* Collated from work by Semahat Demir (NSF), Lydia Kavraki (Rice), Rob Raphael (Rice), and Joan Strassmann (Rice), and Jane Grande Allen (Rice).
Funding is important for obtaining tenure in an institution of Higher Education in the United States. You need to be prepared to address the funding issue in the long run. So, how can you prepare for a grant? You need more than a great idea.
- Ask important, big questions
- Do not redo your Ph.D. or postdoc work
- Find a substantially new project if your proposal is rejected twice.
- Read deeply and broadly (at least 5 articles a day).
- Be creative.
- Do not be afraid to do something really different.
- Talk to lots of people about research.
- Have several projects at once
- Keeps you excited.
- When one project faces problems, another could be blooming.
- Increases funding opportunities.
- Synergy in thinking about different things can suggest novel pathways.
- Increases your visibility.
- Write clear, well-researched proposals
- The proposal must be impeccable, no typos, clear headers, clear flow from hypotheses to methods.
- Follow the format of the agency exactly.
- Include preliminary data and figures.
- Get sample funded proposals by asking people for them, preferably those not too close to your research.
- Have several people read your proposal.
- Leave enough time, at least 3 months for several drafts and for feedback.
- Collaborate
- New ideas often come from collaboration.
- Techniques and approaches can be shared.
- This is the ONLY way to succeed without turning into a workaholic.
- Teamwork is fun!
- Find collaborators from a broader pool than is initially comfortable, and bridge the gaps with frequent meetings.
- Same-stage collaborators are often best.
- Keep Publishing
- The search for funding can be discouraging, be prepared to fail.
- Keep trying, but don’t forget to keep publishing anyway.
- Write up your research quickly.
- Write a mini-review, review, perspective etc. at least every 2 years.
- Obtain Funding Information
- NSF and NIH are not the only sources of funding.
- Learn about those grants requiring nominations, and get them.
- Ask as many people as possible about how to find funding opportunities: faculty mentor, graduate/postdoc mentor, department chair, colleagues, Office of Sponsored Research, Foundation Relations Office.
- Get on e-mailing lists for funding announcements – e.g. NIH, NSF, Listservs appropriate for your field, Multi-disciplinary grants’ mailing lists etc.
- If there is a funding opportunity that you are interested in, ask the Deans’ office to find out who else at your institution has been funded by this agency. Talk to this person, get a copy of their funded award, get any inside information that you can.
- Be a detective! Find out which agencies have funded your colleagues and persons in comparable positions at other schools. Some people have this information on their websites or CV.
-
It is a good idea to contact the funding agency to see how your idea aligns with their funding priorities. Have a short abstract ready with your tentative specific aims BEFORE you contact them.
-
Send versions of the same project to multiple funding agencies, but tailor the scope of project as appropriate.
-
Send versions of the same project to multiple funding agencies, but tailor the scope of project as appropriate.
-
Apply for any and all internal/local funding opportunities you can find. Take these applications seriously and don’t put them together at the last minute. This is a great way to get preliminary data and a preliminary draft of your next major proposal.
-
Apply for any and all internal/local funding opportunities you can find. Take these applications seriously and don’t put them together at the last minute. This is a great way to get preliminary data and a preliminary draft of your next major proposal.
-
Make a spreadsheet of opportunities and deadlines.
-
APPLY. You won’t get the grants you don’t apply for. NIH and NSF review panels are impressed by young investigators with multiple pending grants – it shows that the applicant is seriously aggressive about securing funding.
-
Take advantage of your research office in learning about private funding.
- Identify a funding agency and learn everything you can about this agency (the web and your colleagues are good sources)
- Understand the mechanism for submitting a proposal from your institution
- Develop a time frame for writing and proofreading the proposal
- A proposal needs a budget and appropriate signatures.
- Determine if your project is relevant to the program
- Get in touch with the Program Director
- The Program Director is part of:
Review Panels
Award/decline recommendation
Post management of the awards (progress report)
- Follow the instructions posted by the agency
Format, sections, project plan
Agency’s Review Criteria (NSF Merit Review Criteria)
Priority Areas for the agency
- Respond to a solicitation
Deadlines (pre-proposal, letter of intent, full proposal)
Additional review criteria and requirements
- Read “successful” proposals of your colleagues
- Have your proposal reviewed by collaborators or colleagues before submitting
- Do not wait to submit on the day of the deadline
- Choose a significant problem
* Bonus points if not much work has been done on the problem
* More bonus points if you have done the important work
- Leave no doubt that you can accomplish your aims
* Established track record of publications
* Clear and convincing preliminary data
- Write a clear, easy to read proposal
Some potential pitfalls you may encounter are:
- Laboratory techniques not yet working
- Students not yet trained/busy with classes
- Teaching and other responsibilities
- Proposing to do too much
- Not making clear the points and connections that are obvious to you
- Do not necessarily assume the person who reviews your grant will be an expert in your area or know why your research is novel
- Get grants done in advance and have colleagues read them.
-
Stay Abreast of what different institutes consider “Young Investigator Status”
- The response to a revised NIH grant is very important.
Never appear to be angry or emotional. Just stick to the science. If a reviewer got something wrong (which often happens), just lay out the facts.
This is hard because you have put so much effort into the grant it’s easy to take comments personally
Criticisms are of the science, not of you!
Listed here are some points about the two main funding agencies: NIH and the NSF. However, there are many other funding agencies, other than the two main ones.
-
NIH (www.nih.gov)
* R03 “small grant” mechanism. Review panels can be a tad easier on these applications.
* R21 for exploratory/developmental research. Less preliminary data needed.
* R01 – primary investigator-initiated mechanism. Substantial preliminary data needed.
* Director’s New Innovator Awards and Pioneer Awards
-
NSF (www.nsf.gov)
* apply for both CAREER and regular research grants (not with the same project)
* if you get NSF funding, apply for any and all supplements!
- Military-related funding
- DOD Congr. Directed Medical Research Programs
- DOE
- DARPA (http://www.darpa.mil/BAA/)
- Army Research Lab (http://www.arl.army.mil/)
- ONR (http://www.onr.navy.mil/02/BAA/)
- Air Force (http://www.wpafb.af.mil/)
- Welch Foundation (http://www.welch1.org/)
- Oak Ridge Associated Universities Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award
http://www.orau.org/consortium/programs/powe/powe-awards.htm - Human Frontier Science Program (www.hfsp.org)
* Early Career and non-EC grants, also travel fellowships - HHMI (www.hhmi.org)
* Early Career and non-EC professorships/research awards
* Fund the person, not the project
* Learn more from Foundation Relations Office
* Calls for applicants not every year - Packard Foundation
http://www.packard.org/ - Sloan Foundation (http://www.sloan.org/programs/scitech_fellowships.shtml)
- Dreyfus Foundation (http://www.dreyfus.org/)
* Teacher-Scholar Awards
* New Faculty and Faculty start-up awards
* Internal competition first - Pew Scholar (http://www.futurehealth.ucsf.edu/pewscholar.html)
* Nominated by university - Searle Scholar (http://www.searlescholars.net/)
* Nominated by university - Beckman Foundation (http://www.beckman-foundation.com/byi.html)
* Very short application (4 pages) - Coulter Foundation (http://www.whcf.org/)
* Heavy, heavy focus on commercialization development - Keck Foundation (http://www.wmkeck.org/programs/scholars.html)
* Nominated by university - Partnership for Cures
http://www.4cures.org/
* formerly Culpeper Biomedical Pilot Initiative - Burroughs Wellcome Award (http://www.bwfund.org/)
* variety of biomedical funding priorities
* variety of eligible career stages - Field-specific agencies
* Ask around to find out what is appropriate for your field
* Apply to field-specific agencies in addition to NIH/NSF
* For example:
* American Heart Association – local and regional (can submit “same” project to both)
* March of Dimes
* American Federation for Aging Research
* National Heart Foundation
* Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscience
* Children’s Heart Foundation
* Alternatives Research and Development Foundation
* Pfizer
* International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation - CRISP – Database of funded projects
* http://crisp.cit.nih.gov/ - NIH Review Criteria
* http://www.csr.nih.gov/guidelines/r01.htm - Article: How to get NIH funding
* http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2000/10/12/1 - NSF - www.nsf.gov
CAREER program
* http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/career/start.htm
Engineering Division
* http://www.nsf.gov/home/eng/ - Private Foundations
• Office of Naval Research (ONR) and other federal programs
• NIDRR - The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/nidrr/index.html - Miscellaneous Funding links
o GrantsNet - http://www.grantsnet.org/
o Grant writing
+ http://www.research.umich.edu/proposals/PWG/pwgcontents.html
+ Google search for articles
+ Book – Research Proposals: A Guide to Success (Ogden and Goldberg) - Industry
* SBIR mechanism (NSF, NIH)
* Direct Funding from Companies
* Founded in 1950
* An independent federal agency
* Responsible for advancing science and engineering
* Makes merit-based grants and cooperative agreements
- Individual Researchers and groups
- Colleges, Universities
- Other Institutions - public, private, state, local and federal
o 9,800 new awards (success rates are different for different programs)
o success rates are different for different programs
* Individual Programs
o Research, education, center programs
* Priority Areas (Investment Areas for FY)
o Cross-Programs and Cross-Directorates
* Cross Disciplinary Areas
o Cross-Programs and Cross-Directorates
* Interagency Programs
o NSF, and other government agencies
* Individual Investigator Initiated Awards
* Individual Investigator Initiated Awards
* CAREER Awards
* Center Awards
* SBIR/STTR awards
* SGER awards
* Supplements
* Workshops, conferences
1. Biological Sciences (BIO)
2. Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE)
3. Education and Human Resources (EHR)
4. Engineering (ENG)
* Biomedical Engineering Program
5. Geosciences (GEO)
8. Polar Programs
9. Office of Cyberinfrastructure
10. Office of International Science and Engineering
11. Office of Integrative Affairs
Criteria include:
- What is the intellectual merit and quality of the proposed activity?
- What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?
- 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?
* What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?
* How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training and learning?
* How well does the activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)?
* To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks and partnerships?
* Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding?
* What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society?
- Never had an R01 or equivalent grant from NIH
-
For some programs, must be within 10 years of latest degree
- Kirschstein-NRSA Individual Fellowships (F32)
- Career Development Awards (K)
- NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2)
- NIH Research Supplements to Promote Diversity
- Individual postdoctoral research training support
- Must be US citizen, non-citizen national, or US permanent resident at time of award
- Provides stipend and institutional allowance for up to 3 years
- Research supervised by faculty mentor
- http://grants1.nih.gov/training/F_files_nrsa.htm
* K01 - Mentored Research Scientist Development Award: To provide support and “protected time” (3-5 years) for an intensive, supervised career development experience in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences leading to research independence
* K02 - Independent Scientist Award: To provide support for newly independent scientists who can demonstrate the need for a period of intensive research focus as a means of enhancing their research careers
* K08 - Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award: To provide support and “protected time” to individuals with a clinical doctoral degree for an intensive, supervised research career development experience in the fields of biomedical and behavioral research, including translational research
* K25 – Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award: To attract to NIH-relevant research those investigators whose quantitative science and engineering research has thus far not been focused primarily on questions of health and disease
* K99/R00 - Pathway to Independence Award (see next section): To provide an opportunity for promising postdoctoral scientists to receive both mentored and independent research support from the same award
http://grants.nih.gov/training/careerdevelopmentawards.htm
* Designed to facilitate a timely transition from a mentored postdoctoral research position to a stable independent research position at an earlier stage than the norm
* Up to 5 years of support consisting of 2 phases
* Phase I provides 1-2 years of mentored support for highly promising, postdoctoral research scientists
* Phase II provides up to 3 years of independent support contingent on securing an independent research position
* To stimulate highly innovative research
* One application receipt period per year
* 10-page application
* Awards provide up to $1.5 million in direct costs for 5 year project period
NIH Research Supplements to Promote Diversity
* For individuals from under-represented groups or disadvantaged background
* Provides supplements to R01 and other grant mechanisms to support individuals at various career stages from high school through investigator
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-190.html
But remember...
The R01 is still the major source of support for early-career investigators and is the “gold-standard.”
* NIH has set a target for the number of awards to new investigators
* NIH Enhancing Peer Review Report (2008) also recommends
o Establishing an Early Stage Investigator (ESI) designation
o Clustering the reviews of ESI applications
Web resources – Read and ask questions
* NIH Grants Web Site: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/oer.htm – contains many documents explaining grant processes, mechanisms, special programs, tips for writing applications
* Web Site for New Investigators: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/index.htm
* CRISP: http://crisp.cit.nih.gov/ - lets you search abstracts of funded grants
* NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/index.html – announces special programs and initiatives
* Guidelines for Reviewers: http://cms.csr.nih.gov/ResourcesforApplicants/PolicyProcedureReview+Guidelines/Guidelines+for+Review+of+Specific+Applications/ - lets you see what reviewers are looking for (note links for review of applications from new investigators and for specific grant mechanisms)
And don't forget...
* Contact NIH program officers – identify from NIH home page http://www.nih.gov/
* Talk to your institution’s sponsored research office
* Consult your former advisers and current senior colleagues
-
Demir, S., Kavraki, L., Raphael, R., and Strassman, J. (2006, October). How to Obtain Funding: NSF Advance Workshop at Rice University. [http://www.advance.rice.edu/negotiatingtheidealfacultyposition/agenda.html].
- Kinney, K., Wilson, P. and Neptune, R. (2004, October). EFWO Negotiating the Ideal Faculty Position Workshop Agenda: How to Find Funding. [http://www.engr.utexas.edu/efwo/workshop2004.cfm].
- Thackrey, D. University of Michigan's Proposal Writer's Guide. [http://www.research.umich.edu/proposals/pwg/pwgcomplete.html].
- Rice ADVANCE. (2010, February 22). NIH Research Funding for Early Career Investigators. Retrieved from the Connexions Web site:
http://cnx.org/content/m19394/1.2/
- Cates, S. (2007, July 30). How to Obtain Funding. Retrieved from the Connexions Web site. http://cnx.org/content/m14808/1.4/
- Rice ADVANCE. "Best" Practices for Finding Funding [Connexions Web site]. February 22, 2010. Available at: http://cnx.org/content/m19391/1.2/.
- NSF grant writing article: http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2000/07/06/8
NLM Professional Development Framework