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Preparing Successful Proposals

Preparing Successful Proposals. Guidelines on proposal writing, best practices and general advise. Victor M. Bright, PhD College of Engineering and Applied Science University of Colorado at Boulder. Proposal Preparation.

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Preparing Successful Proposals

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  1. Preparing Successful Proposals Guidelines on proposal writing, best practices and general advise. Victor M. Bright, PhD College of Engineering and Applied Science University of Colorado at Boulder

  2. Proposal Preparation Sources for information: • Associate Dean for Research (CEAS) • Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) Visit websites: www.colorado.edu/ocg/ www.colorado.edu/ocg/proposals/shortguide/index/html Actual Funded Program Announcements: Commerce Business Daily (http://cbdnet.gpo.gov/)

  3. Key Remarks • Study current needs and issues • Get to know your colleagues from other disciplines • Inter- (Multi-) disciplinary teaming arrangement is often • a key to success • Attend sponsor agency supported workshops • Get to know the program managers • Serve as proposal reviewer

  4. Before you begin,put your idea in perspective.(the following set of slides, 5-12, are adapted from DARPA/MTO,they are useful for preparing a power-point presentation of your idea to program managers and may serve as a tool to organize your proposal in a concise and clear way)

  5. Your Resume (1 chart) • Who are you? • What is your technical background? • What key work have you done in the field? • Recognition within the technical community • Key awards

  6. Your Idea (1 chart) • What are you trying to accomplish? • A visual perspective of what you plan on doing • Develop a performance trade space (e.g. power versus speed, etc.) and show current state-of-the-art and where your idea will take it

  7. Technical Approach • How do you plan to accomplish the new capability • What new results suggest this is possible • Analysis of required performance

  8. Technical Challenges • Breakdown the end product into key technical challenges that need to be overcome • Quantify current performance and the final performance required to meet the complete project goals • Include visuals or graphics where possible

  9. Impact (Note: NSF Merit Criterion 1, Intellectual Merit) • If this is successful, what difference will it make • How will this new technology impact system performance, technical area (quantify this) • How good is it? Who will care? • Are there applications? In what field(s)?

  10. Project Plan and Metrics • Estimate how long it will take • Break the overall program into phases with key performance metrics at the end of each phase (i.e. milestones)

  11. A good project plan should answerthe questions below: PRIMARY • What are you trying to accomplish? • How is it done now, and with what limitations? • What is truly new in your approach, which will remove current limitations and improve performance? How much will performance improve? • If successful, what difference will it make? • What are the mid-term, final exams or full scale applications required to prove your hypothesis? When will they be done? SECONDARY • How could this transition to the end user? • How much will it cost?

  12. An efficient way to sell your idea is to organize it in a quad-chart -- Specific project title -- Your Vision Overall Objectives: • xxx • yyy Key Scientific and/or Technical Challenges: • xxx • yyy Insert interesting graphic or visual here (preferably w/short caption) Scientific/Engineering Impact (Intellectual Merit): (How will this work impact the continuing development of the proposed technology/studies into useful engineering systems?) How good is it? • Broader Impact: • Why is this of importance? So what? • Why should the targeted agency invest in your idea? Team/Performers: • xxx • yyy (include a mix of faculty, industry, research institute, and/or govt./national lab performers as appropriate) Milestones: (expected achievements and dates to advance the proposed project) • xx • yy • zz

  13. Proposal Organization • Cover page (CU cover page, funding agency cover page if required, DARPA likes quad-charts) • Abstract/Summary/Executive Summary (typically less than 200 words) • Project description (Clearly describe problem, hypothesis, etc. Show knowledge of field, subject. Describe proposed experiment, theory, technique, facilities, personnel, etc.) • Project Schedule (Statement of Work, Milestones) • References/bibliography • Biographical sketch/resume • Current and pending support • Budget (budget justification) • Appendices/attachments

  14. Project description (and subheadings) Typical for NSF, NIH, NASA, DOE, DOD, DOI, etc. • Specific goals or aims, hypothesis, etc. • Background, significance, relevance, etc. • Summary of previous work or progress report • Data or findings from preliminary investigations • Experimental approach/methodology/technique • Information on collaborators • Consortia, multi-disciplinary efforts, etc. • “Broader Impacts” in addition to intellectual merits

  15. Best Practices & Guiding Principles • Be/become familiar with funding agencies in your field - Become familiar with program solicitations-announcements, program managers, visit often! Dean’s office provides travel support for faculty under the College’s Faculty Excellence Program. • Be familiar with OCG and its resources, web-site, etc. • Subscribe to NSF’s “Custom News” (mynsf@nsf.gov) • Serve as proposal reviewer and panel member. • Collaborate with colleagues in your field and across disciplines (centers, multi-disciplinary teams, etc.) • Review and keep examples of successful proposals. • Prepare your proposal early. • Follow prescribed proposal outlines, rules and deadlines. • Address “Broader Impacts” in as much detail as possible. • Be careful to ask for sufficient funds in your budget. • Write with conviction and be a good ‘sales person’! Don’t be shy. • Do not excessively cite your own work. • Ask colleagues, mentors, postdocs, senior grad students, etc. to critique your proposal.

  16. NSF Merit Criterion 2: Broader Impacts • What are the broader impacts of the proposed research activity? • NSF summary of ideas (www.nsf.gov/pubs/gpg/broaderimpacts.pdf) • Promote Teaching, Training, and Learning (ITLL, etc.) • Broaden Participation of Underrepresented Groups (WIEP, MEP, etc.) • Enhanced Infrastructure (data bases, digital libraries, etc.) • Broad Dissemination (websites, workshops, short courses, etc.) • Benefits to Society (research to products transition, public policy, etc.)

  17. Extent of “Broader Impacts” Depends on Grant • Broader Impacts (BI: NSF, Criterion 2) may count up to 50% of the overall proposal evaluation. • 3 to 5 pages of the 15-page (NSF) proposal narrative should be devoted to BI, not 1/2 to 1 page as one may think. • 1/4 of proposal summary/abstract should be devoted to BI (3/4 to Intellectual Merit, Criterion 1) • BI should not be an “afterthought” or taken lightly - the success of your proposal depends on it! • For NSF centers (ERC’s etc.): 5-10% of budget should be devoted to BI • For individual investigator, group, etc. proposals, approx. 3-7% should be related to BI

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