Computer & Information Science, Education, Engineering, Environmental Science, Health & Medical, History, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Nursing, Physical & Life Sciences, Religion, Social & Behavioral Sciences, Science Education

http://www.umass.edu/research/ogca/funding/newfacultydisc.html

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Leveraging the internet in funding search

 

Funding for New Faculty & Junior Investigators

      

http://www.umass.edu/research/ogca/funding/newfacultydisc.html

http://www.physics.harvard.edu/grants.htm

http://www.unh.edu/osr/funding/support/young_pi.pdf

http://www.sfsu.edu/~ptf/docs/NewInvestigatorAwards.pdf

http://www.spo.berkeley.edu/Fund/newfaculty.html

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/index.htm

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/opg/fund/newinvest-1102.pdf

Above URLs at various universities offer a fairly exhaustive compilation of funding opportunities for new and junior faculty and career awards in most academic disciplines. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 48

Analyzing the funding agency

 Analyzing the mission, strategic plan, investment priorities, and culture of a funding agency provides information key to enhancing proposal competitiveness.  Competitiveness depends on a series of well informed decision points made throughout the writing of a proposal related to arguing the merit of the research and culminating in a well-integrated document that convinces the reviewers to recommend funding. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 49

Analyzing the funding agency mission

    Funding agencies have a clearly defined agenda and mission. Funded grants are those that best meet that agenda and advance the mission of the funding agency. If a proposal does not meet an agency's mission, it will not be funded. This is perhaps the most difficult adjustment to be made in proposal development and writing. Having a "good idea" by itself is not enough. Good ideas have to be clearly connected and integrated with a funding agency’s mission and agenda. The proposal must fit the mission and strategic plans of the funding agency. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 50

Analyzing the funding agency mission

   Funding agencies are not passive funders of programs, but see themselves as leaders in a national dialogue on scientific issues, and as part of the community defining the national agenda. A strong proposal allows the funding agency to form a partnership with the submitting institution that will carry out the agency's vision and mission. The applicant must understand the nature of this partnership and the expectations of the funding agency, both during proposal development and throughout a funded project.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 51

Analyzing the funding agency

 Knowledge about a funding agency helps the applicant make good decisions throughout the entire proposal development and writing process by better understanding the relationship of the research to the broader context of the funding agency’s mission, strategic plan, and research investment priorities. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 52

Analyzing the funding agency

    Who is the audience (e.g., agency, program officers, and reviewers) and what is the best way to address them?

What is a fundable idea and how is it best characterized within the context of the agency research investment priorities?

How are claims of research uniqueness and innovation best supported in the proposal text and reflective of agency strategic research plans?

How does the applicant best communicate his or her passion, excitement, commitment, and capacity to perform the proposed research to review panels?

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Analyzing the funding agency

 Mission       Culture Language Investment priorities Strategic plan Organizational chart Management   Program officers Reports, publications  Leadership speeches       Public testimony Review criteria Review process Review panels Project abstracts Current funded projects  Funded researchers Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 54

Analyzing the funding agency

  It is important to differentiate between and among various funding agencies by mission, strategic plan, investment priorities, culture, etc. For example, researchers in the social and behavioral sciences and the physical, computational, and biological sciences may have relevant research opportunities at two or more agencies, e.g., NIH, NSF, DOD, EPA, but these agencies are very dissimilar in many ways —see following slide: Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 55

Analyzing the funding agency

    Research focus within disciplines Research that is basic, applied, or applications driven Research scope and performance time horizon Exploratory, open-ended research, or targeted to technology development     Multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary Classified, non-classified Proprietary, non-proprietary Independent research, or dependent linkages to the agency mission, e.g., health care, education, economic development, defense Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 56

Analyzing the funding agency

 It is important for the applicant to differentiate between basic research agencies (e.g., NSF, NIH) and mission-focused agencies (e.g. DOD, NASA, USDA), as well as to differentiate between hypothesis-driven research and need- or applications driven research at the agencies.  Agencies funding basic research would likely share the following characteristics: Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 57

Analyzing the funding agency

    Independent agency and management Independent research vision, mission, and objectives Award criteria based on intellectual and scientific excellence Peer panel reviewed, ranked, and awarded by merit    Focus on fundamental or basic research at the “frontiers of science,” innovation, and creation of new knowledge Open ended, exploratory, long investment horizon Non-classified, non proprietary Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 58

Analyzing the funding agency

 Alternatively, an analysis of mission-oriented agencies (e.g., DOD, DOE, ED, USDA) would show characteristics related to research and development that will serve the agency’s immediate goals and objectives,

as seen on following slide

: Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 59

Analyzing the funding agency

     Scope of work tightly defines research tasks/deliverables Predominately applied research for meeting near term objectives, technology development and transfer, policy goals Predominately internal review by program officers Awards based on merit, but also on geographic distribution, political distribution, long term relationship with agency, Legislative, and Executive branch policies Classified and non-classified research Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 60

Analyzing the funding agency

   Learn to echo the language and usage of the funding agency is another factor that may enhance the overall competitiveness of a proposal. Funding agencies, like most institutions, often develop a unique phraseology to define and describe common, recurrent components of their mission and research agenda, e.g., “broader impacts” or “research and education integration” at NSF. Learning the language of the funding agency is important for writing the narrative section of a proposal, and helps in framing arguments more clearly and in better communicating them to program managers and reviewers. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 61

Reading the proposal solicitation

 The Request for Proposals (RFP) – also called the Program Announcement (PA), Request for Applications (RFA), or Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) – is one common starting point of the proposal writing process.  Other starting points to the proposal process include investigator-initiated (unsolicited) proposals, or white papers and quad charts common to the defense agencies.

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Reading the proposal solicitation

 The generic program solicitation or RFP represents an invitation by a funding agency for applicants to submit requests for funding in research areas of interest to the agency.  It is used continuously throughout proposal development and writing as a reference point to ensure that an evolving proposal narrative fully addresses and accurately reflects the goals and objectives of the funding agency, including review criteria listed in the document. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 63

Reading the proposal solicitation

  The RFP contains most of the essential information the researcher needs in order to develop and write a competitive proposal that is fully responsive to the agency’s funding objectives and review criteria. The RFP is not a menu or smorgasbord offering the applicant a choice of addressing some research topics but not others, depending on interest, or some review criteria but not others.

 The RFP is a non-negotiable listing of performance expectations reflecting the stated goals, objectives, and desired outcomes of the agency. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 64

Identifying the Contents of the RFP

        Agency research goals, objectives, and performance expectations Statement and scope of work Proposal topics to be addressed by the applicant Deliverables or other outcomes Review criteria and process Research plan Key personnel, evaluation, & management Eligibility, due dates, available funding, funding limits, anticipated number of awards, performance period, proposal formatting requirements, budget and other process requirements, and reference documents .

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Reviewing the RFP

     The RFP is not a document to skim quickly, read lightly, or read only once. The RFP defines a very detailed set of research expectations the applicant must meet in order to be competitive for funding. It needs to be read and re-read and fully understood, both in very discrete detail and as an integrated whole. The RFP sets the direction and defines the performance parameters of every aspect of proposal development and writing. Read it word by word; sentence by sentence; paragraph by paragraph; and page by page. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 66

Reviewing the RFP

 Clarify any ambiguity by repeated readings of the RFP.  If these ambiguities cannot be resolved, call the funding agency and ask for clarification from a program officer.  As much as possible, all ambiguity needs to be resolved prior to the proposal writing process so that ideas and arguments are clearly and tightly aligned with the scope and intent of the funding agency.

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Reviewing the RFP

    A well written RFP clearly states the funding agency’s research objectives in a concise and comprehensive fashion, devoid of wordiness, repetition, and vaguely contradictory re-phasing of program requirements. However, not all RFPs are clearly written. In some cases, the funding agency itself is unclear about specific research objectives, particularly in more cutting-edge or exploratory research areas. Therefore, never be timid about calling a program officer for clarification. Timidity is never rewarded in the competitive grant process . Where there is ambiguity, keep asking questions in order to converge on clarity. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 68

Role of the RFP in Proposal Organization

   In addition to presenting information about an agency’s research agenda and culture, the RFP provides key instructions regarding the presentation and organizational structure of a proposal. The RFP can be used to develop the structure of the proposal narrative and as a template for developing the sequence and required detail of each section. Using the RFP as a proposal template during initial proposal outlining helps ensure that every RFP item is fully addressed. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 69

Role of the RFP in Proposal Organization

   Major section headings within an RFP often have very detailed descriptive text defining the objectives of the program (goals, objectives, performance timeline, outcomes, research management, evaluation, etc.) that must be addressed in the proposal narrative. The detail in each section of the RFP, including the review criteria , can be selectively copied and pasted into the first draft of the proposal itself. This process provides initial section and subsection headings under which the applicant drafts out preliminary written responses to every requested item in the guidelines, thereby ensuring that the first draft of the proposal fully mirrors the program solicitation requirements in every way. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 70

Role of the RFP in Proposal Organization

  Reviewers will expect to see the text in the same general order as the RFP and the review criteria since that ordering conforms to instructions given to reviewers by the program officers. Using the RFP as a guide to create a proposal outline also has the advantage of making it easier for reviewers to compare the proposal to the program guidelines and review criteria, without having to search around in a long narrative to find out if each required topic has been addressed.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 71

Addressing the Review Criteria in the RFP

 The description of review criteria is an especially important part of the RFP.  A competitive proposal must clearly address each review criterion, and the proposal should be structured so that these discussions are easy for reviewers to find.  Subject headings, graphics, bullets, and bolded statements using language similar to that used in the RFP can all be used to make the reviewers’ jobs easier as they assess how well the proposal meets review criteria.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 72

Reading Material Referenced in the RFP

 If the RFP refers to any publications, reports, or workshops, it is important to read those materials, analyze how that work has influenced the agency’s vision of the program, and cite those publications in the proposal in a way that illustrates that the applicant has read and absorbed the ideas behind those publications. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 73

A stepwise process for developing a competitive research proposal



Preparing to write



Developing the hypothesis & research plan



Preliminary data & research readiness



Writing the proposal



Post review process



Competitive resubmissions



Multidisciplinary research & collaborations

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 74

Preparing to write the competitive proposal

      Understanding the program guidelines in planning, developing, and writing a competitive proposal.

What should be your relationship with program officers?

Developing a sound, testable hypothesis.

Asking senior faculty to review, advise & assess competitiveness of ideas and research, particularly appropriateness to agency research agenda.

What do you need to know about funding agency culture (& sub-cultures), language, mission, strategic plan, & research investment priorities?

What do you need to know about agency review criteria, review process, & review panels?

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 75

Developing the hypothesis & research plan

       Who is your audience (e.g., agency, program officers and reviewers) and how do you best address them?

What is a fundable idea and how is it best characterized?

How are claims of research uniqueness and innovation best supported in the proposal text?

Can research plans be overly ambitious?

What are important distinctions to note between mission focused agencies (NASA, USDA) and basic research agencies (NSF, NIH) in proposing research plans?

Differentiating between hypothesis driven research & application driven at basic research and mission agencies?

How do you best communicate your passion, excitement, commitment, and capacity to perform your research to review panels?

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 76

Preliminary data & research readiness

     What evidence needs to be presented to show that the proposed work can be accomplished?

What evidence of institutional support for the research, e.g., facilities, equipment & instrumentation, etc., is important to demonstrate and address in the proposal?

What counts as preliminary data and how much is sufficient?

How do you best map your research directions and interests to funding agency research priorities?

What do you need to know about research currently funded by a particular agency within your research domain, e.g., through reports, publications, journals?

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 77

Writing the proposal

   Who do you need to impress with your research?

How do you tell a good story grounded in good science that excites the reviewers and program officers ?

The successful proposal represents an accumulation of marginal advantage accrued at decision points over a period of weeks or months to ensure the proposal is competitive for funding—   What are key decisions points in proposal development?

How do you best plan and schedule proposal writing?

   How do you use program guidelines as a proposal template?

Importance of good writing, clear arguments, and reviewer friendly text, structure, and organization in proposals What are other core competitive characteristics of a successful proposal needed to complement research merit?

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 78

Post review process

 Respecting views of peers  Response to reviewer comments  Discussion of reviews with program officers  Discussion of reviews with senior faculty  Reviewing the reviews  How do you make an assessment of reviews as a reliable guide for the next funding cycle?

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 79

Competitive resubmissions

 How do you best plan and position for a competitive resubmission?

 How do you conduct a reassessment of the intellectual merit and excellence of your research based on reviews?

 How to you assess if a research direction should be abandoned, or the research submitted to another agency?

 What are strategies for identifying more appropriate research directions and funding opportunities?

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 80

Multidisciplinary & Collaborative Research Initiatives & Faculty Interdisciplinary Groups

 Role of centers and institutes in advancing faculty research careers and proposal success;  Role of interdisciplinary faculty research groups in advancing faculty research careers and proposal success;  How do you identify your best opportunities for research advancement along the continuum from single PI, multiple PI, multidisciplinary collaboratives, and center level research funding initiatives?

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 81

Understanding the review process

  When evaluating a grant application, reviewers will not only consider the quality of the ideas, but also the extent to which the application addresses the funding agency’s review criteria. Therefore, it is important to identify these review criteria, understand exactly how the agency defines them, and determine the relative weight (if any) that the agency assigns to each of them.  This information can then be used to develop an application that clearly addresses these criteria and that is therefore much more competitive. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 82

Identify the review criteria

 Most agencies publish their standard review criteria on their web pages and/or in their proposal preparation guides.  Some agency programs will have additional review criteria that the program will delineate in the proposal solicitation; therefore, it is important to read the list of review criteria presented in this document, as well. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 83

Agency review criteria and review process

DHHS (NIH)

Center for Scientific Review NIH review criteria NIH peer review process NIH review groups NIH study section rosters

NSF

NSF review process, criteria

DOD

AFOSR review process, criteria ARO review process, criteria DARPA review process, criteria ONR review process, criteria

USDA

NRI review process, criteria

NASA

NASA review process, criteria

Department of Energy

DOE review process, criteria

US Department of Education

ED review process, criteria      Sec. 3 Sec. 2.14

Sec. 3  Sec. 5  App. C  Sec. 5 http://cms.csr.nih.gov/ http://www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/basics/basics_b3.htm

http://cms.csr.nih.gov/AboutCSR/OverviewofPeerReviewProcess.htm

http://cms.csr.nih.gov/PeerReviewMeetings/CSRIRGDescription/ http://www.csr.nih.gov/Committees/rosterindex.asp

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/gpg/nsf04_23/3.jsp

http://www.afosr.af.mil/pdfs/proguide.PDF

http://www.aro.army.mil/research/arl/arobaa06a.pdf

http://www.darpa.mil/body/information/proposal.html

http://www.onr.navy.mil/02/baa/docs/baa_05_024.pdf

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/nri/pdfs/nri_review_guidelines.pdf

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/nraguidebook/proposer2005.doc

http://www.sc.doe.gov/grants/process.html

http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/about/grantmaking/pt504.html

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 84

Understand the review process

   The review process varies – sometimes significantly – from one agency to the next (

following slide

). The review process may include a peer review, where outside experts from related fields are invited to review the proposal; an internal review, where agency personnel evaluate the proposal; or a combination of both. However, most agency review processes share some common features. At most agencies, for instance, an application will first undergo a

merit

review and, depending upon the results, an administrative review. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 85

Difference between NSF & NIH

   This is a fundamental difference between NIH's and NSF's selection methods--by the end of the score. At

NSF however NIH review

, applications are ranked alongside other entries according to an overall numerical priority , proposals are not given a numerical rating but are classified according to written "recommendations." Fred Stollnitz, program director at NSF explains further: "When panels review, [the reviewers] put each proposal into categories such as 'outstanding,' 'good and should be funded,' 'not ready in its present form,' or 'decline.' " A particularly vocal reviewer could influence the final rating of the panel or where the proposal should be classified, but because there is no absolute score, only opinions are noted in the review analysis report--not actual decisions. An opinionated NIH reviewer on the other hand could affect the scores an application receives and so alter its ranking.

Source: http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/1999/10/06/3 Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 86

NSF review panelists

  NSF panelists convey their opinions and recommendations in a "panel summary." They compose an overall analysis of review for each proposal that incorporate factors such as the panel summary, subject area, available resources, and the potential impact of the research. They then make final award decisions with the division director. Proposals that receive lower classifications by the panel can sometimes be funded over "higherrated“ research proposals because their overall assessment by the program officer is more favorable.

The budgetary consideration also plays a key role in the decision-making process. "The program officer doesn't just make 'yes' or 'no' decisions," explains Stollnitz. "They have to balance all those proposals that

should

be funded with the actual funds that are available." Sometimes a proposal classified as 'good and should be funded' submitted by an investigator with minimal existing funds may be given the edge over an 'outstanding‘ proposal submitted by an established and well-funded candidate.

Source: http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/1999/10/06/3 Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 87

NSF proposal process and timelines

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 88

NSF example review criterion 1

      What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity?

How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields?

How well qualified is the proposer (individual or team) to conduct the project? (If appropriate, the reviewer will comment on the quality of prior work.) To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts?

How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity?

Is there sufficient access to resources?

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 89

NIH review criteria

    

Significance.

Does the study address an important problem?

Approach.

Are the methods appropriate to the aims of the project?

Innovation.

Does the project employ novel concepts or methods?

Investigator.

Is the investigator well trained to do the work?

Environment.

Does the environment contribute to success?

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 90

Write for the reviewers

    Reviewers are typically given multiple proposals to review, and often tight timelines for completion; “

While you may be viewing your grant application as the magnum opus of your life's ambitions and plans--for the next 5 years anyway--a reviewer sees it as one of six to 12 other "magnum opii" projects to evaluate

.” (

Source: http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2003/12/10/6

) The proposal needs to clearly present everything the reviewers will need to read, understand, and evaluate the proposed research project; Synthesize key concepts and articulate the links between the overarching goal and the specific objectives, between the specific objectives and the hypotheses, between the hypotheses and the approach, between the approach and the expected outcomes, and, finally, between the expected outcomes and the significance and broader impacts of the project. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 91

Create reviewer-friendly text

             Divide the proposal into the required sections.

Place the sections in the required order.

Use parallel structure at both the section and sentence levels.

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.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 92

Finding information on funded projects

 NSF Award Search Site:

http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/index.jsp

 NIH Award Search Site:

http://crisp.cit.nih.gov/crisp/crisp_query.generate_screen

 Dept. of Ed. Awards Search:

http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/grantaward/start.cfm

 USDA Awards Search:

http://cris.csrees.usda.gov/

 NEH Awards Search:

http://www.neh.gov/news/recentawards.html

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 93

Craft of writing

 Good writing lies at the core of the competitive proposal.  It is the framework upon which the competitive applicant crafts and structures the arguments, ideas, concepts, goals, performance commitments, and the logical, internal connectedness and balance of the proposal.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 94

The proposal is the only reality

 In its final form, a proposal is not unlike a novel or a movie. It creates its own, self contained reality.  The proposal contains all the funding agency and review panel will know about your capabilities and your capacity to perform.  With few exceptions, an agency bases its decision to fund or not fund entirely on the proposal and the persuasive reality it creates. Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 95

Good writing is more than mechanics

         Strong, comprehensive, integrated knowledge base; Organizational clarity (stepwise logic/connections; sequencing); Structural clarity (integrative logic; logical transitions) Argumentative clarity (reasoning; ordering; synthesis) Descriptive clarity (who, what, how, when, why, & results) Clear, consistent vision sustained throughout text Comprehensive problem definition; corresponding innovative solutions Confidence in performance must and excitement for your ideas must be instilled in reviewers Capacity for synthesis Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 96

Internal consistency & synthesis

   A competitive proposal must be internally consistent by language, structure, and argument; all internal ambiguities must be resolved.

The competitiveness of a proposal increases exponentially with the capacity of the author to synthesize information. Synthesis represents the relational framework and conceptual balance of the proposal. It is the synaptic connections among concepts, ideas, arguments, goals, objectives, and performance.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 97

Ideas matter (Slogans are not Ideas)

 Shaping ideas by language is hard work  Do not confuse slogans, effusive exuberance, and clichés with substantive ideas 

Show the reviewers something new

by developing ideas that are clear, concise, coherent, contextually logical, and insightful  Capitalize on every opportunity you have to define, link, relate, expand, synthesize, connect, or illuminate ideas as you write the narrative.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 98

Introductory writing tips

 The abstract, proposal summary, and introduction are key —that may be all many reviewers read – and it is here you must excite and grab the attention of the reviewers;   Reviewers will assume errors in language and usage will translate into errors in the science; Don’t be overly ambitious in what you propose, but convey credibility and capacity to perform; Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 99

Introductory writing tips

    Sell your proposal to a good scientist but not an expert; Some review panels may not have an expert in your field, or panels may be blended for multidisciplinary initiatives; Agencies & reviewers fund compelling, exciting science, not just correct science; Proposals are not journal articles —proposals must be user friendly and offer a narrative that tells a story that is memorable to reviewers; Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 100

Following agency guidelines

 Read solicitation and/or proposal guide carefully for formatting requirements and follow scrupulously  Font and font size  Page limits  Biosketch formats  Citation format  Avoids disqualification of your proposal  Avoids irritating reviewers Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 101

Set up a schedule to produce proposal

 Work back from deadline  Allow plenty of time for routing  Start budget early Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 102

Make your proposal easy to read

 Reviewers often have 8 or 10 proposals to read  Use white space, underlining, bold, bullets, figures, flowcharts to make main points easy to find  Put main idea of sections and paragraphs up front Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 103

Must convince reviewers…

 Your proposed project should be funded   It’s important and supports the agency mission and program goals It’s exciting  It has a good chance of succeeding  You are the person who should conduct the proposed project  Your team is knowledgeable and well-qualified  You have the support and resources required Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 104

Proposal sections examples

 Project Summary  Goals/Objectives/Specific Aims  Introduction/Overview  Background and Significance  Approach/Methodology  Research Plan  Preliminary Data  Broader Impacts (NSF)  Literature Cited Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 105

Executive summary

     May be the only thing the reviewer reads Must “grab” the reviewer Should communicate concisely:     Intellectual framework of proposed project The goals and signficance of the proposed project Who will be conducting the project and, briefly, their qualifications Project outcomes Must communicate excitement Check for additional requirements   E.g., intellectual merit and broader impacts in NSF proposals Project name, category, etc.

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 106

Goals & specific aims



State specific, measurable goals of your project



Tie to program/agency mission and goals



If hypothesis-based research, state your hypothesis



Discuss expected outcomes

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 107

The succinct proposal introduction

 Serves as reviewers’ “

road map

” to the full text  Opportunity to make most important points up front  States vision, concepts, goals, objectives, outcomes, and deliverables  Briefly tells who you are; what you are going to do; how you are going to do it; who is going to do it; why you are going to do it; and demonstrates your capacity to perform Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 108

Background & literature review

 Spend some time researching this  This section should tie closely to your proposed research and should tell a story  What are the holes in current knowledge that your work will fill?

 How does your research extend and advance knowledge in the field?

  Do not be dismissive of previous research Be thorough in citing important work but be concise Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 109

Significance

 Explain explicitly why proposed research is important  Tie to agency and program goals  Relate to review criteria  Make this easy to find Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 110

 

Approach/research plan/methodology

Be very clear about how you will accomplish your stated goals and objectives Include details  What, specifically, will you do when you get the money?

 Schedules and milestones may be helpful  This is especially important if you are a relatively new researcher   Address any potential dead ends, roadblocks, show stoppers and how you will deal with them Avoid ambiguous terminology – be very specific!

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 111

Preliminary data

 Understand the expectations of the agency and program  How much preliminary data is expected?

 Higher risk research will require more preliminary data   Less experienced researchers will generally need more preliminary data Preliminary data should strengthen reviewers’ perception of your chance of success Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 112

Collaborations/partnerships

 Work on these before you start writing     Be clear about roles of collaborators and partners Establish split of resources Be sure collaborators and partners get something out of participating in the project If you need a letter of collaboration, offer to write a draft for your collaborator to edit  Include specifics on what they will do and support they will provide  Explain who the collaborator is and their motivation Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 113

Institutional support

 Is cost sharing (matching) required?

 What type? (Cash, in-kind?)  What rules apply?

 Are other resources required?

 Work to set these up early  Determine supporting documentation needed Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 114

Connect narrative text to budget

 Budget categories are defined by the funding agency  Be sure activities discussed in narrative are reflected in budget  Connect narrative text to the budget to ensure appropriate balance and proportion,  If a budget justification section is requested, use it to complement and deepen the narrative detail Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 115

Beware of boiler plate ; don’t copy & paste

    Boiler plate refers only to the grant application forms required by the funding agency Thinking of proposal narrative as “boiler plate” will result in a mediocre, disjoint proposal Begin each proposal as a new effort, not a copy & paste Be very cautious integrating text inserts  Strong proposals clearly reflect a coherent, sustained, and integrated argument grounded on good ideas Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 116

Outcomes or deliverables

    Develop short, hard-hitting lists off-set by bullets or other typographical formats Relate outcomes to goals and objectives Outcomes should be specific and measurable Timelines and schedules with milestones can orient reviewers and provide a quick overview of how program components fit together Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 117

Project assessment and evaluation

 How will you know if you were successful?

   Describe what will be measured in order to assess how well project met each of its objectives  Who will conduct assessment?  Discuss logistics Formative assessment: conducted throughout project and results fed back to improve project Summative assessment: final assessment at end of project Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 118

Craft of grant writing web sites

          http://cpmcnet.

columbia

.edu/research/writing.htm

http://nextwave.

sciencemag

.org/cgi/content/full/1999/08/ 27/1 http://grants.library.

wisc

.edu/index.html

http://www.research.

umich

.edu/proposals/PWG/pwgcom plete.html

http://www.asru.

ilstu

.edu/grantwritingseries.htm

http://grants.

nih

.gov/

grants

/grant_tips.htm

http://www.

nsf

.gov/pubs/2004/nsf04016/start.htm

http://www.aecom.yu.edu/ogs/Guide/Guide.htm

http://www.

americanscientist

.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/2 3947?fulltext=true&print=yes&print=yes http://www.

pitt

.edu/~offres/proposal/propwriting/websites.html

Office of Proposal Development 10/21/2005 Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Vice Chancellor for Research, TAMUS 119