1 Developing Your Concept Thomas F. Hilton, Ph.D. Program Official for Organization & Mgt. Science Nat’l. Inst. on Drug Abuse/NIDA

NIDA 2 Think – before you act. NIH applications require all your thinking and planning up front. – Theory Development – Research Design – Research Team and Budget – Sampling and Population Access Thus, Grant Applications are Expensive!

NIDA 3 Probe – before you plunge. Test the waters before you invest time and resources, or you risk getting soaked. – Is this this right institute – right branch – right PO? – Does my project align with the institute’s mission? – Does my planned level of effort exceed the value of the problem I want to address?

NIDA 4 Contact a Program Official. What do they call it when you want a million dollars just for sending in a form? A Lottery!

NIDA 5 Contact a Program Official. POs are an applicant’s insider advocate. – POs can tell you how welcome your idea will be. – POs help you align your application with the institute’s mission. – POs can advise you on they kinds of questions that are likely to arise on grants like yours. – POs advocate for funding after peer review. – POs advise you about resubmissions.

NIDA 6 Use of Concept Paper Allows assessment of potential for success as a grant – by colleagues as well as POs. Forces you to think through the project before you talk about it to others – no loose ends. Forms the basis for application development – keeps you focused. Helps collaborators stay on same channel you are tuned into – keeps your team focused.

NIDA 7 Useful concept paper contents. TopicPara’s Grant Purpose1 Problem/Background1-2 Significance1 Question2-3 Design2-3 Analysis1 Team1

NIDA 8 Grant Purpose You want a grant for a how-many-year period? To do what? At what cost/level of effort? I want a grant for 3 years to find out the best ways to implement service orientation in drop-in clinics. I was thinking that this would involve 30 clinics and run about $250K a year.

NIDA 9 Problem / Background Explain why the literature or your research leads you to think this topic needs study. There are at least a dozen studies showing that drop-in clinic patients who drop out of treatment mention lack of staff concern as a contributing factor.

NIDA 10 Significance What is the payoff to science AND to public health? Jones & Smith showed in their 2003 study that retaining drop-in clinic patients in treatment could save $1,100 per incident in reduced need for re-treatment and lowered contagion.

NIDA 11 Question Derived from the background literature, what model will guide your hypotheses and what hypotheses will you test? I think that ASA theory will explain why patients will stay when service orientation is high, and what will re-engage patients who have left.

NIDA 12 Design What is the study design that will enable testing your hypotheses? Sample (power, population) Intervention (Hi, Med, Lo impact; nature) Controls Measures, etc.

NIDA 13 Analyses What statistical approach will ensure a fair test based on your data? I want to run a lagged panel correlation and SEMs comparing dropouts, re-engagers, and stayers within and between clinics with SO training and without it.

NIDA 14 Team Who do you envision as helping on the project? – Disease experts – Statisticians – Economists – Field colleagues – Theory consultant

NIDA 15 Feedback With a good concept of your project, you PO can provide the most accurate advice. – Ask the right questions to guide your application – Make you aware of related projects – Point out significant barriers/opportunities – Suggest the best grant program and mechanism Your PO interactions help to build I/C enthusiasm for your project.

NIDA 16 Overview  Grant Purpose (Briefly, you want a grant for a #-year period to do what? At what cost/level of effort?)  Problem/Background (Explain why the literature/your research leads you to think this topic needs study.)  Significance (What is the payoff to science AND to public health?)  Question (Derived from the background literature, what model will guide your hypotheses and what hypotheses will you test?)  Design (What is the study design that will enable testing your hypotheses? Sample, intervention, controls, measures, etc.)  Analysis (What statistical approach will ensure a fair test based on your data?)  Team (Who do you envision as helping on the project?)