Grant-Writing Workshop: Competing More Effectively

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CENTER IN UKRAINE Grant-Writing Workshop: Competing More Effectively Overview March 2005

STCU Mission • Nonproliferation: Prevent the spread of WMD expertise by supporting civilian R&D activities of Azeri, Georgian, Ukrainian and Uzbek scientists and engineers formerly involved WMD and their means of delivery. • Sustainable Redirection: Create opportunities for former WMD scientists and engineers to develop sustainable civilian research work that contributes to the economic development of their countries, finds solutions to national/international S&T problems, and builds successful research groups.

Goal of this Workshop • Improve success rates for former weapons scientists at winning grants • Provide general advice applicable to many organizations • Highlight perspective of reviewers/decision-makers • Document ‘lessons learned’ • Encourage scientists to broaden search for funding sources • Engage scientists who have never worked with STCU • Describe the options available to propose research • Provide detailed assistance with the most common ‘first-step’

Overview Improving Grantsmanship Part I: “Grantsmanship” defined; how to win new financing Part II: Grant-writing: content, form and style PartIII: Writing a “typical” proposal Strengthening Ability to Compete for STCU Grants Part I: Introduction to STCU PartII: How STCU Works Current US Review Perspective Applying for STCU Regular Project Funding

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CENTER IN UKRAINE Grant-Writing Workshop: Competing More Effectively Improving Grantsmanship – Part I March 2005

What is “Grantsmanship”? • In English: • “-man-” means a person’s livelihood or profession; • “-ship” is the ability to do something well or with mastery. • Examples: craftsmanship, penmanship, leadership • For scientists: • The “craft”: recognizing and locating promising sorts of funding; • The “skill”: writing compelling grant proposals; • The “mastery”: successfully completing work, publishing significant papers and delivering well-received conference reports; • The “livelihood”: continuously applying these skills over time, to ensure a steady stream of funding. Good “Grantsmanship” = Sustainable Science

Who funds science today? • Government organizations / programs for the advancement of basic and applied science • European Union’s 6th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development • National Research Foundation, National Science Foundation, National Academy of Sciences • National Laboratories and Institutes • International scientific organizations or consortia • such as CERN • Intergovernmental organizations • such as International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or World Health Organization (WHO)

Who else funds science today? • Non-proliferation programming • examples: STCU, CRDF, U.S. Department of Energy’s Initiative for Proliferation Prevention (IPP) • Private philanthropic organizations • Often organized around particular concerns, e.g. sustainable development, bio-habitat conservation, etc. • Not-for-profit research consortia • Usually focused on particular fields or diseases, e.g. micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), renewable energy, Ulcerative Colitis, etc. When doing Web-searches, note whose web-pages mention research in your field = they may fund grants!

Who else funds science today? • Research and Development (R&D) laboratories of major multi-national corporations. • Competitive viability depends upon expanding scientific boundaries. • Significant resources to fundamental, as well as applied, research. • Laboratories at leading research universities. • Many are government-designated “national resources.” • Funding provided through that center. To identify these companies and specific laboratories: look at the institutional affiliation of scientists publishing in your field.

Ask two basic questions: • What sorts of organizations fund work in your technology area? Host or foreign governments, private philanthropic groups, foundations, non-proliferation programs, commercial companies, universities, international organizations, industry consortia…? • What sorts of organizations are interested in your type of results? Which types of other scientists, researchers, or doctors, standards-setting bodies, manufacturing or production firms, laboratories, universities, medical or veterinary hospitals, consulting firms, policy-makers…? If there is significant interest, grants are likely available!

Investigating Potential Funding • Develop a list of specific organizations that fund research in your field, • Use the Internet to find answers to the following: • Program focus and priorities • Eligibility requirements • Proposal procedures and deadlines • Approval timelines • Follow-up by email or phone, as necessary, to obtain or confirm details.

Investigating Possible Funding • “Market” Research to support “Real” Research • Providing or receiving a research grant is not a ‘commercial’ transaction • But, the concept of a ‘market’ does apply – • There is a supply of scientists requesting support and a demand for research in particular areas. • Example: atmospheric scientist does ‘market’ research, and discovers: • Large pool of grants for research into “global warming” • Much smaller pool of grants for other atmospheric research Focus on where the Money lies!

Investigating Possible Funding • Develop a broad network of contacts • Play a game at conferences: try to meet someone in each category of funding organizations -- from a corporate lab, a not-for-profit research consortium, etc. • Set a ‘research’ goal: Develop a good ‘picture’ of the players in your field, and then expand it region by region. • Don’t ask anyone directly for money! • But, feel free to ask: • if they know what organizations are funding work in a certain area, • if they know a particular organization, what types of research are likely to be of most interest

Winning New Funding • Construct a strategy and a schedule for pursuing the most promising of these grant opportunities • Resulting plan should identify: • Key deadlines • Major decision-points • Required steps • Then, make the time and … Write and submit strong grant applications!!

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CENTER IN UKRAINE Grant-Writing Workshop: Competing More Effectively Improving Grantsmanship – Part II March 2005

Proposal Writing “But in science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not the man to whom the idea first occurs.” - Sir Francis Darwin “If they never see the grant application, or if they can’t make any sense of it, they won’t give you money.” - Anonymous

Proposal Writing Three aspects of your writing affect the way that readers assess your document: • Content – what does it say? • Form – how is it organized and presented? • Style – how is it said? A strong proposal describes good science in a way that is easily read and easily understood.

Content • Apply for grants you can win: • Program focus and priorities • Eligibility requirements • Proposal procedures and deadlines • Approval timelines • Make their decision easy: • Propose research that fits their funding objectives; • Comply with their rules.

Content • “Lead the Blind” • Walk them step by step through your proposed plan; • Assure them that you can be trusted and that your science is worth their money and support. • Help them *see* that you do good science, by the clarity of your explanation: • What are you going to do? • Why are you trying to do it? • How much is going to cost? • How will your success further *their* goals?

Content • Provide them confidence that your science is “good” science: • Summarize the ‘state of the science today’ -- this both educates your reader and demonstrates your expertise. • Describe how your work relates to that of Western scientists -- this provides your reader a point of reference. • Cite others’ research results to support your arguments. Demonstrating how your research contributes to existing international scientific efforts helps confirm the importance of your work!

Content • Provide them confidence that your schedule and budget estimates are reasonable: • Supply sufficient detail to prove you have thought seriously about the requirements: • Avoid lump-sum estimates • List tangible cost elements • Link labor-estimates to specific tasks described • Provide clear justification for all proposed expenses, but particularly for any unusual items. • Ensure proposed expenses and timelines support the ‘story’ told in describing the proposed research.

Form • Determine your “message” before you begin writing: • What is the objective of this proposal? • Why is it important? • What resources are required? • What will result? • Then, plan how to communicate this message clearly: • Work within the constraints of the specific grant-application form, • Guide the reader down a logical path, as though telling a story, • Organize the proposal from “big picture” down to “details”

Typical Grant Application Broader Scope Title Project Summary/Abstract Less Detail Project Description Technical Details Budget & its Justification Appendices More Detail Narrower Scope

Form • Make it easy for the reviewer to identify important features of your project: • Use heading and subheadings to guide the reader and reveal the logic • Use boldface or italics for emphasis • Use bulleted lists for clarity • Provide enough detail to enable a reader to follow your reasoning: • Bullets can be over-used; • The project description should be text narrative.

Form • Help your reviewer ‘visualize’ what you’re describing in the text: • Use figures to illustrate important steps or a complex concept; • Use photographs to show unique equipment, to document the scale/size of something, or to highlight a feature difficult to describe in words; • Use charts or graphs to illustrate complex numerical relationships; • Use tables to summarize similar ranges of numbers or text data. • Each visual aid should directly support the ‘story’ you are telling in the text.

Style • No matter how well-written your native language version of the proposal is…. the reviewers will be reading the English translation!! • The English version needs to be a high-quality, easily-comprehended rendition of your text: • Pay for the best translation you can afford. • Ask a native-speaker, or if none available, someone skilled in the language, to double-check the quality. • Ensure that scientific and technical terms are translated accurately and that any transliterated terms can really be found in an English dictionary.

Style • Write persuasively: • Anticipate reviewer objections and provide answers for them; • Indicate alternative approaches and candidly discuss their strengths and weakness. • Write convincingly: • Use concrete, direct, positive language. • Emphasize prior successes in similar work. • Express enthusiasm -- sensible, well-thought-out enthusiasm grounded in reality.

Style • Proofread carefully. • Spell-check the English version, but be alert for mis-substituted words (meat vs. meet, there vs. their). • Grammar-check the English version (subject-verb agreement is important). • Double-check numbering of any bullets or outline points. • Review formatting throughout document (correct fonts, spacing, etc. • Comply with all instructions to create or transmit electronic versions.

Style • Expect pages of your proposal to get separated as they are printed, copied and reviewed…. • So, help ensure the reviewer sees your complete proposal: • Use a header or footer to identify all pages as belonging to your proposal. • Number all pages. • Check every copy for legibility and completeness if multiple copies are required. • Arrange page breaks so that the text is not interrupted in awkward places. • If sending for an American audience, try a ‘page setup’ and ‘print screen’ for Letter-size, rather than A4.

Two Essential Rules Rule #1: ALWAYS follow the proposal preparation instructions - NO EXCEPTIONS! Rule #2: Details (and deadlines) matter. A winning proposal describes good science in a way that is easily read, easily understood – and matches the rules and expectations of the sponsoring organization.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CENTER IN UKRAINE Grant-Writing Workshop: Competing More Effectively Improving Grantsmanship – Part III March 2005

Describing a ‘typical’ proposal • This talk was originally developed for Ukrainian scientists, and has been updated for you today. • This presentation will walk through the major parts or components of a typical grant application • For each section, the information will be structured as follows: • In black, a definition/description of that particular area • In blue, ‘general’ advice pertinent to most funding organizations • In red, ‘STCU-specific’ advice tailored to our circumstances

Typical Grant Application Broader Scope Title Project Summary/Abstract Less Detail Project Description Technical Details Budget & its Justification Appendices More Detail Narrower Scope

Title • Fewest possible words that adequately describe the proposed research • General Advice: • This is the first thing a reviewer will see – make it readable! • Avoid jargon or abbreviations • STCU-Specific Advice: • The title is the only part of the proposal that cannot be modified or changed later, so… • Make sure the English translation of your title is accurate and well-written!

Executive Summary / Abstract • Mini-version of proposal (150 – 300 words). • Capable of standing alone as a separate document. • Should include: • Primary objective and scope, • Explanation of the significance of project, • Methods used, • Results and • Principle conclusions. • General Advice: • Economy of words, but • Avoid abbreviations.

Project Description (PD) • The description of the project is the “meat” of the proposal • Comprised of several sub-sections: • Introduction and overview • Technical narrative/Statement of work • Goals and objectives • Qualifications • Anticipated results • Scope of activity and timeline for project • Methods and approach • Location and facilities • “Deliverables” • Work products - models, reports, devices, etc.

PD - Introduction and Overview • Introduction (or background/context to the project): • Define the problem or issue to be addressed. • Explain the purpose of the project. • Provide relevant historical or background information. • Describe how proposed work relates to, differs from, or extends similar/earlier work. • Explain the significance and scope of project. • Overview (or introduction to the proposal itself): • Very briefly state the methods of investigation. • Summarize advantages and any limitations of proposed approach. • Highlight principal anticipated results and conclusions

PD - Introduction and Overview • General Advice: • “Paint a picture” of your project in the mind of the reader. • Be concise, specific, compelling – and enticing. • Build credibility for your organization. • Establish a context for your problem statement. • Don’t go into detail on subjects that are described later. • Define any specialized terms. • Answer, succinctly: who, what, when, why, and how? • Highlight any factors that support the funding organization’s objectives!

PD – Statement of Work (SOW) • This is the core of your proposed project: • Goals and objectives. • Qualifications. • Anticipated results. • Scope of activity and timeline for project. • Location and facilities • Methods and approach. • General Advice: • Another name for this section - “technical narrative” -- reflects the “story” element: walk the reader through your plan. • The term “Statement of work” captures the element of “commitment”: if funded, you will do the work described here.

PD-SOW - Goals and Objectives • Goals and Objectives are different: • Goals are general. They convey the thrust of your proposed work. Some establish the setting for your particular effort. • Objectives are specific. They describe concrete, operational measurable things that you will accomplish in your project. • This section must include a clear goal and present specific, measurable objectives!

PD-SOW - Goals and Objectives • Setting Project Goals: • If you are responding to a problem that needs to be solved, then your goal will be a statement of the problem or need you are prepared to address • If you are going to develop a new product or idea, your goal will be an explanation of the aim of the project. • Establishing Project Objectives: • Should be tangible, specific, concrete, measurable, and achievable in a specified time; • Directly support achievement of the project goal; • Not the ‘how’ of methods, but the ‘what’ of “What we will definitely accomplish if you fund our project is ….”

PD-SOW - Qualifications • Introduce, briefly, the organization proposing to do the work (your institute, laboratory, company, etc.) • Highlight the organization’s strengths, as they pertain to the proposed work. • List previous, related work (either same subject or same funding organization): • Include details: Funding organization, Grant number and amount, Project title, Senior scientific personnel, and Dates. • Summarize relationship of that project to proposed new work. • Emphasize positive results: inventions, discoveries, new techniques, publications in Western peer-reviewed journals. • Mention any unique facilities or equipment you bring. • Introduce the team/s of researchers that will conduct the varied tasks required to achieve project objectives.

PD-SOW - Anticipated Results • Describe -- as specifically as possible -- what your project will generate, or produce, or confirm. • Summarize, in a meaningful way, the expected outcomes of the work proposed. • General Advice: • Description of expected results should be clear and brief. • Provide sufficient context for any numbers (and specify units, scales, etc.) so that a non-specialist can make sense of them. • Pay considerable attention to the best way to present your outcomes – they should relate directly to the objectives of the project.

PD-SOW - Anticipated Results • In describing anticipated results, consider the following: • A milestone is a concrete achievement, used to mark progress along a schedule. Sometime, a milestone can mark a decision-point. • E.g. construction of test apparatus; delivery of a prototype; development of a model, software or theory; delivery of an interim report. • A deliverable is a tangible result of work that itself may be either tangible or intangible. Deliverables can be generated or produced through a project’s lifetime. An early deliverable may be used as the input to a later deliverable. • E.g. PowerPoint presentation describing methodology; report documenting results of literature search; final project report. Milestones and deliverables help you and the funding organization to measure your progress toward project objectives and to communicate about your results.

PD-SOW – Scope of Activity • Presents the plan of action: • Divides work into phases • Lists and groups the tasks that are required • Specifies the order and timing for tasks • Highlights important interfaces and dependencies • Enables the reader to visualize the implementation of the project • Include tables or diagrams that clarify the scope of work • Include a timetable of major milestones. • If multiple teams will be engaged, draw links between teams and tasks or phases.

PD-SOW – Location and Facilities • States where the proposed work will be conducted. • In the case of multiple facilities or institutions, • Highlights the specific contribution each organization will make to achieving project objectives; • Lists personnel affiliated with each workplace; • Enables the reader to understand interfaces between teams at the different locations. • General Advice: • Address communication in case of geographic distance. • Describe coordination across separate institutions.

PD-SOW – Methods & Approach • Explains how you intend to achieve your specific project objectives • General Advice: • Justify a particular methodology if it is novel or unorthodox (particularly to a Western reviewer) • Highlight the original or innovative aspects of your approach

Grant-Writing Workshop: Competing More Effectively