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Panel discussion presented by Rob Rafael at the 2011 NSF ADVANCE Workshop: Negotiating the Ideal Faculty Position, A Workshop for Underrepresented PhDs and Postdocs in Science, Engineering and Psychology September 18-20, 2010

Funding is critical

  • Must be prepared to work hard to garner funding
  • Need more than a great idea, though that is a crucial element
  • Need to understand the logistics and the process
  • Need to submit more than one grant, so need multiple ideas
  • Be creative
  • Read deeply and broadly
  • Talk to lots of people about research
  • Think about doing more than one project
    • When one is difficult, the other may succeed
    • Increases funding opportunities
    • Promotes synergy in thinking
    • Enhances visibility
  • What are the sources available to you?
    • Federal (NSF, NIH, DARPA, DOE, NIST, ONR, among many others)
    • State
    • Private foundations / not-for-profit organizations
    • Industry
  • Use the web to retrieve information for each source
    • Some more detailed, others more obscure

Find out about resources

  • Talk to your advisor, faculty in your department about resources in your area of research and in your institution
  • Use the internet
    • Search for information on organization, what it supports to determine whether to target for funding
    • Search for deadline dates and invitations to apply in a given area
    • Search services such as IRIS (External Link)
  • Government agencies have detailed pages
    • Easy to get lost
    • Ask for help
  • GrantsNet ( (External Link) ) from AAAS has good links
  • Grant Writing (many now available)
    • Proposal Writer’s Guide (Thackery)
    • Research Proposals: A Guide to Success (Ogden and Goldberg)

Get to know funders

  • How are proposals reviewed?
  • What is the timing?
  • What do they support?
    • How can you target your research appropriately?
  • Is there someone you know associated with the funding agency?
    • Talk to them!
    • Go to DC and talk to them!

Reasons to talk to program folks

  • If you have great, but risky ideas, talk with the program officer to see how best to present them
  • Ask what a reasonable budget range would be
  • Ask about the role of collaborators in your area of research

How to approach an agency

  • Options for contact
    • Go in person or make a phone call
    • Find an agency person at a national meeting (they often attend to get to know their grantees)
  • Be prepared and take as little of their time as possible while getting your message across
  • Introduce yourself as a new independent researcher with some general information about yourself
  • Have a specific question (or two) and ask if they have any specific advice

Understand the submission process

Find the resources from your institution that support grant submission

  • Federal agencies may differ from foundations
  • Get to know what they can do to help you identify the appropriate agency
  • Get to know what they can do to help you with the process
  • Understand the timeline and plan accordingly

Get organized

  • Find and read resources that help with grant preparation
  • Ask senior colleagues if they will read your proposal and provide feedback
  • Ask successful colleagues if you can read their grant
  • Try to get onto a review panel (it will change your views!!!)
  • Think deeply about your project — be innovative and creative in tackling a significant problem
  • Identify the potential sources
    • Find the due dates (both agency and internal!)
    • Determine which applications to pursue
    • Develop your timeline for thinking, writing, rewriting, writing/rewriting, writing/rewriting, etc., final proofreading (critical!) — find out about institutional deadlines you must meet!!
  • Be sure that you get feedback from colleagues before submission
    • Include plenty of time for this step in your timeline
    • Provides key perspective/input

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Source:  OpenStax, Rice university’s nsf advance program’s negotiating the ideal faculty position workshop master collection of presentations. OpenStax CNX. Mar 08, 2012 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11413/1.1
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