Applying for Grants and Fellowships: Advice for SLA Graduate Students (Fall 2016) Christopher Rodning, Associate Professor, Anthropology Kevin Gotham, Associate Dean, SLA Justin Wolfe, Associate Professor, History Katherine Johnson, Assistant Professor, Sociology Rachel Horowitz, graduate student in Anthropology, current NSF DDRI awardee

Why do universities want you to write grants? High visibility for the university Overhead or indirect costs help balance the university budget and pay for administration Contributes to prestige and national ranking of the university

Why do you want to write grants? Pay dissertation research costs: travel, data, funds for equipment, time to write Raise your research visibility Open doors to consulting, collaborative research, new research agendas, etc. Increase opportunities for national & international presentations, and shaping public policy Improve research and writing Help you get a job and make tenure

Search For Funding Your department/program is the best source for finding funding opportunities Consult your mentors and peers for opportunities specific to your field of study; for example, fellowships provided by a discipline's professional association. Check the SLA and OGPS websites Attend your professional meetings Pay attention to my emails to you See the sources at the end of this ppt

SLA Summer Merit Fellowship Award Competitive grants that provide up to $5000 to support summer activities for completing terminal degrees  SLA students may use funds for research expenses, equipment, and travel to support data collection, analysis, and performances  The Award will not support tuition, workshops, or conferences, past credit card bills, food, rent A summer stipend for writing and completing the dissertation is limited to $2500  First and Second year Ph.D. students are ineligible    Students who have received two Fellowship Awards in the past are ineligible

Proposal Development Strategies Develop a long-term research agenda with clear goals (create a plan, not just a proposal) 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)? Conceive of the final product before writing the proposal(s) Research multiple funders to identify their priorities and see if they fund projects similar to yours

Proposal Development Strategies Familiarize yourself with funding sources and proposal guidelines 1. internal funding opportunities Provost’s Office and OGPS SLA website (Summer Merit Fellowship) Your department or graduate program 2. external funding opportunities: Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) Google: e.g., “humanities grants for graduate students” Federal grants database (Grants.gov)

Proposal Development Strategies Check: eligibility average size of awards maximum amount available previous awards proposal requirements and format deadlines evaluation criteria and process

Proposal Development Strategies A successful proposal is one that is thoughtfully planned, well prepared, and concisely packaged Base the proposal on an interesting idea that fills a gap in scholarly knowledge Survey the literature Contact Investigators working on topic Obtain preliminary data Prepare a brief concept paper Discuss with colleagues/mentors Use concise, direct, and straightforward language (no jargon)

Proposal Development Strategies Understand the importance of the abstract (first impression) Write to the audience that will review your proposal Explain the urgency and timeliness of your work Provide evidence that you can successfully complete the project (don’t be over- or under-ambitious) Read guidelines several times and follow directions completely Explain the value-added nature of the research Why should anyone care about your work? Answer the “so what” question

Final Thoughts 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 If possible, revise and resubmit if you get declined for funding Be tenacious, persistent, and resilient

Sources Grant Writing tips from the Chronicle of Higher Education. Nov. 6, 2014. http://chronicle.com/article/Grant-Writing-Tips-for/125301 On the Art of Writing Proposals (SSRC). http://www.ssrc.org/publications/view/the-art-of-writing-proposals/ Tips on Writing a Grant Proposal (EPA). http://www2.epa.gov/grants Writing Proposals for the Federal Government. https://www.cfda.gov/downloads/CFDA_writing.pdf Writing Proposals for ACLS Fellowship Competitions. http://www.acls.org/uploadedfiles/publications/programs/writing_fellowship_proposals.pdf