Funding your Dreams

Cathy Manduca

Director, Science Education Resource Center

Iowa State University, 2005

Why do you need money? Buy time, equipment or help Tenure/promotion criteria Recognition/peer review of work Establish or give credibility to a program Motivate a group to do something

Words of Wisdom for Young Faculty

Much can be done for free. Writing proposals is less productive

than writing papers because the success rates are lower.

NEVER write a proposal for something you don’t REALLY want to do.

More wisdom for young faculty:

A Grant is to your Institution A grant for you is a plus for your institution.

Campus administrators can help you--communicate your plans, results, successes

Have a ready two liner about what you are doing Before you start, find out the campus system.

There may be rules/forms. There may be help :). Campuses have opinions about who can contact

alumni and foundations for what.

Knowing your project What do you want to do? Why? Who are the beneficiaries? What will be the impact? Are you better off as an individual or as part

of a larger team?

A match between your goals and those of the funder is imperative.

Finding Funding Sources Help on Campus

Department Chair, Dean’s office Corporate and Foundation Relations College Offices/IPRT

Use the Web Foundation Center http://www.fdncenter.org/ Council on Foundations http://www.cof.org/

Call your program officer Find similar programs and investigate their funding

Don’t invest in writing a proposal until you are sure you have a match

The Critical Pieces of a Strong Proposal

A clearly articulated, doable project A well-formulated argument for why this is

important and why this is the way to do it A vivid plan for implementation A track record

Prelim data/previous pubs Pilot projects (local funding) Partnerships with recognized experts

Writing a Strong Proposal Grant writing as a persuasive essay

Why should they give you money? What do you want to do? Why is it important to the funder? How will you do it? Why is this the best way/place? Why are you the best person to do this? What do you need to succeed?

Clear, concise, compelling

Follow the rules

Answer their questions Follow their format Dot I’s Cross T’s Proofread

Finish Early, Get Feedback

Proposal Review Who are the reviewers? What are the criteria? Imagine the reviewers

10-30 proposals at once on top of their regular work

Don’t know you, your strengths, your institution

What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity? How important is the proposed activity to advancing

knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields?

How well qualified is the proposer (individual or team) to conduct the project? (If appropriate, the reviewer will comment on the quality of the prior work.)

To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts?

How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity?

Is there sufficient access to resources?

What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? How well does the activity advance discovery and

understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning?

How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)?

To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks, and partnerships?

Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding?

What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society?

• Integration of Research and Education One of the principal strategies in support of NSF's goals is to foster integration of research and education through the programs, projects, and activities it supports at academic and research institutions. These institutions provide abundant opportunities where individuals may concurrently assume responsibilities as researchers, educators, and students and where all can engage in joint efforts that infuse education with the excitement of discovery and enrich research through the diversity of learning perspectives.

•Integrating Diversity into NSF Programs, Projects, and Activities Broadening opportunities and enabling the participation of all citizens -- women and men, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities -- is essential to the health and vitality of science and engineering. NSF is committed to this principle of diversity and deems it central to the programs, projects, and activities it considers and supports.

NSF staff will give careful consideration to the following in making funding decisions:

Keys to success Figure out what you want to do and why Evaluate your assets and needs Start small Be a partner to your institution and

beyond Always be ready to explain what you

are doing and where it is going Stay the course