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Strategies and Resources for Funding in the Natural Sciences Gary W. Small Department of Chemistry & Optical Science and Technology Center (gary-small@uiowa.edu) CLAS New Faculty Orientation, 8/21/13
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Issues to Consider Current funding climate Strategies and resources Internal proposals External proposals The proposal process Some final thoughts
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Current Funding Climate http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/presentations/aaasrd20130807.ppt
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Current Funding Climate http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/presentations/aaasrd20130807.ppt
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Current Funding Climate Source: http://report.nih.gov/success_rates Source: http://report.nih.gov/success_rates
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Strategies and Resources (Internal Proposals) Submit as soon as proposal is viable http://dsp.research.uiowa.edu/ui-internal-funding http://dsp.research.uiowa.edu/ui-internal-funding http://research.uiowa.edu/ovpr/university-funding-sources http://research.uiowa.edu/ovpr/university-funding-sources Provides funding for preliminary results Provides informative feedback Provides mechanism to crystallize ideas Clear explanation of significance Clear description of experimental design Challenge of explaining to an audience of non- specialists (avoiding jargon)
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Strategies and Resources (External Proposals) Submit as soon as proposal is viable Until funding is established, don’t let a deadline pass without submitting Learn what has been funded recently http://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm http://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm http://nsf.gov/awardsearch/index.jsp http://nsf.gov/awardsearch/index.jsp Note special Requests for Applications (RFA’s) http://www07.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp http://www07.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp Look for special opportunities for young investigators http://www.spo.berkeley.edu/Fund/newfaculty.html http://www.spo.berkeley.edu/Fund/newfaculty.html http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/index.htm http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/index.htm
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The Proposal Process Idea or Hypothesis Preliminary Results Papers Proposal Papers Project Success Failure Acknowledgement: Mark Arnold, Department of Chemistry
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Writing the Proposal Follow instructions Leave room to describe proposed research Include a detailed experimental plan Include preliminary results Identify potential problems and suggest possible solutions Include a timeline Include reprints of your relevant publications (if allowed) Don’t make it too expensive to fund Don’t make it difficult to evaluate Know evaluation criteria and process
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Some Final Thoughts Persistence is critical Learn to limit your anger over rejection Reviewers are usually trying to help Address criticisms in any resubmission Work on building your visibility Meet program officers at agencies Conference participation Meet your competitors Discover your supporters and detractors Invite key players in your field to Iowa for a seminar Develop your research niche At tenure time, need to have an identifiable research program
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Some Final Thoughts Consider a mix of collaborative and individual work Collaborative projects can be an important component of a research program Allows bigger problems to be tackled Important to be able to demonstrate your own contribution Don’t ignore the mission-oriented agencies such as DOE, DOD, NASA Important to develop contacts at Government labs Take advantage of the proximity of your colleagues Have successful colleagues read your proposals
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Some Final Thoughts Advice is plentiful Consider it but in the end you have to take the path that works for you
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