More on Proposals

1
More on Proposals

• Charles Nicholas (nicholas_at_csee.umbc.edu)
• CMSC 601
• Revised April 28, 2008

2
Sources

• Peter J. Feibelman, A Ph.D. Is Not Enough! A
  Guide to Survival in Science. Basic Books, 1993.
• Caroline Wardle, Obtaining Federal Funding, CRA-W
  Workshop Slides, 1993/1994/1999.

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Proposal Lifecycle
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Know Your Goal

• Convince a possible sponsor that they should help
  pay for your research
• If at first you dont succeed, youre normal!

5
White Papers

• Problem statement
• Who will care about the solution?
• Your proposed solution
• Why is it different from anybody elses?
• Your plan of attack
• What will you do if you get the money?
• Resources you will need to execute the plan
• Money
• Time
• Data?

6
Format

• A paragraph-length summary, to get them to read
  the white paper
• May be sent by email in advance
• WP itself maybe 3-5 pages
• A figure is helpful, but not too many
• A 1-2 paragraph biosketch
• A few references

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General White Paper Advice

• Send the wp to your colleagues and current
  sponsors for advice
• Allow them to send it to their colleagues
• Remember that a white paper is a marketing tool,
  and thats it
• If youre invited to submit a full proposal, the
  wp did its job!

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Sources of Funding
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Government Agencies

• The usual suspects NSF, NIH, DOD
• SBIRs and STTRs
• State agencies