ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL GRANTS

1. ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL GRANTS Sobha Jaishankar, Ph.D. Assistant Vice President for Research sjaishan@ufl.edu 392-9271

2. Research at UF • 1st grant @ 1946 from ONR to Chemistry Dept. @ $10K • FY 09-10 = $574M • 59% = Federal Agencies • 9% = Industry • 15% = State/Local Gov’t. • 12% = Foundations • 5% = Other • 5,887 proposals submitted • 6,974 active awards • 1,007 different sponsors

3. Why write grants? • Grants fund MORE than research * Education – graduate/undergraduate programs * Student training – summer internships * Community outreach programs – schools, youth groups * Money to host conferences * Funding for travel * Fellowships for scholarly activities * Workforce development * Summer support • Strengthens your CV

4. What a grant proposal is ….. • a sales document Hartley, C. (2002). Getting grants from the Department of Defense. Seminar presented in the College of Engineering. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

5. What a grant proposal isn’t…….. • a comprehensive review of the literature • a report suitable for journal publication • a place to express your personal philosophies or political convictions

6. The MOST important – YOUR IDEA (CREATE A NICHE)! • The TIME you dedicate to your idea • Your proposal-writing skills • Bottom line: any creative, well-trained person can acquire grant-writing skills and be extremely successful

7. Creating your niche • Questions to ask: * What is your niche? * What other related work is out there? * How are you different? * How will your work move the field forward? (Me too work!) * Refine your idea so the impact on the field is maximum * Be critical of your ideas * Seek feedback “It’s important that the project not sound like it is happening in a vacuum. There should be recognition that others are addressing the same issue and a description of how your project fits into the overall context of the problem.” (Donna Dunlop)

8. Finding the TIME Successful grants come from time invested in researching, planning, writing and rewriting Cannot be done overnight! (or in a week) This MUST become a priority Learn to say NO to some activities!

9. Proposal writing skills • Are ACQUIRED (no one is born with it!) • Practise makes perfect! Hone your skills by being persistent • Find a mentor/trusted colleague who will give you HONEST feedback

10. Getting Started • Start EARLY!!!!!! • Contact your Research Dean/Sobha (for Interdisciplinary Work) early on • Find a mentor • Services offered through VP Research • Identify funding opportunities • Find collaborators with specific expertise • Collect background information for the grant • Organizing the grant • Administrative support • Review and edit grant (internal/external) • Assistance in repackaging and submitting to alternate sources • We WILL NOT write your proposal! 

11. Who funds grants??? • Government • Federal • State • Local • Private Foundations • Private Industry

12. Office of Research • Research Support – 2nd Floor Grinter Hall – 392-4804 • Division of Sponsored Research – 2nd Floor Grinter Hall – 392-1582 • Proposal Processing • Awards Administration • Compliance (IRB; IACUC; Conflict of Interest) • Office of Technology Licensing – 3rd Floor Walker Hall – 392-8929 • Research Communications – 3rd Floor Walker Hall

13. Office of Research Internal Funding Programs • Special Matching Requests • Support for Meetings, Workshops, Conferences • Graduate Student Travel • Research Opportunity Incentive Seed Fund • Fine Arts & Humanities Scholarship Enhancement Fund • UFRF – Professorships; Matching Funds for New Training Grants

14. Grant Information Services Central Research Support Unit • 2 Senior Information Specialists • Monitor Grant Opportunities University-wide • Disseminate Info to Colleges, Depts, Individual PI’s • Funding Searches • Faculty training • Provide support for interdisciplinary/Center type of grants

15. Information Dissemination Tools Web-Based Funding Newsletter “FYI” • Text Descriptions + Links to Download Applications • Biweekly throughout the Year • http://apps.research.ufl.edu/research/fyi/ • Information collected by Staff Funding Alerts to Individual PI’s • Community of Science Weekly/Periodic Email Alerts • Email Alerts from private & government sources • Notices from Office of Research

16. Other Email Alerts • Grants.gov (all federal grants, including NEA, NEH) • FedBizOpps (fbo.gov) (all federal contracts) • Agency Alerts (NSF, NIH, EPA, NASA, Energy, USDA, etc.) • Foundation Center’s “RFP Bulletin” & “Arts Watch” (http://fdncenter.org/newsletters/) • Archive of Arts & Culture grants from the Bulletin (http://www.fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_arts.jhtml)

17. Your Personal Research Expertise Profile • “Electronic CV” • Maintained by Community of Science/Scholars for UF • Expertise & Research Interests very important • Funding Alerts based on this info • Annual email reminder to update your profile

18. Other Office of Research Web-Based Sources • Federal Register* • Florida Administrative Weekly* • Links to All Federal Agencies* • Links to Foundations* • Foundation Center Guide to Funding Research (http://fdncenter.org/getstarted/ tutorials/gfr/ • Fundsnet Services (www.fundsnet.com/) • *Access from Office of Research website • http://www.rgp.ufl.edu/researchsupport/external_funding.html

19. What is interdisciplinary research? • Crosses multiple disciplines – not limited to any one • Between different departments, colleges, institutes • Mathematical Biology • Nanomedicine • Environmental science • Genomics/Bioinformatics • Training – students, post-doctoral fellows

20. Identifying a Sponsor FIND THE AGENCY THAT FITS YOUR IDEA! Resources at UF • Research Support Unit • Foundation Relations – UFF • Online resources Use these resources to find out what an agency WANTS to fund Remember - you are helping the agency fulfill ITS mission Contact the agency (program officer) and listen carefully! (Send them an overview of your program – the White paper)

21. Points to ponder before writing your program overview – the white paper! • What is the funding agency’s agenda? • What does the agency WANT to fund? • How does your area of expertise help them fulfill THEIR mission? “A proposal succeeds because there is congruence of their ideas and our priorities. We are looking for unusual ways to solve problems.” (Norman Brown)

22. Your White Paper (Program Overview) Write the White Paper FIRST This is a concise presentation of your program/philosophy It MUST set the flow of logic – from the more general to the narrower focus the individual proposal is to fund. Most difficult to write! Remember – you are going to use this to sell your idea to the agency!!

23. Your White Paper….. • Your vision – how does your work mesh with the mission of the agency? • Your Long-term Goal - Identify the niche YOU will fill. Say why you are best-suited for this work • Objective – of this particular proposal • The hypothesis around which the current work is based • What will be the benefits of the work?

24. White Paper …….. Should not be too long – 2 pages Have it critiqued by your colleagues/mentor Send it to the program officer at your chosen agency Pay close attention to their feedback!

25. BEFORE you write the proposal !!!! • Read the Program Announcement/agency guidelines. • Formatting – font size, margins, line spacing • Page limits – absolutely enforced • Attachments – only send what is requested • Budget – determine floor and ceiling; how many will be funded • Read the review criteria – some programs have special emphases for review

26. BEFORE you write ………. • Note the deadlines: Letter of Intent Proposal submission date • Set your self a time line – plan to finish at least 10 days before the proposal is due at the agency • Who is the program officer?

27. The proposal ……….. • Remember – your language must be simple – reviewers should not have to reread to understand. • Thus, one team project that might emerge would be a project on group identity and ancestry that puts indigenous social constructions of identity at the center of the project obtains community consent, and examines the genetic consequences of social constructions (assortative mating, admixture, etc.), while also comparing genetics research on various Native tribes in the US and comparing it to the tribes’ conceptualization of tribal and Indian identity as reflected in cultural texts, thus attending to the question of potential • social consequences of genetics research. • Thus, one team project that might emerge could be on group identity and ancestry. Having obtained community consent, participants could examine the genetic consequences of social constructions (assortative mating, admixture, etc.). In addition, students could compare genetics research on various Native tribes in the US with the tribes’ conceptualization of tribal and Indian identity.

28. The proposal ……….. • Make the grant reviewer friendly Use graphs and tables Leave spaces between lines Use formatting (underline, italics, bold font) not only to emphasize key points, but also to maintain continuity and flow. • Write as if you are writing an article for the newspaper

29. Anatomy of a Grant • Abstract/Summary • Significance • Review of literature • Specific Aims of this proposal • Research Plan (Rationale, protocols, expected outcomes) • Alternative hypotheses, approaches ** • Benefits of the proposed work • Resources • Broader Impacts (NSF)

30. Significance • The significance must be relevant to the mission of the funding agency • Is probably the most important paragraph in your proposal • Start by identifying the gap in existing knowledge base • How does your proposed work fill that gap? • What will be the long term benefit of your work?

31. Review of literature • Does not have to be a completely exhaustive review • Provide a critical review of the relevant work • Identify the gap in the existing knowledge in the field • Introduce what your contribution can be • What makes you the best suited to do this work?

32. Resources • Do NOT gloss over this section • Emphasize institutional commitment (space, equipment, release time) • Intellectual resources: other colleagues doing complementary work – will they be co-investigators on your proposal?

33. Broader Impact • This is an NSF requirement • http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2004/nsf042/bicexamples.pdf • Most faculty have difficulty with this section • The activity you propose has to be an integral part of your application – and not a stand alone entity. • It cannot be put in just to satisfy the requirement • Try to generate an activity that is creative • CPET – Center for Precollegiate Education and Training. http://www.cpet.ufl.edu/ • Director - Dr. Koroly • Spring graduate course conducted by Bruce MacFadden on Broader Impacts bmacfadd@flmnh.ufl.edu

34. Developing a Budget • Be reasonable – you don’t have to ask for the maximum allowed • Read the guidelines to determine what a particular program will pay for • Provide complete justification for your request • Agencies will often cut your budget – sometimes due to financial constraints, but more often if the request is not justified adequately

35. Biosketches • Each agency has a preferred format – obtain the relevant forms • Pay attention to the instructions – starting with the most recent, or vice versa • Stay within the specified page limits • For proposals involving multiple PIs, use the same font/size for all the biosketches • Be consistent in the way the list of publications is assembled • Current and pending support

36. Grants vs. Contracts • Grants give you money to carry out work knowing that the results are unpredictable. • They are ‘relatively unrestricted’ in their specification of what funds can be used for • Annual reporting is required • Contracts have more conditions and stipulations attached and usually have timelines for deliverables • Contracts can be either for services rendered, or for deliverables • Contracts are negotiated by with the sponsor by DSR only

37. Administrative issues … • The award goes to the University • Faculty do not receive the funds directly • Faculty conduct the work; • The University provides assurance that the work will be conducted in an ethical manner • Faculty may NOT sign grants or contracts on behalf of the institution • If you are hosting a conference/workshop, and charging registration fees – go through DSR to collect them. • ONLY DSR can negotiate indirect costs with the sponsor. We have standard negotiated rates that are applicable – otherwise we use the rate allowed by the sponsor

38. Administrative issues … • COST SHARING • Institutional Review Board • Animal Care and Use • Electronic submission!!!!!

39. SUBMISSION guidelines • Getting institutional signatures (DSR 1) Department Chair Dean of the College University • Go to ‘Proposal Processing’ 207 Grinter Hall • Copying the proposal • FedEx

40. A FINAL TIP FOR SUCCESS…… BE PERSISTENT!!! We will help you repackage and get funded!

41. How can you help??? • Background information - institutional • Budget preparation • Biosketches • Resources • Coordinate the assembly of the grant • Maintain timelines • References • Checking for consistency

42. THANKS!!!!!!!! Questions??? Concerns??? Acknowledgements Guide to Proposal writing Dr. Vivian Correa