How to Write a Grant Proposal for a lot of money

1
How to Write a Grant Proposal for a lot of money

• Or How to spend a lot of time and get really
  depressed when your grant gets rejected !!

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Why Should I Bother?

• Increasingly it is necessary for even state or
  federal supported programs to obtain funds from
  granting agencies.
  
• Help buy classroom equipment
• Help you hire additional persons
• Buy out your own time (e.g., temp. teachers)
• Fund travel to conferences workshops

3
Where do U apply?

• Federal
• NSF
• ONR
• DOD
• NASA
• EPA
• NOAA
• NPS
• USFWS

• State
• SFWMD
• DEP
• Florida Fish and Wildlife

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Where do U apply?

• Private
• National Science Teachers Assoc.
• National Marine Educators Assoc.
• National Geographic
• Nature Conservancy
• Bellsouth
• Textbook/Computer
• Banks/Local Businesses

• Philanthropic
• Gates Foundation
• Kecht Foundation
• Kellogg Foundation
• Pew Charitable Trust
• Toyota Tapestry
• Michael Jordan
• Kodak
• Target

5
What Do You Need?

• A good Idea
• An idea whose time has come
• An idea in the news
• An idea which has relevance
• An idea which links research and education goals

6
What Do You Need?

• A good proposal
• Stick to the proposal guideline
• Page Limit
• Prescribed format concerning text
• Look for linkages
• A good looking proposal
• Institutional approval

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What is in a Proposal (NSF)?

• Information about PIs (White, Black, Male/
  Female, US, Non-US etc)
  
• Cover Sheet (1 page)
• Certification Page (1 Page)
• Project Summary (1 page)
• Table of Contents (1 page)
• Project Description (up to 15 page narrative
  including figures and results from prior NSF
  support)
  
• References
• CV (2 page per person maximum)
• Budget
• Budget justification
• Current and Pending Support
• Facilities Equipment and other Resources

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Title Page (or Cover Sheet)

• Includes Title of Project
• Includes Agency and contact person
• Includes beginning and ending dates
• Includes total amount requested (not always)
• Institutional signatures (not always)
• PI contact information (phone number, e-mail, fax
  etc)

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Project Summary

• Abstract/ Executive Summary
• Identifies
• Applicant
• Need
• Project goals
• Major objectives
• Brief/Free of Jargon
• No more than 1 page

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Table of Contents

• Lists all sections of the proposal
• Different formats for different agencies

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Project Description

• Statement of Need
• Relates of the goals and purposes of agency
• How will research benefit education, society
  etc.
  
• State what will be done and what will be
  expected
  

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Project Description

• Narrative (Up to 15 pages including figures and
  appendices, but not references or budget
  justification, CV, or supplementary
  documentation)
• Previous Work
• Hypotheses
• Null Hypothesis
• Proposed Work
• Methods
• Time Table
• Deliverables
• Qualifications of personnel

13
References

• Not usually included in total page count
• Follow the one format required by the agency
  (e.g. APA, MLA)

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Budget

• Budget pages required by the agency
• Budget justification
• Salary
• Fringe Rate
• Travel
• Supplies
• Analyses
• Overhead Rate

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Current and Pending Support

• Any other grants you currently have or that you
  have applied for
  
• Include title
• Dates
• Percent coverage
• Amount

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Points to Remember

• Read your proposal thoroughly
• Do not be sloppy
• The worst review is a sloppy proposal
• Be consistent
• Check references
• Check spelling (be wary of spell check)
• Make a check list and make sure every thing is
  there
  

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Other Considerations

• Cover Letter
• Suitable Referees
• Non suitable referees
• Number of copies
• Every agency has different requirements!!
• Most Federal agencies have similar one although
  some subtle and important differences.
  
• Always read the Request For Proposals (RFP).
• Deadlines
• Fed Ex
• Web submittal (NSF Fastlane)
• Color or BW

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Requirements for INSTAR Grant Proposals

• Cover Sheet
• Table of Contents
• Summary/Abstract
• Project Description
• Statement of Need
• Narrative
• Background
• Proposed Work
• Methods
• Expected Outcome
• Timetable

• References
• CV
• Budget
• Budget Justification

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Formulating an IDEA

• The idea is to write a research paper or a grant
  proposal using preliminary data which you will
  collect in your theme
  
• How does this idea relate to your theme?

For example In the Earth System Science theme w
e are investigating the change in water chemistry
relative to the coastline. The hypothesis migh
t be There is a measurable change in water chem
istry relative to the coast as a result of
saltwater intrusion.
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In Your Grant..

• Hypothesis
• There is a measurable change in water chemistry
  relative to the coast as a result of saltwater
  intrusion
  
• Present preliminary data which supports
  hypothesis and describe additional data
  requirements
  
• Additional sampling
• Installation of wells
• Temporal samples

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Research Paper

• Title
• Authors Address
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Includes a brief statement of the purpose of the
  paper
  
• Background/Setting

• Methods
• Results
• Do not confuse results with discussion
• Discussion
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgments
• References

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Common Errors

• Do not be sloppy
• Do not use figures that are not relevant or have
  not been referenced in the text!