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Sunshine Consultants, International … specializing in research competitiveness Lynn W. Jelinski, Ph.D. 6406 Hopkins Drive Austin, TX 78734 [email protected] 843-412-4331 FUNDAMENTALS OF GRANT WRITING SEMINAR: How to Write a Winning Grant Proposal
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Page 1: Grant Writing

Sunshine Consultants, International … specializing in research competitiveness

Lynn W. Jelinski, Ph.D.

6406 Hopkins Drive

Austin, TX 78734

[email protected]

843-412-4331

FUNDAMENTALS OF GRANT WRITING SEMINAR:

How to Write a Winning Grant Proposal

Page 2: Grant Writing

Caution: What You are About to See is Violent in

Nature

Don’t let the reviewers smell blood.

Page 3: Grant Writing

Three Take-home Messages

Page 4: Grant Writing

The Statistics

Before the economy tanked:

In a good year, about 1/4 to 1/3 of the 70,000 proposals

submitted to NIH and NSF, combined, were funded.

http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/0490/how_not_to_kill_a_grant_application_part_five_the_facts_of_the_case_thus_far

A 2011 factoid: NSF received 247 preproposals for the latest round of

Science and Technology Centers, 45 were invited for full proposals,

11 were site-visited, and 5 were awarded. That’s a 2% success rate.

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116378

Page 5: Grant Writing

The Statistics

No matter how brilliant you are, you’ll

need to write lots of applications.

Although many will deny it, don’t forget

that there is a “halo effect.”

Figure on a 15 – 20% funding rate.

This is hard to accept, because all of us are used to being in the

top 5% of our class.

Page 6: Grant Writing

There are Lots of Resources Out There

http://funding.niaid.nih.gov/researchfunding/grant/pages/appsamples.aspx Examples of successful RO1s in the 12-page format, annotated with what is positive. A MUST STUDY. http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/tools_resources/how_to_guides/how_to_get_funding AAAS very useful site. Read: How Not to Kill a Grant Application. http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/grant_tips.htm Tip guide from NIH. Includes tips for new investigators and SBIR/STTR. All you wanted to know about NIH and were afraid to ask. http://imechanica.org/node/588 By George A. Hazelrigg, National Science Foundation program director for 18 years. 12 steps of writing a successful NSF application. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/grantwriting_mistakes.htm Five common mistakes in NIH grant applications.

And yes, even …

Page 7: Grant Writing

Before you Start to Write

Getting Ready to Write

Writing the Narrative

Don’t Forget these Details

Before Submitting the Grant

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 8: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 9: Grant Writing

Positioning Yourself to be Even More Competitive

1. Visit your Foundation, Program Officer, Program Manager

2. Review grants; get on review panels

3. Invite leaders in your field to present seminars at ISU

4. Participate in workshops where “the community” defines

priorities and what will be done next

Do all of the above. Do #1 this week.

Page 10: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 11: Grant Writing

How Long Will it Take?

If you know the material cold, most people

can write 5 “polished” pages a day*.

* A day = 8 – 12 hours, ABSOLUTELY NO

DISTRACTIONS. This doesn’t count all the rest of

the material (references, budget, budget

justification, CV, facilities, support letters)

Allow twice as much time as you

think. Don’t forget about internal

ISU deadlines.

Page 12: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 13: Grant Writing

It’s All About the Reviewer

- Put yourself in the reviewer’s

frame of mind. Don’t forget that

s/he just parachuted in.

- Do not confuse the reviewer.

- Avoid the smell of blood.

- Identify the Alpha Reviewer for

revised applications.

This is the second-most important

slide. Do all of the above.

Page 14: Grant Writing

Putting Yourself in the Reviewer’s Frame of Mind

You may have spent weeks writing your

proposal, but the Average Reviewer is

going to spend less than 1.5 hours reading

your grant and writing the critique. The

Lazy Reviewer might spend less time.

Make it easy for the Average

Reviewer to immediately grasp your

plan.

Page 15: Grant Writing

Identifying the Alpha Reviewer

The Alpha Reviewer is the one whose critique is repeated most

obviously in the Summary Statement. The Alpha Reviewer will likely be

assigned to review your grant again.

–noun A dominant dog; a dog that is an alpha male or alpha female. Often used figuratively.

Pay careful attention BOTH to the

Summary Statement and the critique by

the Alpha Reviewer in revising your grant.

Page 16: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 17: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 18: Grant Writing

Who cares? So what? What

happens if you do this?

STRONG research question

How is your approach

creative? How are you

going to do it?

Before You Start: Answer the 3 Key Questions

What are you going to do?

Why is it important to do this?

Why is your approach innovative?

This is the most important slide.

Page 19: Grant Writing

Examples

STRONG research question

What are the molecular mechanisms responsible for

the exceptional strength of spider silk?

There remains a lot to know about spider

silk so we will investigate it.

We will study ...

We will add to the fundamental

knowledge of ... Avoid overly-descriptive approaches.

Stamp-collecting

Page 20: Grant Writing

Examples, continued

STRONG research question

Mosquitoes sucked dinosaur blood and then

got stuck in resin. Dinosaur DNA, albeit

damaged, was trapped and preserved in

amber. Can we clone dinosaur DNA?

Page 21: Grant Writing

Who cares? So what? What

happens if you do this?

Silk fibroin has little long-range structure in its liquid

state, but assumes an insoluble beta-sheet

structure when spun. The theme of insoluble

protein formation pertains to diseases such as

Alzheimer’s, Jakob-Kreutzfeld, and Mad Cow.

Examples, continued

Bioinspired materials are interesting and

related to nanotechnology, which is a

field of interest right now.

Page 22: Grant Writing

Who cares? So what? What

happens if you do this?

Silk fibroin has little long-range structure in its liquid

state, but assumes an insoluble beta-sheet

structure when spun. The theme of insoluble

protein formation pertains to diseases such as

Alzheimer’s, Jakob-Kreutzfeld, and Mad Cow.

Examples, continued

Bioinspired materials are interesting and

related to nanotechnology, which is a

field of interest right now.

Relate your work to something

societally important.

Page 23: Grant Writing

Examples, continued

We’ll create an amusement park with live

dinosaurs for the education and

entertainment of children. We and our

investors will make a lot of money doing

so.

Who cares? So what? What

happens if you do this?

Page 24: Grant Writing

How is your approach

creative? How are you

going to do it?

Examples, continued

To measure short-range order and molecular motion in the

solid state, we will take advantage of our home-built

solid state NMR spectrometer capable of recording

spectra under tension.

We will use all the tools at our disposal,

including NMR and IR and genetic

engineering.

Stay focused. No need to throw in

the kitchen sink.

Page 25: Grant Writing

Examples, continued

How is your approach

creative? How are you

going to do it?

We’ll clone dinosaurs. We’ll fill in the gaps

in missing DNA with modern-day avian

and reptilian DNA. To be on the safe

side, we’ll make all the dinosaurs female

and we’ll also make them lysine-

dependent.

Page 26: Grant Writing

STRONG research question

Hypothesis-driven Research

Testable hypotheses

Clear Specific Aims

leads to …

leads to …

No more than 2 or 3 Specific Aims.

Approach small chunks at a time and

save the rest for later grant applications.

Page 27: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 28: Grant Writing

Writing the Elevator Conversation

Page 29: Grant Writing

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: Now We have Answers

to the 3 Key Questions, Hypotheses, Specific Aims

and an Elevator Conversation

The hardest part of the grant application is

already written!

The Abstract and the Specific Aims (or the

first two pages) will flow from the 3 key

questions.

The Elevator Conversation is useful for

necessary repetition --- restating goals and

significance.

Some examples …

Page 30: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 31: Grant Writing

A Winning Formula for Writing the Abstract

Sentence 1: What will you do?

Sentence 2: Why is it important?

Sentence 3: What has already been done?

Sentence 4: How are you going to do it and

how is your approach special?

The first 4 sentences:

Don’t forget that the abstract is

hugely important for review panels

where members who haven’t reviewed

the proposal “vote”. Don’t simply copy-and-

paste the first few sentences from your

specific aims section.

Page 32: Grant Writing

A Winning Formula for Writing the Abstract

1. What will you do?

2. Why is it important?

3. What has already been done?

4. How are you going to do it and

how is your approach special?

Here we seek to understand how structural flexibility and variation in parvoviral capsids control their ability to bind receptors leading to cell infection and also to variation in host range, and also how capsid structures control antibody binding and neutralization. Those areas of study are significant because they are features of all animal and human viruses. While parvovirus capsids appear structurally simple, they are clearly sophisticated biomolecular machines that carry out many functions using variants of a single capsid protein, and the features controlling many functions have now been mapped to specific mutations and capsid structures, presenting an opportunity to gain a complete understanding of how virus-host interactions occur in fine detail. Parvoviruses include the B19 virus, human bocavirus, and Parv4, all of which cause disease in humans. Here we use feline and canine parvoviruses as models to build on our previous studies showing that cell infection and animal host ranges are controlled by specific interactions of the capsids with the transferrin receptors type-1 (TfR) of different hosts. There are also distinct outcomes for viral infection of antibody binding, depending on the binding site and angle of attachment.

Colin Parish, Cornell University, http://funding.niaid.nih.gov/researchfunding/grant/documents/parrishfull.pdf

Priority score: 20 Percentile: 7

Page 33: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 34: Grant Writing

The Cauliflower Method for Developing a Grant

EVERYTHING should relate to the

central question: What are you going

to do? Pare away anything else.

ST

RO

NG

re

se

arch

q

ue

stio

n

Background

supporting

Specific Aim 1

Page 35: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 36: Grant Writing

The VERY IMPORTANT First Two Sentences

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat; it was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort.

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, …

Call me Ishmael. You need to hook the reviewer in the

first few sentences, and certainly

by the first two pages.

Page 37: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 38: Grant Writing

Specific Aims Microscopy has emerged as one of the most powerful and informative ways to analyze cell-based high-throughput screening (HTS) samples in experiments designed to uncover novel drugs and drug targets. However, many diseases and biological pathways can be better studied in whole animals–particularly diseases that involve organ systems and multicellular interactions, such as metabolism and infection. The worm Caenorhabditis elegans is a well-established and effective model organism that can be robotically prepared and imaged, but existing image-analysis methods are insufficient for most assays. We propose to develop algorithms for the analysis of high-throughput C. elegans images, validating them in three specific experiments to identify chemicals to cure human infections and genetic regulators of host response to pathogens and fat metabolism. Novel computational tools for automated image analysis of C. elegans assays will make whole-animal screening possible for a variety of biological questions not approachable by cellbased assays. Building on our expertise in developing image processing and machine learning algorithms for high-throughput screening, and on our established collaborations with leaders in C. elegans research, we will: Aim 1: Develop algorithms for C. elegans viability assays to identify modulators of pathogen infection Challenge: To identify individual worms in thousands of two-dimensional brightfield images of worm populations infected by Microsporidia, and measure viability based on worm body shape (live worms are curvy whereas dead worms are straight). Approach: We will develop algorithms that use a probabilistic shape model of C. elegans learned from examples, enabling segmentation and body shape measurements even when worms touch or cross. Impact: These algorithms will quantify a wide range of phenotypic descriptors detectable in individual worms, including body morphology as well as subtle variations in reporter signal levels. Aim 2: Develop algorithms for C. elegans lipid assays to identify genes that regulate fat metabolism Challenge: To detect worms versus background, despite artifacts from sample preparation, and detect subtle phenotypes of worm populations. Approach: We will improve well edge detection, illumination correction, and detection of artifacts (e.g. bubbles and aggregates of bacteria) and enable image segmentation in highly variable image backgrounds using level-set segmentation. We will also design feature descriptors that can capture worm population phenotypes. Impact: These algorithms will provide detection for a variety of phenotypes in worm populations. They will also improve data quality in other assays, such as those in Aims 1 and 3. Aim 3: Develop algorithms for gene expression pattern assays to identify regulators of the response of the C. elegans host to Staphylococcus aureus infection Challenge: To map each worm to a reference and quantify changes in fluorescence localization patterns. Approach: We will develop worm mapping algorithms and combine them with anatomical maps to extract atlas-based measurements of staining patterns and localization. We will then use machine learning to distinguish morphological phenotypes of interest based on the extracted features. Impact: These algorithms will enable addressing a variety of biological questions by measuring complex morphologies within individual worms. In addition to discovering novel anti-infectives and genes involved in metabolism and pathogen resistance, this work will provide the C. elegans community with (a) a versatile, modular, open-source toolbox of algorithms readily usable by biologists to quantify a wide range of important high-throughput whole-organism assays, (b) a new framework for extracting morphological features from C. elegans populations for quantitative analysis of this organism, and (c) the capability to discover disease-related pathways, chemical probes, and drug targets in high-throughput screens relevant to a variety of diseases. Primary collaborators Gary Ruvkun and Fred Ausubel, MGH/Harvard Medical School: Development, execution, and follow-up of large-scale C. elegans screens probing metabolism and infection. Polina Golland and Tammy Riklin-Raviv, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab: Illumination/bias correction, model-based segmentation, and statistical image analysis. Anne Carpenter, Broad Imaging Platform: Software engineering and support.

Carolina Wahlby, Broad Institute http://funding.niaid.nih.gov/researchfunding/grant/documents/wahlbyresplan.pdf

Priority score: 10 Percentile: 2

Page 39: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 40: Grant Writing

The Importance of Preliminary Data

Make sure at least once in your proposal you say “We will build on

our preliminary data to do thus-and-so.” Or better, “Building on

our intriguing preliminary results, we will do thus-and-so.”

Ideally, you should have at least one figure of preliminary data to

support each of your specific aims/hypotheses.

Even for grants that don’t require preliminary data (such as NSF

CAREER awards), you really need preliminary data.

Page 41: Grant Writing

What To Do if You Don’t Have Preliminary Data?

Use your start-up funds to generate preliminary data.

Collaborate to generate preliminary data.

NSF has SGER “Sugar” Small Grants for Exploratory Research –

Requires only internal NSF review. Helps if you visit your program

director. Also ask about NSF EAGER (Early concept Grants for

Exploratory Research).

NIH has exploratory/developmental research grants (R21).

Beg your department chair for funds.

Page 42: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 43: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 44: Grant Writing

Style Points Count – But Not as Much as the

Main Idea and the Research Plan

Don’t use too much jargon, too many arconyms, too many

abbreviations!

Especially not in the first sentence or two. Reviewers need to keep all

these abbreviations in their head, and it makes their task difficult.

Page 45: Grant Writing

Style Points Count – But Not as Much as the

Main Idea and the Research Plan

Don’t overdo the bold and underlines and italics and all three

Page 46: Grant Writing

Style Points Count – But Not as Much as the

Main Idea and the Research Plan

Double space between paragraphs. The last thing you want is a

“dense” proposal.

Page 47: Grant Writing

Style Points Count – But Not as Much as the

Main Idea and the Research Plan

Right-justify or not?

I say “not,” as psychobiologists say it is easier to read ragged edge

text. This is especially important for NIH applications, where the

page margins are 0.5 inch on a side and uneven spacing makes it

difficult to read wide expanses of unevenly spaced text.

Most RFPs and FOAs are ragged edge.

But some think that it looks more professional to use right

justification.

It probably doesn’t matter…

Page 48: Grant Writing

Timelines and Milestones

Specific Aims and Sub Aims Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

1.1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

Page 49: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 50: Grant Writing

References

Invest NOW in Endnote!

Page 51: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 52: Grant Writing

Letters of Commitment, Support, Collaboration

Make sure they are in place.

Don’t let them be identical.

Use them to enhance your competitive

position.

Page 53: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 54: Grant Writing

Budgeting, Budget Justifications and Red Flags

Don’t bloat your travel budget.

Make sure your budget matches your

proposal. Seek help from departmental

gurus and mavens.

Page 55: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 56: Grant Writing

Requesting that an Experienced Senior

Colleague Read the Finished Proposal before

Submission

Don’t be shy. This makes a

HUGE difference!

A PROVEN key to success, cited in

almost every guide on how to

write grants.

Page 57: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 58: Grant Writing

Handling the Section on Suggested Reviewers

It’s a good idea to provide a list of suggested reviewers. If you know

them well enough, simply e-mail them and say:

“I am preparing a proposal for the such-and-so program at NSF and

would like to list you as a potential reviewer. The main idea is insert elevator conversation. Should my proposal be sent to you, I hope

you will have time to review it.”

Page 59: Grant Writing

• Positioning yourself to be even more competitive •How long will it take? • All about the reviewer:

-Putting yourself in the reviewer’s frame of mind - Identifying the Alpha Reviewer - How to avoid the smell of blood

• Matching your application with the RFP • Answering three key questions before you start • Writing the Elevator Conversation • A winning formula for writing the abstract •The Cauliflower Method for developing the grant • The VERY IMPORTANT first two sentences • The VERY IMPORTANT first two pages • The importance of preliminary data • Producing a diagram of the project “at a glance” • Style points • References • Letters of commitment, support, collaboration • Budgeting and budget justifications • Requesting that an experienced senior colleague look over the finished proposal before submission • Handling the section on suggested reviewers • Fatal flaws

Outline – The Stages of Writing a Winning Grant

Page 60: Grant Writing

Fatal Flaws

Problems with significance:

•Not significant nor exciting nor new research

•Lack of compelling rationale

•Incremental and low impact research Problems with specific aims:

•Too ambitious, too much work proposed

•Unfocused aims, unclear goals •Limited aims and uncertain future directions

Problems with experimental approach:

•Too much unnecessary experimental detail

•Not enough detail on approaches, especially untested ones

•Not enough preliminary data to establish feasibility

•Feasibility of each aim not shown

•Little or no expertise with approach

•Lack of appropriate controls

•Not directly testing hypothesis

•Correlative or descriptive data

•Experiments not directed towards mechanisms

•No discussion of alternative models or hypotheses

•No discussion of potential pitfalls •No discussion of interpretation of data

Problems with investigator:

•No demonstration of expertise or publications in approaches

•Low productivity, few recent papers •No collaborators recruited or no letters from collaborators

Problems with environment:

•Little demonstration of institutional support

•Little or no start up package or necessary equipment

From: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/grantwriting_mistakes.htm

Page 61: Grant Writing

Fatal Flaws, Continued

Insufficient innovativeness, creativity, originality

Failure to cite important literature

Problems with protections for human subjects:

•Inadequate protection of identity

•Unacceptable risks

Problems with use of vertebrate animals

Annoying the reviewer

From Jelinski observations

Page 62: Grant Writing

Summary: How to Write a Winning Grant

Who cares? So what?

What happens if

you do this?

STRONG research

question

How is your approach

creative? How are

you going to do it?

Sentence 1: What will you do?

Sentence 2: Why is it important?

Sentence 3: What has already been done?

Sentence 4: How are you going to do it and how is

your approach special?

ST

RO

NG

re

se

arch

q

ue

stio

n

Background

supporting

Specific Aim 1

1. Answer the 3 Key Questions

Answers generate hypothesis

Answers generate specific aims

Answers generate broader impacts

2. Write Elevator Conversation

3. Write first 2 sentences

4. Write first 2 pages

5. Use the “Cauliflower Method” to develop

the full proposal

6. Use 4-sentence formula to write the

abstract

7. Ask a colleague to read it before

submission

Page 63: Grant Writing

EVERYTHING should derive from a

STRONG research question.

Put yourself in the reviewer’s frame

of mind and don’t expose your soft

underbelly.

Summary: How to Write a Winning Grant

Page 64: Grant Writing

The End!