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Grant Writing Workshop – NSF Proposals

Learn about different types of NSF program grants, how to locate grants, writing a grant proposal, and managing grants. Get tips from Dr. Linda Mason, a grant writing expert from Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

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Grant Writing Workshop – NSF Proposals

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  1. Grant Writing Workshop – NSF Proposals Dr. Linda Mason Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education http://www.okhighered.org/grant-opps/ lmason@osrhe.edu 405-225-9486

  2. What you will learn: • Types of NSF Program Grants • Locating Grants • Cyberinfrastructure Grants • Planning a Grant • Writing the Grant • Proposal Review and Follow-up • Grant Management

  3. Grant proposal writing is EASY!

  4. Types of Grants • Monetary award given by a government agency, foundation, corporation or other entity to fund a particular project • Generally given to organizations as opposed to individuals

  5. Silent partners: Federal Government • “If you take any major information technology company today, from Google to Intel to Qualcomm to Apple to Microsoft and beyond, you can trace the core technologies to the rich synergy between federally funded universities and industry research and development.”(New York Times, 6-2012) • https://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4186 - Frontiers in Innovation, Research, Science, and Technology Act of 2014 or FIRST Act of 2014 - Strengthens NSF policy of awarding funds for science. • NSF is moving away from behavioral sciences and political science, and increasing science research.

  6. Silent partners: PhilanthropistsOklahoma Total contributions - $1.7-billionMedian contribution - $3,116Median discretionary income - $55,788Percent of income given - 5.6% (Tulsa 6%, OKC 5.5%)

  7. Giving by…. • Individuals 73% $212 billion • Foundations 14% $41 billion • Bequests 8% • $23 billion • Corporations 5% • $15 billion

  8. Types of Grants • Special Project – new project or project with limited timeframe: research, solving a problem, developing something new, recruiting… • Operating – running program to meet community needs • Capital/Equipment – specified amount for construction, renovation, expansion, purchase land or equipment • Endowments - planned gifts, will or trust, use the interest only, not the grant itself

  9. Locating Grants • Government - Federal, State, Local 26 Federal Agencies (900 programs) • Foundations - Second-largest source 238 Oklahoma Foundations; 75,000 private grant making foundations in the US • Direct Corporations or Philanthropists

  10. NSF Cyberinfrastructure Grant Proposals • Cyberinfrastructure Campus Cyberinfrastructure - Data, Networking, and Innovation Program (CC*DNI) - 7 awards • Cyberinfrastructure Training, Education, Advancement, and Mentoring for Our 21st Century Workforce • Cybersecurity Innovation for Cyberinfrastructure (CICI) • NSF Fellowships for Transformative Computational Science using CyberInfrastructure (CI TraCS) • Software Development for Cyberinfrastructure (SDCI) • Strategic Technologies for CyberInfrastructure (STCI)

  11. NSF Grants Conference • 2015 NSF Grants Conference June 1-2, 2015 State University System of Florida Tampa, FL

  12. NSF is an interactive and responsive agency. Their active motto is: “Call early—call often”

  13. NSF Distribution by Average Reviewer Ratings for Awards and Declines, FY 2013

  14. Key Documents • Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide - www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=papp • Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Request - www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2015/index.jsp • NSF Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2014-2018 - www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf14043 • NSB Report on Merit Review - www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsb1333

  15. Assessing Funding Eligibility: Example • Explore NSF award data: http://dellweb.bfa.nsf.gov/ • Look at NSF Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5741 • Read grant solicitation

  16. Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide • The Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) - NSF's proposal and award process • Two parts: • Part I - NSF’s proposal preparation and submission guidelines – the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) and the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide • Part II - NSF’s award and administration guidelines – the documents used to guide, manage, and monitor the award and administration of grants and cooperative agreements

  17. Assessing Info in Solicitation(look at website) • Goal of Program • Research • Education • Eligibility • Type of organization • Geographic restrictions • Population target • Special proposal preparation and/or award requirements • Size of award, number of grants, award size & duration • Project complements funder’s goals and priorities

  18. Any time, target dates & deadlines

  19. Planning a Grant ProposalLetters of Intent – Required or requested • Better management • Alternative to a call or visit (Investigate organization to find preference) • Do homework before the letter for previous funding history, types of projects, amounts • Provide information about your organization • Provide information about your proposed project

  20. Preliminary Proposals – Sometimes required, sometimes optional • Reduce proposers overall effort • Improve quality of submissions

  21. Proposal Components Proposals that do not contain the following required sections will not be accepted : • Project Summary ▸ Project Description • References Cited ▸ Biographical Sketch(es) – 2 pages • Budget ▸ Budget Justification • Current and Pending Support ▸ Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources • Data Management Plan ▸ Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan (if applicable) •If submission instructions do not require one of the above sections to be provided, proposers must insert text or upload a document in that section of the proposal that states, “Not Applicable.”

  22. Cover Sheet

  23. Merit and Broader Impacts Statements • Proposals that do not separately address the overview and both intellectual merit review criteria and broader impact review criteria in text boxes will not be accepted by FastLane. • Project summaries with special characters must be uploaded as a PDF document (all should be).

  24. Project Description Proposers should address: what they want to do why they want to do it (Reference information is required, and proposers must follow accepted scholarly practices in providing citations for source materials.) how they plan to do it how they will know if they succeed what benefits if the project is successful A separate section within the narrative must include a discussion of the broader impacts of the proposed activities.

  25. Planning a Grant Proposal • Start with an innovative idea that addresses a specific challenge and/or need (purpose). • Start documenting need. Social/economic costs, beneficiaries, nature of the problem, impending implications? • Scan and identify grant opportunities. • ….Or go backwards: start with a grant opportunity and develop it into a proposal

  26. Planning a Grant Proposal • Target a grant • Make contact with NSF program director! • Make sure your focus aligns to the grant criteria • Review successful and recent awards. • Identify partners, define roles and build partnerships as well as community support. It is a BEST PRACTICE to collaborate with partners for more impact. Many agencies and foundations require collaboration.

  27. Planning a Grant Proposal ProposalComponents • Institutional Support • Letter of Intent • Transmittal Letter • Title Page • Abstract • Table of Contents • Project Description • Data Management Plan • Dissemination Plan • Evaluation Plan • Budget and budget justification • RCR Training Plan • Senior personnel bio statements

  28. Planning a Grant Proposal ProposalComponents • Purpose(s) • Goal(s) or aim(s) • Objectives or accomplishments • Methodology • Design and Timeframe • Work charts of activities, responsibilities, dates • Personnel titles and descriptions

  29. Planning a Grant Proposal ProposalComponents • Resources • Partners - Organization/Partner Organization Descriptions • Personnel – Resumes of all personnel and partners • Institutional support – Commitment letters, institutional descriptions and data • Community support • Prior funded projects • Data Management Plan • For data, samples, physical collections, curriculum materials and other related research and education products • Preservation • Documentation • Sharing • Or, assert no need for a data management plan

  30. Planning a Grant Proposal Proposal Components • Evaluation Plan • Internal and ExternalEvaluators • Quantitative and Qualitative Measures Aligned to Goals • Formative Evaluation Techniques • Summative Evaluation Techniques • Measures • Dissemination plan • Traditional conference paper and/or article • Non-traditional website, webinar, blog, class, seminar, curriculum infusion, bridge program, collaboration • Attachments • Bibliography • Resumes • • Letters of commitment

  31. Planning a Grant Proposal Compelling Needs Statement Heart of your entire case for support! Capture attention!

  32. Planning a Grant Proposal Using Statistics • Statistics Tell • How much? • How many? • How often? • How severe? • How costly? …but don’t overwhelm! Short!

  33. Planning a Grant Proposal Using Statistics • Sources • US Census Bureau: www.census.gov • Bureau of Labor Statistics: www.bls.gov • Oklahoma Department of Commerce: www.okcommerce.gov • Employment Security Commission: www.oesc.state.ok.us • Local Chambers of Commerce, nonprofits, professional associations

  34. Planning a Grant Proposal Using Statistics • Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education: www.okhighered.org • Oklahoma Education Information System (OEIS) http://www.okhighered.org/studies-reports/ • National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) – College & Career Tables Library, part of DataLab - http://nces.ed.gov/datalab • What Works Clearinghouse; ERIC education database; ten Regional Educational Laboratories; national Research and Development Centers - http://ies.ed.gov/ • (OK) Education Oversight Board - www.schoolreportcard.org/ • Local universities, school districts (less reliable – state and national data verified)

  35. Creating Sense of Urgency • Statistics • Approximately ___data transmissions from Our University to our collaborators were sent at xx rate in 2013. • National Need Compared to Local Need • In the US, is estimated that ___percent of data transmissions are at a rate of xx; this means that at Our University ___ of our data transmissions are below the national majority…. • Leader/Expert Quotes • Harvard researcher shows speed of data transmission increased 10-fold with the whitchit we propose to use…. • Case Statements • Mary Quick, a doctoral student in whitchit research, can do …..

  36. HOW TO WRITE • Write simply - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdVd9RXr0Ss&feature=relmfu • Plain Language - http://www.plainlanguage.gov/ • One subject/one verb/one object. • Do not use acronyms. • Your reviewers will be of mixed expertise. • Use correct science, but simple descriptions.

  37. Writing a Grant Proposal • Write your needs statement.

  38. Planning a Grant ProposalProject Plan and Description What you plan to do to address the need.

  39. Writing a Grant ProposalProject Description • What? • Goals and Objectives • Why? • Best Practices/Effectiveness • How? • Tasks/Activities • Who? • Qualified Program Personnel • When? • Time Line

  40. Writing a Grant Proposal Effective Goals/Objectives • Goals - Broad statements reflecting ultimate results of accomplishment. • Increase data transmission rate from xx toxxx. • Objectives – Measurement of what the organization will do to accomplish goal. • Install 54 supportive whitchits for….between Sept. and May • Activities - Specific Tasks or Strategies • Design and develop tutoring model for faculty, doctoral student, masters student, and undergraduate researchers • Analyze 100 transmissions of…. • Outcomes – Measure change as a result of project. • 3 examples of data transmissions for project increased by 100%

  41. Planning and Writing the Grant ProposalProject Timeline Goal: Primary goal of Our University Whichit Project is to increase data transmission to collaborative partners by 10 fold Objective: Install 20 new whichits in Our University network.

  42. Planning and Writing the Grant Proposal - Project Personnel • Who will manage the project? • Who will be involved in the project? • What are their qualifications? • What are their responsibilities? • What is the management/organizational structure for the project? • Are you using existing personnel or hiring someone after the award? If hiring, add a job description

  43. Planning and Writing the Grant Proposal Project Personnel Documentation • Assure funding agency you have the qualified staff to carry out the project. • Job Description • Bio or Resume • Key Responsibilities • Project Experience • Organizational Chart

  44. Questions to Consider • Are goals/objectives/activities logically derived from needs statement? • Have you explained why you selected activities or methods? • Is the timing and order of events clear and understandable? • Is it clear who will perform specific activities? Are they fully qualified? • Are proposed activities feasible considering resources? • Is the proposal easy to read? www.plainlanguage.gov/

  45. Data Management Plan • NSF – 2 page limit If no data management plan, state that in the proposal. 1. Describe the data and formats to be collected 2. Describe physical and cyber resources for storage 3. Describe dissemination methods will be used to   4. Describe the policies for sharing and public access (including provisions for confidentiality & security) 5. Describe the roles and responsibilities of all parties after the grant ends

  46. Data Management Plan POST-AWARD MANAGEMENT • After an award is made, implementation of the DMP will be monitored through the annual and final report process. • Data management must be reported in subsequent proposals by the PI and Co-PIs under “Results of prior NSF support”.

  47. Planning and Writing the Grant Proposal Dissemination Plan • How will you share information about the project at the beginning, during and after the grant is ended? • How will you share information about project discoveries and resources? • Who will you target? • What communication tools will you use?

  48. Planning and Writing the Grant Proposal Dissemination Plan Communication Tools • Name the state and national conferences • Publications, i.e. journal articles (name 3 journals) • Newsletters, mailed announcements (name them or make up your own newsletter and mailing list) • Web Sites (existing ones and your own) • Social media, Pod casts, Wikipedia, Blogs, Webinars (use OK OneNet) • Interactive Television; Videoconferences (use OK OneNet) • Commercial Television Ads or Public Service Announcements • News Releases – write them, published free • Newspaper Ads - pay • Community Organization Meetings – short presentations • School Classes – guest speaker • Speakers’ Bureaus • Posters, billboards, public bus ads, bus-stop ads

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