Writing a Successful Grant Proposal
• Workshop for SLA students hosted by Kevin Gotham (Assoc.
Dean, Sociology Prof &, former NSF Program Dir.) and
Kimberly Krupa (Office of Development Writing)
• Presentation Topics
– 1. Why does Tulane want you to write grants? Why do you want to
write grants? How is grant-writing important to your career?
– 2. Overview of the NSF and NEH and their programs
– 3. Prospecting – how to find a funder
– 4. Program planning and proposal writing: Plan, then write
– 5. Elements of a successful proposal
– 6. NSF Review Process
Why does Tulane want you to write grants?
• High visibility for the university
• Contributes to prestige and national ranking of the
university’s student body
Why do you want to write grants and pursue
external funding?
• Summer salary, travel
• Raises your research visibility
• Opens doors to consulting, collaborative research, new
research agendas, etc.
• Increases opportunities for writing, national & international
presentations, & shaping public policy
• Career development
National Science Foundation
• Supports education and training at all levels
• Promotes public understanding of science, engineering and math
• Offers a variety of funding opportunities for graduate students and scholars
• Who receives awards?
– Universities and colleges
– Academic consortia
– Nonprofit institutions
– Small businesses
– University and industry collaborations
– National research centers
– International research and education efforts
NSF-5
Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences Programs
Inter-Disciplinary
Disciplinary
•Cultural Anthropology
•Physical Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Linguistics
• Social Psychology
• Economics
• Sociology
• Political Science
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Cognitive Neuroscience
Developmental & Learning Sciences
Documenting Endangered Languages
Perception, Action & Cognition
HOMINID
Geography & Spatial Sciences
Decision, Risk & Management Sciences
Science of Science & Innovation Policy
Innovation & Organizational Sciences
Methodology, Measurement & Statistics
Science, Technology, & Society
Law & Social Sciences
NSF Doctoral Dissertation
Improvement Awards
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Dissertation advisor is the grant PI
Begin seeking IRB (human subjects) approval immediately
Expect decision process to take approximately six months
Work with your university’s Sponsored Research Office
Small grants provide support for costs related to dissertation:
• field work, data collection, payment to subjects, survey
expenses, software, microfilm, reproduction of tapes and
written materials, data transcribing.
• Travel to specialized facilities and field research sites.
• Partial living expenses for conducting research away from
the student’s university
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
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Challenge Grants
Education Programs
Public Programs
We the People
Office of Digital Humanities
Preservation and Access
Research Programs
Federal/State Partnership
Prospecting
• $426 billion is awarded each year for research
– 14 percent federal
– 11 percent corporations and foundations
– 75 percent private donors
• Overview of private funders
• Overview of government funders
Proposal Writing
• Plan, then write
• Research: Problem or need? Solutions? Funders?
• Planning and management: Best approach? How
should I do it? How?
• Relationships: Work along or collaborate? Roles?
• Finances: Cost? Matching or leveraged resources?
Sustaining the research beyond the grant?
• Writing: Presenting the case in a clear, compelling
manner
Elements of Successful Proposals
• Introduction to the research
– First thing reader sees but usually written last
– Brief overview of proposal
– Who benefits and how many
– Individual qualifications and credibility
Elements of Successful Proposals
• Discussion of problem or need: The motivation for
developing the research
– What is the situation that is cause for concern?
– Why is it happening? How is the situation
expected to change? What activities will produce
the change?
Note: A problem is a current condition, not the lack of a
specific method
Elements of Successful Proposals
• Outcome objectives (goals, outcomes, results,
impact, accomplishment): How is the situation
expected to change as a result of the grant?
• Increase/decrease in behavior, situation or condition
• Who or what?
– Is going to change in what way?
• By how much?
– During what period of time?
Elements of Successful Proposals
• Methods (approach, activities, program plan,
work plan, project design, strategy): What
activities will be used to achieve the intended
results? Why was this approach chosen?
• Include overview, target population, full
description of activities, timeline/work plan,
collaboration, staffing, facilities or equipment
Elements of Successful Proposals
• Evaluation plan (program assessment,
measures of success) How will achievement of
intended results be measured?
• Criteria to measure results
• Baseline information as starting point
• How/who/what information collected and
anayled
• How will results be used?
Elements of Successful Proposals
• Budget: what will the effort cost? Are others
contributing and how much?
• Direct: personnel and non-personnel (office
space, equipment, supplies, travel)
• Indirect: administrative, overhead, usually %
of direct, cost of maintaining facilities
• Other resources: grants, cash, fees
• In-kind match: donated resources, attach cash
value (volunteers, use of equipment)
Elements of Successful Proposals
Narrative and packaging
No jargon
Clearly written
Simple sentences
Logic + Emotion = Power
Speak Clearly
• Use lay language
• Instead of this:
Speak Clearly
The meeting of often conservative religious,
ethnic and class values regarding gender roles
and sexuality with diasporic migrations through
this fluid maritime space, determined by labor
consignments, social violence, natural disasters
and/or desires of freedom or economic
opportunity created a unique and vibrant
cultural cauldron.
Speak Clearly
• Say this:
• As people migrated to new areas in the wake
of natural disasters or in search of
employment, vastly different cultures began
to interact.
Be Honest
• You will most likely have to report back to the
funder
• Tell your story, but don’t exaggerate
Most common mistakes
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Budget does not match proposal narrative
Terms not defined
Technical language
Funder’s questions are not answered
Does not match funder’s priorities
No sustainability plan
No Evaluation plan
How to Develop a Proposal
• Determine your long-term research and education goals
– What do you intend to do and why is your research important?
– What work has already been done and how are you going to do your
research (data collection and analysis)?
• Develop your bright idea
– Survey the literature
– Contact Investigators working on topic
– Obtain preliminary data
– Prepare a brief concept paper
– Discuss with colleagues/mentors
• Prepare to do the project
– Determine available resources
– Realistically assess needs
– Develop preliminary data
– Present to colleagues/mentors/students
How to Develop a Proposal
• Determine possible funding sources
• Understand the ground rules
– Read carefully announcements and instructions
– Determine whether your project fits program scope
– Look over prior award abstracts
– Ascertain evaluation procedures and criteria
– Talk with NSF Program Officer
• Coordinate with your institution and sponsored research
office
• Ask PIs for copies of proposals
“Few things are harder to put up with than the
annoyance of a good example.” Mark Twain
Budget Tips
• Amounts
– Reasonable for work -- Realistic
– Well Justified -- Need established
– In-line with program guidelines
• Eligible costs
– Personnel
– Equipment
– Travel
– Other Direct Costs, Subawards
– Facilities & Administrative Costs
NSF Merit Review Criteria
1.
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What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity?
How important is the proposed activity to advancing
knowledge and understanding within its own field or
across different fields?
How well qualified is the investigator (individual or team)
to conduct the project? (If appropriate, the reviewer will
comment on the quality of prior work)
To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and
explore creative and original concepts?
How well conceived and organized is the proposed
activity?
Is there sufficient access to resources?
NSF Merit Review Criteria
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What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?
How well does the activity advance discovery and
understanding while promoting teaching, training and
learning?
How well does the activity broaden the participation of
underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity,
disability, geographic, etc.)?
To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for
research and education, such as facilities,
instrumentation, networks and partnerships?
Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance
scientific and technological understanding?
What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to
society?
Common shortcomings of proposals that are not
funded
• Nothing new – it has already been done (absence of
innovative idea or hypothesis)
• Incremental contribution – no evidence of a breakthrough
(not exciting or cutting edge)
• Disconnected – proposed research does not follow from the
idea
• Trust me – lacks sufficient detail about proposed approach
• Not feasible – proposed methods not likely to work
• Overly ambitious – impractically large project
• Unstated assumptions – proposed research presupposes the
answer
• Unreasonable budget – budget items don’t follow from the
research plan
Start Early and Don’t Be Shy
• Write, rewrite, and rewrite again
• Get critiques from mentors, previous members of review
panels, and program directors
• Be aware of the scope: “too ambitious” versus “too narrow.”
• Make it easy for reviewers: simplify and streamline (make sure
to get the overall idea across); pay attention to details; keep in
mind that the reviewer may not be an expert in your specific
field
• Convince the reviewers that your proposal is the one to
support
Conclusions
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The NSF, NEH, and other federal funders are looking to
fund research that is bold, original, innovative, and
transformative
Pay attention to the funding agency’s goals and review
criteria as you craft your proposal
Get as many people you trust to read your proposal –
you’d be surprised what you miss!
Revise your proposal and submit again
Resources
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The Grantsmanship Center http://www.tgci.com
Chronicle of Philanthropy http://philanthropy.com/
Foundation Center http://foundationcenter.org/
Tulane Sponsored Projects Administration
http://tulane.edu/asvpr/ora/funding-opportunities.cfm
• Foundation Directory Online access:
– NOPL, Technology Division, 504.596.2580