Transcript Optical Microscopy: Applications in Chemistry

Strategies and Resources for
Funding in the Natural Sciences
Gary W. Small
Department of Chemistry &
Optical Science and Technology Center
([email protected])
CLAS New Faculty Orientation, 8/20/14
Issues to Consider
 Current funding climate
 Strategies and resources
Internal proposals
 External proposals

 Developing a strategic plan
Current Funding Climate
http://www.aaas.org/sites/default/files/20140612 – COGR.pptx
Current Funding Climate
http://www.aaas.org/sites/default/files/20140501 – Forum.pptx
Current Funding Climate
Success Rates for NIH Type R01 Grants
Success Rate (%)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Fiscal Year
NIGMS-new
NIGMS-cont
NCI-new
NCI-cont
NIDDK-new
NIDDK-cont
Source: http://report.nih.gov/success_rates
Strategies and Resources
(Internal Proposals)
 Submit as soon as proposal is viable
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
http://dsp.research.uiowa.edu/ui-internal-funding
http://research.uiowa.edu/ovpr/university-funding-sources
 Provides funding for preliminary results
 Provides informative feedback
 Provides mechanism to crystallize ideas
Clear explanation of significance
 Clear description of experimental design
 Challenge of explaining to an audience of nonspecialists (avoiding jargon)

Strategies and Resources
(External Proposals)
 Submit as soon as proposal is viable
 Until funding is established, don’t let a deadline pass
without submitting
 Learn what has been funded recently


http://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm
http://nsf.gov/awardsearch/index.jsp
 Note special Requests for Applications (RFA’s)

http://www07.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp
 Look for special opportunities for young investigators


http://www.spo.berkeley.edu/Fund/newfaculty.html
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/index.htm
Developing a Strategic Plan
 Preliminary results and manuscripts
 Work on building your visibility

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Meet program officers at agencies
Conference participation
Meet your competitors
Discover your supporters and detractors
Invite key players in your field to Iowa for a seminar
 Develop your research niche

At tenure time, need to have an identifiable research
program
 Don’t ignore the mission-oriented agencies such as
DOE, DOD, NASA

Important to develop contacts at Government labs
Developing a Strategic Plan
 Consider a mix of collaborative and individual
work



Collaborative projects can be an important component
of a research program
Allows bigger problems to be tackled
Important to be able to demonstrate your own
contribution