Research and Grant Writing Bruce Gerratt

Why Apply for a Grant? Curiosity Something you observe that you cannot explain with existing knowledge Financial resources are required to accomplish a research project If publications are the currency of academic success (E. Abemayor), then a granting agency is the financial institution for this success

Choose a Topic Look for gaps in knowledge in your field Ideas spring from reading and personal observations – What is known and what would we like to know? Look for research opportunities when your observations differ from common understanding as presented in the literature Is the idea interesting?

Literature Review Read everything on the subject Do not restrict reading to just one field Read previously successful grant applications to observe the form and craft Keep detailed notes and avoid plagiarism There is no substitute for scholarship

Specific Aims and Significance What gaps in knowledge will the proposed effort fill? Generate clear hypotheses that follow from the literature and theory Write a compelling story with a unifying theme that is likely to make interesting reading. Would you enjoy reading it?

Specific Aims The building blocks that tell what the proposed research will accomplish. Each specific aim serves as a foundation for the next. The aims should work together to fill the gaps in knowledge – the goal of the proposal.

Significance Why are the research questions interesting and important? What’s wrong with our current knowledge as observed in the literature and our clinical observations? Provides the opportunity to make the case your ideas will fill in the gaps and correct the errors of current theory and practice

Significance Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved?

Innovation Does the application seek to shift current research or clinical practice by utilizing novel, theoretical concepts, approaches, methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions? Or is the proposal a conservative repetition of accepted theory and methods?

Innovation Too conservative may appear repetitive with little probability of generating new information Too innovative may appear risky with little probability of generating new information – theory or methods may not work Goldilocks Effect: Innovative with preliminary data to demonstrate feasibility

Approach Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Methods and Analysis Why you do these What these analyses tell you How they facilitate you to achieve your specific aims Not because everybody else is doing that.

Approach Include preliminary studies that demonstrate: you know how to do this and you have done this before Your hypothesis is based on previous studies Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? Will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed well?

Assemble the Team Multidisciplinary investigator team is often required to reach achieve the research goals

Environment Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed?

Impact Reviewers will provide an overall impact/priority score to reflect their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field involved

Application Preparation Attention to detail is essential Be kind to the reviewer: Avoid typographical, grammatical, and spelling errors, acronyms, incomprehensible figures, and missing or incorrect references Allow enough time Ask others to read and edit