Writing a successful research grant

1
Writing a successful research grant
Patricia M. Schulte

• Symposium for women entering ecology and
  evolution today
• May 11, 2008 UBC

2
Writing grants the fundamental issue

• Your funding success depends on, more than
  anything else, your vision and your ability to
  communicate it to an audience of scientists whose
  work is not exactly in your field.

The Grant Doctor http//sciencecareers.sciencemag.
org 11 November 2005
3
Writing grants step 1 (the vision)

• Decide what you want to do (develop a vision of
  your research)
• Look for a funding agency that is relevant to
  your research vision
• Grantsmanship

Vision
Agency goals
4
How do you find a funding agency?

• Federal funding agencies
• Provincial funding agencies
• Local funding agencies (your University)
• Foundations, corporations
• Scientific societies
• Online grant listings
• http//sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/funding/
• http//www.cos.com/

5
Writing grants step 2 (writing)

• Ask colleagues if you may read their previous
  grants to the same agency
• Allow ample time to write and revise
• Ask colleagues/students to read your drafts
• Once you have a good first draft of the science,
  start working on the budget
• There may be an internal deadline that is earlier
  than the funding agency deadline

6
The elements of a good grant
The five Ws of journalism Who, what, when,
where, why, how?

• What do you intend to do?
• Why is the work important?
• What has already been done?
• How are you going to do the work?
• Who is going to do it? (Budget)

From Mohan-Ram, V. (2000)Abstract Killers How
Not to Kill a Grant Application, Part Two
http//sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/ 2000-01-28
7
The elements of a good grant

• Show that you understand the larger context of
  your research
• Connect specific hypotheses to testable
  predictions
• Connect results from completed and proposed
  experiments and analyses back to the larger
  context

Skelly, D.K. (2003) Bulletin of the Ecological
Society of America
8
Ten simple rules for grant writing

• Find the Appropriate Funding Mechanism, Read the
  Associated Request for Applications Very
  Carefully, and Respond Specifically to the
  Request
• Be Novel, but Not Too Novel
• Include the Appropriate Background and
  Preliminary Data as Required
• Follow the Guidelines for Submission Very
  Carefully and Comply
• Obey the Three CsConcise, Clear, and Complete
• Remember, Reviewers Are People Too
• Timing and Internal Review Are Important
• Accept Rejection and Deal with It Appropriately
• Know Your Grant Administrator at the Institution
  Funding Your Grant
• Become a Grant Reviewer Early in Your Career

Modified From Bourne PE, Chalupa LM (2006) Ten
Simple Rules for Getting Grants. PLoS Comput
Biol 2(2) e12. doi10.1371/journal.pcbi.0020012
9
Maximizing your chances

• Develop a research niche
• Have a good idea related to that niche
• Write a good grant
• Develop a strong track record (publish your work
  in a timely fashion make sure your CV is as
  strong as possible before applying)