[Itech] Fwd: Tomorrow's Professor eNewsletter: 1370. Tips for a Winning Research Proposal

Wed Nov 26 11:49:06 EST 2014

Hello Graduates,

A good read!

Dr. Franklin

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rick Reis <reis at stanford.edu>
Date: Tue, Nov 25, 2014 at 10:36 PM
Subject: Tomorrow's Professor eNewsletter: 1370. Tips for a Winning
Research Proposal
To: tomorrows-professor at lists.stanford.edu

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*But strip away the one-third of proposals rejected because they don't meet
basic requirements like deadlines and add to that the ones so badly
composed as to insult reviewers, and the picture starts to look brighter.
"If you do your job before you submit, things aren't so bleak," says Susan
Kemnitzer, deputy director of NSF's Electrical Communications and Cyber
Systems Division in the Engineering Directorate.*

1370. Tips for a Winning Research Proposal

*Folks:*

[image: Rick Reis]

The posting below gives 15 great tips on writing winning research
proposals.  It is by Mark Matthews, editor of *Prism*, and is from the
September 2014 issue of *Prism*, the magazine of the American Society for
Engineering Education. [www.asee.org] 1818 N Street, N.W., Suite 600,
Washington, DC 20036-2479. ©Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. Reprinted
with permission.

Regards,

Rick Reis

reis at stanford.edu

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Tomorrow's Research

---------- 1,128 words ----------
Tips for a Winning Research Proposal

Experts suggest ways to gain favor with funding agencies.

The numbers look scary. Of the 48,999 research proposals it received in
fiscal year 2013, the National Science Foundation funded just 10,829, or 22
percent. At the National Institutes of Health, the "success rate" was less
than 17 percent. For new faculty members making their first try as a
principal investigator (PI), things were more intimidating. At NSF, 17
percent of these proposals got funded; at NIH, fewer than 10 percent. The
rates are unlikely to improve much in the near future, with government
research funding essentially flat. But strip away the one-third of
proposals rejected because they don't meet basic requirements like
deadlines and add to that the ones so badly composed as to insult
reviewers, and the picture starts to look brighter. "If you do your job
before you submit, things aren't so bleak," says Susan Kemnitzer, deputy
director of NSF's Electrical Communications and Cyber Systems Division in
the Engineering Directorate.

George Hazelrigg, deputy director of the Civil, Mechanical and
Manufacturing Innovation Division of the Engineering Directorate, contends
that "fully half the proposals submitted" flagrantly fail to adhere to
criteria that are nothing more than common sense. He's the author of a
four-page primer, Twelve Steps to a Winning Research Proposal. Randolph
Moses, associate dean of engineering for research at Ohio State University
and chair of ASEE's Engineering Research Council, says well-written,
compliant proposals stand a good chance of rejection the first time they're
submitted but tend to fare much better the second or third time around -
provided the researcher corrects shortcomings found by program directors
and reviewers.

Here, then, are some pointers drawn from Hazelrigg; presentations by
Kemnitzer and Moses at the 2014 ASEE conference; an enduring 2002 guide to
seeking an NSF CAREER grant by Richard Felder, emeritus professor of
chemical engineering at North Carolina State University; and other
information from government research agencies.

1. Do some prep work to find the appropriate program for your project.
Understand the agency's research priorities and goals, and figure out what
it considers a good proposal. "Get inside the head of the agency," advises
Kemnitzer, whose role includes serving as acting deputy director of the
Chemical, Environmental, Biological, and Transport Systems Division. NSF's
Engineering Directorate, for instance, is currently interested in
interdisciplinary, cross-cutting themes, like the nexus of food, water, and
fuel. Nanotechnology, Big Data, and sustainability remain hot topics.
Conference materials published by the Engineering Research Council offer
insight into the engineering research needs of a number of science
agencies, including those within the Energy Department and military
services.

2. If an agency expects a research proposal to contain an educational
component - as is the case with NSF Faculty Early Career Development
(CAREER) proposals - make it substantive. According to Felder, "The most
common mistake I've seen is discounting the importance of the education
part." This need not mean designing a whole new project; researchers can
partner with education specialists. Beyond intellectual merit, NSF requires
proposals to show a "broader impact," which can include education. Too
often, submissions are cursory - "drive-by broader impacts," NSF Assistant
Director for Engineering Pramod Khargonekar calls them.

3. Learn who your competitors are by studying recent research awards in
your field. Read up on what's already been done and by whom. "Remember that
research builds on the extant knowledge base," says Hazelrigg.

4. If you want to pursue research that doesn't fit a particular request for
proposals (RFP), send an email to a program manager to find out if he or
she is interested. Do this as well before submitting a CAREER proposal.
"NSF program officers expect it. You will find them extremely helpful,"
Felder writes.

5. If you're responding to a program announcement or RFP, read it carefully
to grasp exactly what it seeks. "If your research doesn't fit easily within
the scope of topic areas outlined, your chance of success is nil,"
Hazelrigg warns.

6. Develop a viable research plan that "lays out step by step the approach
to accomplishment of the research objective," Hazelrigg recommends.

7. The best proposals, suggests a guide by NSF's Education and Human
Resources directorate, "are those to which the reviewers respond, 'Of
course, I wish I had thought of that!'" Beyond a single idea, the research
objective needs to be stated clearly early in the proposal - as in the
first sentence. Opening paragraphs also should describe "the state of the
field and its direction, and how your work is going to propel it to a
better place," Kemnitzer says. She adds: "Reflect - aka think - how your
work will impact society" and address a national need.

8. Follow instructions exactly. Again: Follow instructions exactly. Some 15
percent of proposals miss important parts of instructions, according to
Kemnitzer. And check for updates, because deadlines can shift.

9. CAREER proposals require a letter from a department chair. It should
outline the department's strategic vision and commit resources and
attention to the applicant. "Often the department chair's letter makes the
difference in who gets funded," says Kemnitzer.

10. You don't have to be Hemingway, but your proposal should be clearly
written, grammatically correct, spellchecked, and proofread before it is
submitted. "Thirty-five percent [of proposals] would get a D minus from
technical-writing folks," says Kemnitzer. If the funding agency is geared
to basic research, avoid the word "develop." Use active verbs, and map
section titles to specific criteria in an RFP, Moses says. Keep the
proposal as brief as possible, Hazelrigg suggests, with easily legible
fonts: "Take pity on the reviewers." Avoid abbreviations, and spell out
full names on first reference. Be aware that if your proposal is accepted,
the abstract will appear on a public website and might be read by, among
others, congressional staffers. To avoid misinterpretation, it needs to be
understood by laymen.

11. By all means tout your credentials, publications, awards, and
experience, but in the appropriate place: your bio. You need not brag
within the proposal itself. When you cite the work of others, provide a
correct reference.

12. Work on finding collaborators, either within your institution or
elsewhere - even overseas. It also helps to show that you found partners in
gathering supporting material - for instance, an energy proposal might
include data from a utility

13. Budget realistically. Become aware of the size of grants an agency
typically provides, and use that as a guide. Be sure to include money to
pay graduate students.

14. Get an experienced colleague to review your proposal before submission.
After you've sent it - in advance of the deadline - email the program
manager for confirmation that it's been received.

15. Finally, volunteer to serve on a review panel. This won't give your own
proposal preferential treatment, but it certainly won't hurt. And it will
expose you to others' proposals, peer reactions, and the whole process of
acceptance and rejection.
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-- 

*"A teacher affects eternity; [she]he can never tell where the influence
stops." - Henry Adams*Dr. Teresa Franklin
Director, The OHIO Group
Professor, Instructional Technology
Fulbright Research Scholar to Turkey 2013-14
Department of Educational Studies
The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education
Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701
740-541-8847 (cell)
also: franklinteresa at gmail.com

*~~~~~~Ohio University -- The best student-centered learning *experience in
America~~~~
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