Presentation topics

1. How to Write Competitive Proposals for Research Funding: Strategies for Starting your Career as a Researcher Thursday, November 17, 2005, 1-5 PM, 601 Rudder A seminar for graduate students and post-docs planning to enter research-related careers requiring the writing of proposals to federal agencies, foundations, and other granting agencies, presented by the Office of Proposal Development Office of Proposal Development

2. Presentation topics • Overview of Office of Proposal Development • Generic competitive proposal writing strategies: Identifying Funding; Analyzing the funding agency; Reading the proposal solicitation; Understanding the review process; Craft of Proposal Writing • Breakout topics: NSF & Defense Agencies; National Institutes of Health; Earth and Environmental Sciences; Social & Behavioral Science and Education; Funding Opportunities in the Humanities • Craft of Proposal Writing Office of Proposal Development

3. Office of proposal development • Jean Ann Bowman, Research Scientist(jbowman@tamu.edu) • B.S., Journalism; B.S., Ph.D., Hydrology and Physical Geography • Focuses on proposals dealing with earth, ecological, and environmental sciences, as well as those dealing with agriculture. • Libby Childress, Administrative Assistant(libbyc@tamu.edu) • Scheduling, resources, and project coordination. • Mike Cronan, Director(mikecronan@tamu.edu) • B.S., Civil Engineering (Structures); B.A., Political Science; M.F.A., English • Registered Professional Engineer, Texas (063512) • Lucy Deckard, Associate Director(l-deckard@tamu.edu) • B.S. and M.S., Materials Science and Engineering • Leads the new faculty initiatives. Focuses on proposals dealing with the physical sciences, interdisciplinary materials group, and equipment and instrumentation. Leads training seminars on graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, undergraduate research, and CAREER awards. Office of Proposal Development

4. Office of proposal development • Susan Maier, Research Development Officer • B.A., M.A., and Ph.D., Psychology (SMaier@vprmail.tamu.edu) • Focuses on the Health Science Center’s NIH biomedical science initiatives, as well as on the HSC’s University partnership initiatives. Leads training seminars on NIH. • Phyllis McBride, Assistant Director (p-mcbride@tamu.edu) • B.A., Journalism and English; M.A. and Ph.D., English • Leads the one-day Craft of Grant Writing Seminars and the fifteen-week Craft of Grant Writing Workshops. Focuses on DHS and NIH initiatives, and provides editing and rewriting. • Robyn Pearson, Research Development Officer • B.A. and M.A., Anthropology (rlpearson@tamu.edu) • Focuses on proposals dealing with the humanities, liberal arts, and social and behavioral sciences, and education. Provides support for the development of interdisciplinary research groups and provides editing and rewriting. Office of Proposal Development

5. Google is your best friend! • http://www.google.com/ • http://www.yahoo.com/ • Search for research opportunities • Find funded programs, abstracts • Find workshops, conferences, seminars • Find reports, publications, project documents Office of Proposal Development

6. Funding opportunities in the humanities • Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Humanities • http://www.spo.berkeley.edu/Fund/hpostdoc.html • Funding for New Faculty • http://www.umass.edu/research/ogca/funding/newfacultydisc.html • Major Funders in the Humanities • http://townsendcenter.berkeley.edu/funding_lists.shtml Office of Proposal Development

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9. Major funders in the humanities • American Council of Learned Societies • http://www.acls.org/ • German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) • http://www.daad.org/ • Fellowships & Post-docs National Academies • http://www.nationalacademies.org/grantprograms.html • Fulbright Scholars Program • http://www.iie.org/cies/ Office of Proposal Development

10. Major funders in the humanities • International Research & Exchanges Board • http://www.irex.org/ • John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation • http://www.gf.org/ • National Endowment for the Arts • http://arts.endow.gov/ • National Endowment for the Humanities • http://www.neh.fed.us/ Office of Proposal Development

11. Major funders in the humanities • National Humanities Center • http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us/ • The National Research Council • http://www.nas.edu/nrc/ • The Rockefeller Foundation • http://www.rockfound.org/ • Smithsonian Institute Fellowships & Grants • http://www.si.edu/ofg/ • Woodrow Wilson National Fellowships • http://www.woodrow.org/ Office of Proposal Development

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13. ACLS Charles Ryskamp Research Fellowships • http://www.acls.org/rysguide.htm • These fellowships support advanced assistant professors in the humanities and related social sciences whose scholarly contributions have advanced their fields and who have well designed and carefully developed plans for new research. The fellowships seek to provide time and resources to enable these faculty members to conduct their research under optimal conditions. • Appropriate fields of specialization include but are not limited to: anthropology, archaeology, art history, economic history, geography, history, languages and literatures, law, linguistics, musicology, philosophy, political science, religion, and historical sociology. Amount: $64,000, plus $2,500 for research and travel, and the possibility of an additional summer's support. Tenure: One academic year, plus one summer if justified by a persuasive case. Due Sept. 28 Office of Proposal Development

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15. National Endowment for Humanities • NEH Connect, National Endowment for the Humanities • http://www.neh.gov/news/nehconnect.html • Stay connected to the humanities with NEH Connect! Each month NEH Connect! delivers the latest news, projects, upcoming events, and grant deadlines from NEH. • Grant deadlines • http://www.neh.gov/grants/grants.html Office of Proposal Development

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18. Leveraging the internet in funding search • Duke University Funding Alert Newsletter • http://www.ors.duke.edu/index.html • Arts & Humanities; Community Development; Curriculum Development • Environmental & Life Sciences; Funding News; Graduate Funding • Health Sciences; International Opportunities; Multidisciplinary • Physical Sciences & Engineering; Postdoctoral Funding; Social Sciences Office of Proposal Development

19. Duke University Research Support Office of Proposal Development

20. Leveraging the internet in funding search • University of Iowa, Funding Opportunities • http://research.uiowa.edu/grantTrack/grantbulletin.php • Arts and Humanities; Biological Sciences; International; Multidisciplinary; Physical & Mathematical Sciences; Social Sciences • Iowa State Opportunities by Due Date • http://www.vpresearch.iastate.edu/OSP/FundingOpportunities.html • http://www.vpresearch.iastate.edu/OSP/Maillogs.html • Michigan State U. Graduate Fellowship Listings • http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3gradinf.htm • Michigan State University provides links to fellowship funding lists in over 40 different academic disciplines. Office of Proposal Development

21. University Iowa Grant Bulletin Office of Proposal Development

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23. Weekly Funding Opportunities Office of Proposal Development

24. Leveraging the internet in funding search • Townsend Center for the Humanities, UC Berkeley • http://townsendcenter.berkeley.edu/postdocs.shtml • This is excellent listing of national Postdoctoral fellowships in the humanities organized in a table of URLs. • The University of California at Berkeley • http://www.spo.berkeley.edu/funding.html • Links to table of programs, profiles, and URLs for researchers seeking funding in the following areas: Faculty Individual Prizes and Awards, Equipment Grants, New and Young Faculty Grants, Travel Grants, Women and Minorities Grants, and Postdoctoral Funding in the Biosciences. Office of Proposal Development

25. Leveraging the internet in funding search • U. Massachusetts New Faculty Research Funding • This site offers an excellent, comprehensive compilation of federal agency and foundation research awards targeting tenure track faculty in the following areas: Agriculture & Food Science, Arts & Humanities, Cancer, Chemical Sciences, Computer & Information Science, Education, Engineering, Environmental Science, Health & Medical, History, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Nursing, Physical & Life Sciences, Religion, Social & Behavioral Sciences, Science Education • http://www.umass.edu/research/ogca/funding/newfacultydisc.html Office of Proposal Development

26. Leveraging the internet in funding search • Funding for New Faculty & Junior Investigators • http://www.umass.edu/research/ogca/funding/newfacultydisc.html • http://www.physics.harvard.edu/grants.htm • http://www.unh.edu/osr/funding/support/young_pi.pdf • http://www.sfsu.edu/~ptf/docs/NewInvestigatorAwards.pdf • http://www.spo.berkeley.edu/Fund/newfaculty.html • http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/index.htm • http://www.columbia.edu/cu/opg/fund/newinvest-1102.pdf • Above URLs at various universities offer a fairly exhaustive compilation of funding opportunities for new and junior faculty and career awards in most academic disciplines. Office of Proposal Development

27. Accumulation of marginal advantage • A successful proposal represents the accumulation of marginal advantage gained from a series of decisions made during each step of the proposal planning, development, and writing process. Office of Proposal Development

28. Reading the proposal solicitation • The RFP contains most of the essential information the researcher needs in order to develop and write a competitive proposal that is fully responsive to the agency’s funding objectives and review criteria. • The RFP is not a menu or smorgasbord offering the applicant a choice of addressing some research topics but not others, depending on interest, or some review criteria but not others. • The RFP is a non-negotiable listing of performance expectations reflecting the stated goals, objectives, and desired outcomes of the agency. Office of Proposal Development

29. Preparing to write the competitive proposal • Understanding the program guidelines in planning, developing, and writing a competitive proposal • What should be your relationship with program officers? • What do you need to know about funding agency culture, language, mission, & research priorities? • What do you need to know about the review criteria, review process, & review panels? Office of Proposal Development

30. The proposal is the only reality • In its final form, a proposal is not unlike a novel or a movie. It creates its own, self-contained reality. • The proposal contains all the funding agency and review panel will know about your capabilities and your capacity to perform. • With few exceptions, an agency bases its decision to fund or not fund entirely on the proposal and the persuasive reality it creates. Office of Proposal Development