Transcript Title of Presentation

Pursuing Funding from
Private Foundations and
Corporations
Proposal Development Workshop
UT San Antonio
April 13, 2015
Lucy Deckard
Academic Research Funding Strategies, LLC
[email protected]
Copyright 2015 Academic Research Funding Strategies. All rights reserved
Your CD/memory stick contains
These slides
Handouts (one pdf file)
Additional resources
Articles
These files can be downloaded from
http://1drv.ms/1awRaTL
Academic Research Funding Strategies, LLC
Our goal:
To help your institution, faculty and staff to
develop the skills they need to compete
successfully for research funding.
http://academicresearchgrants.com
3
Lucy Deckard
[email protected]
979-693-0825
Founder and President, Academic Research Funding
Strategies, LLC (2010)
Nine years in research and proposal development at Texas
A&M University as associate director of two research
development and grant writing offices
BS/MS Materials Science and Engineering
Junior Faculty Initiative, CAREER, instrumentation, research,
education, Center-level proposals
NSF, NIH, DOE, DoD, DoED, IMLS, Foundations
Research Engineer (16 years in applied research, with
extensive proposal writing experience to NSF, DARPA, ONR,
AFOSR, ARO, DOE)
4
Characteristics of Private Foundations
Large (e.g., Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)
Small (e.g., Reef C. Ivey II Foundation)
Open and Transparent
Small and Quirky
Global
National
Geographically limited (e.g., only awards grants
one county or state)
5
Important!
Check with your Development Office
They know which foundations have already been
approached
Can provide info on foundations
If you’re thinking about applying to a
foundation’s competitive grants program, you’re
probably fine
Otherwise, work closely with your Development
Office
6
Steps to Analyzing a Foundation
What kinds of grants to they fund?
Implementation
Research
Art or cultural projects
Fellowships
Policy
Do they fund faculty?
What is their agenda?
How do they decide whom to fund?
7
Examples of Foundations that Fund
Faculty Research
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Russell Sage
Ford Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
Spencer Foundation
Social Science Research Council
Aspen Institute
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
American Heart Association
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
8
What is the Foundation’s Agenda?
Foundations will generally only fund research
that fits their established agenda
This agenda can change
Program Officers may have a lot of discretion
depending on the size and type of foundation
What product do they want? (Your product is
mainly publications – are they interested in that
product?)
If your research doesn’t fit, look elsewhere
9
Whom do they fund?
Some foundations fund only a small cadre of
favored researchers
Some foundations fund only within a specific
geographic area (e.g., county, city, state)
Do they accept unsolicited proposals?
Do they have standing grant programs?
Program Officers typically have a lot of
discretion
Do they have special small grants for early
career researchers?
10
Information Sources
Foundation website
Colleagues
Foundation Center 990 Finder
Schedule I Part II (Grants and Other Assistance)
Lists grants awarded and recipients
Foundation Program Officers
11
Talking to the Program Officer
Especially important when unsolicited proposals
are accepted
Can be difficult to contact them but try!
Try to email them and establish a time to talk
Look for them at conferences
Talk to them about their agenda and specific
focus areas
Be concise and have a clear project plan
Connect your project to their agenda
12
The Process
There may be a specific call posted on their
website (larger foundations)
They may accept unsolicited proposals
Talk to the P.O.
P.O. may ask for a white paper (or preliminary
proposal) if interested
Detailed abstract, budget, timeline
If they like the white paper they’ll ask for a full
proposal
Don’t send a full proposal unless invited
13
The Review Process
Can vary significantly depending on the
foundation
May have a first stage programmatic review
Then second round with detailed reviews
For bigger foundations, may have external
reviews
For some foundations, you may get no reviews
14
Tips
If you’re new to the foundation keep your
project and budget modest
If you are an early career faculty, you may want
to collaborate with a more senior researcher
Network at meetings to find out what
foundations are funding your type of research,
who has money, etc.
Set out to become known to the people at the
foundations and establish yourself in the field
15
If You Don’t Get Funded
Best to move on unless encouraged to resubmit
Look for other foundations whose mission and
agenda fit your research
16
Why Bother?
Foundations generally give smaller grants
May be more flexible than federal funders
May fund areas that federal funders don’t
Often less paperwork
If you fit you may have a good chance of
winning
Proposal process usually less onerous then
federal grant
17
Resources
Foundation Center List of Top 100 Foundations
National Center for Charitable Statistics
NC State Funding Databases
Foundation Center 990 Finder
18
Corporations
Cutting back on basic research so looking to
academia
May fund education, social projects through a
corporate foundation
May fund projects on an ad hoc basis
May team with faculty researchers to pursue
funding (e.g., DOD, DOE)
19
Types of Funding
Grants
Gifts
Contracts
20
SBIR/STTRs
Funded by all federal agencies that fund extramural
research
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
PI’s primary employment with small business (< 500
employees)
Phase I (Proof of Concept) - $150K for 6 months (NSF)
Phase II (Development) - $750K for 2 years (NSF)
Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
Research institution performs at least 30% of R&D, SBC at
least 40%; PI can be at research institution
Phase I - $225K for 1 year (NSF)
Phase II - $750K for 2 years (NSF)
21
Most Corporate Funding for
Research Results from Networking
Present at industry-focused conferences in
your field
Keep a good webpage
Keep contact with your students who go to
industry
Talk to your colleagues and program officers
Let your Development Office know what you
do
Explain your research in an accessible way
If you get corporate funding
Understand the expectations
Contracts vs. grants
Follow the rules of your institution
Keep your funder informed
Involve your students
Planning Your Project
Start with your great idea

Translate it into a project
What will your outputs be?
How long will it take?
What will your approach be?
What have you done so far?
How does this advance your line of scholarship?
24
Formulating Clear Objectives/Aims
Objectives should support your goal(s)
Outcomes should be clear
Often tied to research questions/hypotheses
or theory of change
Avoid ambiguous terminology
Beware too many objectives!
Common Mistakes
Mismatch with funder
Too theoretical if funder is looking for applied
research
Outcomes not clear
Insufficient impact or significance
Do not tie clearly to goals
Grantsmanship
Things to
Keep in
Mind
It’s not about you…
It’s about the funder
Understand what the funder is trying to
accomplish by giving this grant
Explain how funding you will help them to
accomplish those goals
A Proposal is Not an Academic Article
Must be persuasive
Must communicate passion
Must communicate impact
Must be easy to understand by readers
with various backgrounds
Must tie research to the goals of the funder
Focuses on future, not past
Must inspire confidence in researchers’
abilities and resources
Make Your Proposal Easy to Understand and
Easy to Read
Use figures, flow charts, tables, bullet lists,
etc.
Use heading and subheadings to help
reviewers locate the information
Bold, italics and underlining (used
judiciously) can help reviewers find
important points
No tiny fonts or illegible figure labels
You must convince the reviewers…
This is a project that should be done
It supports the goals of the agency and program
It will yield significant results
It is more important (or cooler or more
significant) than other proposed projects
You (and your team) are the right people
to do it
You have the skills and resources to be successful
You have thought through the project
And most importantly, you must….
Intrigue the Reviewers
Now to the Nitty Gritty…
Writing
The Project Description: Getting Started
Reviewer’s Attention Level
14
12
Get to the
exciting
Concise background
stuff here! Strong,
that provides context
Unique Intro
10
8
Generic Intro
6
4
2
0
Long, unconnected
Zzzzzzz
background
Get to the
exciting stuff
here!
First
Paragraph
Put Your Project in Context
Preliminary Work Funded project 1
Further work
Project Goals/Specific Aims
 Outcomes
The Big Question or
The Big Need
What is the kernel of your great idea?
What you will accomplish
The approach you will use
The problem you’re addressing
New tools or resources you’ll bring to the
problem
Put it up front!
Introduction and Overview
Provide reviewers with an outline of your proposed
project which you will fill in later (1 – 2 pages)
37
Tell Your Project Story
The Need/Motivation
Goals
Gaps
New Knowledge
Hypotheses
Research Questions
Approach
Objectives
How it’s Different
Significance
Outcomes
Impact
38
Concept Paper or White Paper
This will be your entire paper
Perhaps with rough budget and timeline
Additional info depending on funder
After the Intro & Overview
Reviewer should be intrigued and excited
Should have a basic understanding of your
project and why it’s important
Should be convinced that this research is a great
idea
Will just be looking for details to confirm you
can do what you say you’ll do
(see Handout)
Describing your Project Plan
41
This is where things get complex!
Have a clear structure
For example…
Project Goals
Objectives
Research
Questions/Hypotheses
Phases
Tasks
Subtasks
Example Flow Charts
Task 1:
description
Output of task 1
Task 2:
description
Task 3:
description
Output of
Task 2
Output of Task
3
Task 4: description of how it all
comes together in this task
Project Outcomes
Schedule and Milestones
What do you expect to have accomplished
after 6 months? After 1 year? After 18
months? Etc.
Provides easy-to-find synopsis of your
approach for reviewers
Demonstrates that your project is properly
scoped
Shows that your project is well thought out
Example Flow Charts and Schedules
Year 1
Objective 1: Development of the hoosits
Integration and calibration
Optimization of frumpits measurement methodology
Objective 2: Assess XYZ
XYZ spectroscopy
MOA microscopy
ABC testing
Pandax studies
Objective 3: Integrate hoosits with XYZ
Instrument integration
Instrument testing
Demonstration
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Budget
Understand the expectations of the funder
Understand the post-award rules
Explain clearly how each item will be spent
Think through the logistics of your project
Start early on your budget!
47
Questions?
48