Grantwriting 101

Grant Opportunities

• Internal grants (University, College, other units)
• Individual grants (OAC, GCAC, ...)
• Federal grants (NSF, ARPA, ...)
• Foundation awards
• Fellowships/ scholarships
• Industry contracts

Important Abbreviations

• RFP (Q) - Request for Proposal (Quotation)
• IFB - Invitation for Bid
• PIN - Pre-Invitation Notice
• BAA - Broad Agency Announcement
• SOW - Statement of Work
• ICO - Indirect Cost Overhead

Grants at Ohio State

• Federal grants or industrial contracts are awarded to and administered by the Research Foundation (OSURF)
• Many foundation awards and industry grants are awarded to the OSU Development Fund
• Individual grants are often awarded directly to a faculty member or student

OSURF

• The Ohio State University Research Foundation
• 501(c)(3) non-profit entity
• created in 1936
• promote development, implementation, and coordination of sponsored research at the University in the furtherance of educational objectives.
• operates under the University
• expenses paid by indirect costs

OSURF - Functional Areas

• Accounting
• Purchasing
• Research Risks Protection
• Computer Support / Information Systems
• Grants and Contracts
• Institutional Research Data Analysis
• Reference Services
• Training and Development

OSURF Pre-Award Services

• Research Information and Funding Opportunities
• Private Funding Opportunities
• Federal Agency Program Information
• Proposal Development

OSURF Post-Award Services

• Project Administration
• Contract Negotiations
• Fiscal Management
• Purchasing and Travel Arrangements
• Patents and Copyrights
• Reporting
• Wrapping it up

OSU Development Fund

• Established as 501(c)(3) in 1984
• Responsible for gifts and donations, usually from individuals, foundations, or corporations in the private sector

gifts are irrevocable and voluntary
no expectation of economic benefit
no proprietary rights to research results
no contractual agreement for services

Federal Grants - Funding Agencies

• NSF
• NIH / NIMH / CDC
• NASA / ARPA
• AFOSR, Department of the Army, ONR
• NEA / NEH
• US Departments of Agriculture, Education, Energy
• EPA / NOAA / NIST

Federal Grants - Guidelines

• FDP - Federal Demonstration Program

Grant Guidelines

• FAR - Federal Acquisition Requirements

Purchasing, Employment, ... Guidelines

• OMB - Office of Management and Budget

Accounting Guidelines

Federal Grants - Opportunity Information

• Commerce Business Daily
• Federal Information Exchange (FEDIX)
• Science and Technical Information Service (STIS)
• Federal Register

Private Agencies and Industrial Support

• Societies

Heart Association, Diabetes, Humane Treatment of Animals,...

• Foundations

Fulbright, MacArthur, Getty, ...

• Industries

IBM, AT&T, Manufacturing,...

Proposal Development

• Types of proposals
• The proposal/review process
• OSU Requirements
• Agency Requirements
• Basic Templates
• Tips

Types of Proposals

• Letter of proposal

usually expanded SOW

• Preliminary proposal

used by agency to decide if proposer should develop it further

• Expanded proposal

contains all of the necessary information to be used in the review process

• Revised proposal

modified subject to comments by reviewers

Proposal Process

• Develop preliminary narrative detailing proposed research
• Search for possible funding opportunities
• Contact representatives to discuss idea
• Develop preliminary proposal
• Contact Chair, Dean, or other administrative person

Proposal Process

• Complete Authorization to Seek Off-Campus Funds (PA005) form
• Send completed proposal to OSURF (Development) to be submitted
• Respond to requests from agency or reviewers (if any)
• Negotiate contract
• Perform the research

Review Process

• Agency may ask for recommended reviewers from your field
• They will also have a list of their own
• Proposal sent to senior reviewer
• He/she sends to secondary reviewers
• When reviews are complete, a review committee meets and decides on funding

may conditionally accept

• Reviews are often returned to proposer

Guidelines for Proposals

• Vary by institution and agency
• Outline proposal format
• Set conditions on requests
• Set conditions on use of funds
• Set conditions on review process and negotiations
• FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES TO THE LETTER !

Proposal Templates

• Many institutions and agencies have templates to be used for the proposal

OSURF maintains some of these on-line

• Also, an important resource is to review successful proposals by others to the same agency

agencies will often provide these on request

General Tips

• Network with people in your field

They might be reviewers
They might point you to opportunities
They might be more willing to write support letters

• Call the program officer or funding representative
• Propose results
• Follow instructions in RFPs and guidelines

Tips - Federal grants

• the reviewer is an expert in your field
• the reviewer has lots of time to spend on your proposal
• the justification is obvious
• all reviewers will agree with your position

Tips - Federal grants

• read and reference all relevant literature
• get letters of support from collaborators
• clearly identify

- how the funding will be spent
- how much will be matched by the institution
- why you have the expertise to do this research
- what exactly it is you plan to do
- what methodologies you will rely on

• Call the program manager

Tips - Corporate philanthropy

• Identify prospective corporations
• Cull the list
• Talk with the development office
• Prepare a SHORT project summary
• Call the corporate giving officer
• Submit complete information
• Follow up
• Stewardship

Tips - Foundations

• Identify prospective foundations
• Learn about them
• Talk with the development office and/or dean
• Prepare a SHORT project summary
• Call the program officer
• Submit proposal
• Follow up

Writing a Successful Proposal

• You must convince the grantor that you need the funding and will use it wisely to solve the problem

conceptual innovation
methodological rigor
rich, substantative content

• Assume that when all analysis is complete, yours will be one among several that are equally meritorious

Proposals

• Capture the reviewer's attention
• Aim for clarity
• Establish the context
• Identify the payoff
• Use a fresh approach, but don't stray from accepted methodologies
• Give yourself plenty of time! Peer reviews before submission are important!

Proposal Components

• Executive Summary and/or Introduction
• Problem/Needs Statement
• Objectives
• Research Methods
• Evaluation Procedures
• Other Funding Sources (Current/Future)
• Budget

Summary - Clear and concise

• briefly state the problem
• objectives
• activities
• total cost - committed funds = request
• identify yourself and establish credibility

Introduction - Several paragraphs

• organization history
• statement of purpose and goals
• current activities
• constituency
• funding sources
• evaluations
• quotes or letters of support
• relevant publications summary

Problem Statement

• state the problem simply and concisely
• relate it to your purpose and goals
• provide evidence of importance
• provide justification that you can solve it
• make certain that the scope of the problem is focused
• state it in the terms of your constituents

Objectives

• tangible, specific, concrete, measurable, achievable
• types of objectives

behavioral - anticipated human action
performance - time frame and level of behavior
process - how it happens
product - what results come from the research

Methodology

• These methods will support the objectives!

*-> Who - staffing selection, client selection
*-> How - what will occur over the life of the project
*-> When - task order and timing
*-> Why - defend your chosen methods and provide assurance that these methods will lead to anticipated outcomes

Evaluation

• Types

product - has the research achieved its objectives?
process - was the research consistent with the plan?

• who will do the evaluation
• method of data collection
• method of data analysis
• method of reporting evaluative information

Other funding sources

• delineate current and future funding needs
• identify "partners" in the funding process
• previous funding that impacts this research
• concurrent fundraising activities
• any revenue that might be generated
• future costs resulting from the project

Budget

• who can be paid?
• can you buy equipment?
• is travel allowed? foreign travel?
• what are fiscal years?
• is detailed line item budget required?
• Can you include salary increases?
• Will the funder pay indirect costs?

Budget

• be specific - do NOT use ball-park figures!
• be precise - make sure your accounting is in order
• be complete - make sure there are no hidden costs
• be honest - don't make up matching costs
• be convincing - argue why a line item is needed

Budget

• personnel
• equipment
• subcontracts
• other direct costs
• indirect costs

Budget

• Faculty salaries (PI, Co-PI, Co-Investigator, Collaborator)

release time or direct project appointment
fringe benefits

• Research Assistants or PostDocs

salaries, fees
Fringe benefits

• technicians and support personnel
• consultants
• participants or human subjects

Budget

• Equipment
• Don't usually have indirect costs associated

New or used equipment

minimum cost (eg, $500)
useful life (eg, two years)
complete and independent function

fabricated equipment
replacements/upgrades

Budget

• Funds will be transferred to another entity to pay salaries and/or expenses there
• Usually awarded to an institution or organization, not an individual
• Beware of Conflict of Interest!

Budget

• materials and supplies
• travel
• animal costs
• publication costs
• phone/FAX/copying/postage
• computer charges and software
• maintenance expenses for purchased equipment

Indirect costs

• costs associated with projects that cannot easily be allocated or delineated

building costs
utilities
libraries

• usually a percentage of allowable direct costs

not including equipment, fees, subcontracts, ...
currently 46% at OSU (less for some agencies)

Budget

usually desired, if not required
Usually people and or equipment

often funds available for this purpose

must be auditable
can include unrecovered indirect costs

Other stuff

• letters of support
• compliance documentation
• disclosures
• supporting documentation

vitas of principle researchers
related publications
equipment quotations

Writing a Losing Proposal

• Propose something that has already been done
• Focus your research on mined areas
• Write a review article instead of a proposal
• Have a solution looking for a problem
• Find someone else's bandwagon and get on it
• Be blinded by subfield boundaries

Reasons for Unsuccessful Proposals

• Deadline missed
• Guidelines for proposal not followed EXACTLY
• Research methodologies not unusual or unique
• Not an agency priority for this year
• Proposal unclear
• Proposal incomplete
• Authors missed references or related studies

More Reasons for Unsuccessful Proposals

• Research beyond capacity of proposer
• Method of study unsuited to the problem
• Unrealistic budget
• Cost greater than benefit
• Partisan positions => prejudiced review
• Poor writing quality
• Document was mechanically flawed

Important URLs