Helpful Hints & Fatal Flaws PROPOSAL WRITING 10 Helpful Hints & Fatal Flaws

HELPFUL HINTS for proposal writing 10 HELPFUL HINTS for proposal writing

10 1 HELPFUL HINTS for proposal writing Read the Program Announcement Talk with a program officer to make sure that your ideas fit in the program. Contact the program officer via email and send her/him a one-page summary. Be patient.

10 2 HELPFUL HINTS for proposal writing Work on Projects You Care Deeply About Let your commitment come through. Make a compelling case for the NEED and IMPORTANCE of the work to your institution and to others.

10 3 HELPFUL HINTS for proposal writing Do Your Homework Build on what others have done. Know the literature. Be current. Add to the body of knowledge. Discuss the value added of your project. What are you adding to the knowledge base?

10 4 HELPFUL HINTS for proposal writing Think Broader Impacts Your project must have more than just a local impact (your students and your institution). How can others use and build on your work? Think about what is transferable. Think about what can be sustained.

10 5 HELPFUL HINTS for proposal writing Have Measurable Goals and Objectives Enhancing student learning, improving undergraduate education, and other similar things are lofty, but not measurable. Make sure that you have measurable goals and objectives. What activities will align with such goals? What will be delivered? What is needed to convince others that this works and is worth supporting or emulating?

10 6 HELPFUL HINTS for proposal writing Think Teamwork Successful projects are team efforts, although individuals matter too. Your project team should be greater than the sum of the parts. Identify your support network (administrators, colleagues, collaborators, industry, etc.) and keep them engaged. Get a good group of internal and external advisors and an outside evaluator (or evaluation team).

10 7 HELPFUL HINTS for proposal writing Use Good Management Skills Develop a realistic timeline with milestones and key deliverables. Develop a strong management plan (team and project). Engage and empower your team (with accountability built in).

10 8 HELPFUL HINTS for proposal writing Evaluation is about “Impact and Effectiveness” How will you know the project goals are being met? You need evidence to know your project is making an impact and it is effective. You cannot evaluate yourself. External (independent) validation is key. Build in evaluation from the beginning.

10 9 HELPFUL HINTS for proposal writing Spread the Word Have a proactive dissemination plan. A website is generally necessary, but not sufficient. Disseminate within your scholarly community and beyond (reach other disciplines). Share the materials developed widely.

10 10 HELPFUL HINTS for proposal writing Serve as a Reviewer Offer to be a reviewer and to help others. Gain experience and learn from reviewing strong and weak proposals. Find programs for which you have expertise and that you think you want to submit to Email the program officer and share your interest to be a reviewer (include your resume/CV)

WAYS TO WRITE A GOOD PROPOSAL That Won’t Get Funded FATAL FLAWS 10 WAYS TO WRITE A GOOD PROPOSAL That Won’t Get Funded

FATAL FLAWS 10 WAYS TO WRITE A GOOD PROPOSAL That Won’t Get Funded 1 Assume deadlines are not enforced Assume page limits and font size restrictions are not enforced 2 Substitute flowery rhetoric for good examples 3 Don’t check your speeling, nor you’re grammer 4

FATAL FLAWS 10 WAYS TO WRITE A GOOD PROPOSAL That Won’t Get Funded 5 Assume the program guidelines have not changed; or better yet, ignore them! Assert: “Evaluation will be ongoing and consist of a variety of methods” 6 Assume a project website is sufficient for dissemination 7 Assume your past accomplishments are well known 8

FATAL FLAWS 10 WAYS TO WRITE A GOOD PROPOSAL That Won’t Get Funded 9 Don’t include letters of collaboration Inflate the budget to allow for negotiations 10

NSF has TWO Review Criteria Intellectual Merit: What will we learn? How will it advance science? Broader impacts: What will the immediate or eventual impact be on society? How will it make the world a better place? Educationally focused projects often have a hard time disentangling these, but you need to separate them out in your proposal

Elements of the Merit Review Criteria What is the potential for the proposed activity to make a difference? By advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields (Intellectual Merit); and By benefitting society or advancing desired societal outcomes (Broader Impacts)? To what extent do the proposed activities suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts? Is the plan for carrying out the proposed activities well-reasoned, well organized, and based on a sound rationale? Does the plan incorporate a mechanism to assess success? How qualified is the individual, team, or institution to conduct the proposed activities? Are there adequate resources available to the PI (either at the home institution or through collaborations) to carry out the proposed activities?

Possible Timeline for Proposals 12 - 6 MONTHS AHEAD: identify opportunities from prior years, read award abstracts and outcome reports 6 MONTHS AHEAD: begin discussing with any partners 3 MONTHS AHEAD: read final solicitation carefully. Alert sponsored projects office 1.5 MONTHS AHEAD: share draft proposal for feedback with colleagues. First draft of budgets 2 WEEKS AHEAD: upload everything except narrative, if possible; ensure subcontract paperwork done 1 WEEK AHEAD: final edits by PI, partners, and sponsored projects; mop up any last supporting docs DAY BEFORE DUE DATE: submit if possible

Timeline for Merit Review Process 4 – 6 WEEKS PROPOSAL RECEIVED Administrative review, compliance checking 2 – 3 MONTHS REVIEWERS SELECTED Potential panelists contacted, panel finalized  3 MONTHS PEER REVIEW Panel meets. Panel provides guidance to PO, NOT a decision Proposal Receipt and Review 3 Months 3 – 6+ MONTHS PROGRAM OFFICER RECOMMENDATION PO considers panel input and other factors, may contact PI for additional information, decides on recommendations DIVISION DIRECTOR REVIEW PO makes recommendation, recommendation reviewed at higher levels NOTIFICATION Notification received by PI and/or SPO Proposal Processing 3 – 6+ Months

Dr. Keith Sverdrup: ksverdru@nsf.gov Thank you!   Dr. Keith Sverdrup: ksverdru@nsf.gov