Proposal Development, Peer Review and Communication created January, 20091.

Proposal Development,

Peer Review and Communication

created January, 2009 1

RCR – Proposal DevelopmentRCR – Proposal Development

•Presentation Objectives• NIH Comment• Personal Observation• Potential Funding Sources• Institutional Approvals • Institutional Processes• Proposal Items – Narrative / Specific Aims• Proposal Items – Budget• Proposal Items – Budget Justification• Ethical Considerations• Peer Review• Professional Communication• Institutional Support• Available Resources


RCR – Proposal PreparationRCR – Proposal Preparation

“Research training is a complex process….[but] ultimately it is up to each trainee to tailor his or her own education to meet career goals.”

National Institutes of Health – Office of Research Integrity, “A Guide to Training and Mentoring in the Intramural Research Program at NIH” created January, 2009 3

RCR – Proposal PreparationRCR – Proposal Preparationcreated January, 2009 4

-- Being a scientist is a tough career. You go to school for a long time, you graduate….. several times….. and then, if you remain in academia, you serve an apprenticeship through a post-doctoral appointment. Those are the formal elements.

Somewhere along the way you also have to learn to write successful journal articles, teach, identify a research focus that can get funded, get along with your mentor and lab mates, scope out who can help you in the department and develop a charismatic presentation persona. These are often the items that make or break your career but are often never a formal part of your training.


Non-Federal Funding Opportunities for New and Young Faculty

Many non-federal organizations – this is a particularly rich source of opportunity and lists programs from approximately

50 different non-federal sponsors. Many of these programs are open to both

tenure-track and post-doctoral fellows alike

http://www.spo.berkeley.edu/Fund/newfaculty.html

http://www.spo.berkeley.edu/Fund/newfaculty.html


Office of Naval Research “Young Investigator Program”

• Deadline in January• Tenure-track or permanent faculty position• Support academic scientists and engineers who have received Ph.D. or equivalent degrees within 5 years • Must submit a research proposal and a supporting letter through the appropriate university officials• Proposals may request up to $170,000 per year for three (3) years • Competition is intense – approximately 13% funding rate

http://www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech/3t/corporate/docs/FY2009_YIP_BAA_09-005.pdf


National Science Foundation“CAREER Program”

• Deadline in July• Support academic scientists and engineers who have received Ph.D., be untenured but in a tenure-track• Must submit a research proposal and a supporting letter through the appropriate university officials• Proposals are $400,000 minimum for 5 years – except biological sciences which are $500,000 for 5 years• Competition is intense


Defense Advance Research Projects Agency

“Young Faculty Award”

• Deadline in February • Fundamental research - results of which are published & shared broadly within scientific community• Support untenured Asst. or Assoc Professors within 6 years of appointment • Must submit a research proposal and a supporting letter through the appropriate university officials• Proposals are $300,000 minimum for 2 years• Must be able to obtain a U.S. security clearance• Competition is intense


Air Force Office of Scientific Res.“Young Investigator Program ”

• Deadline in July• Applicant within 5 years of Ph.D., a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident• An accompanying letter from institution must be submitted to indicate applicant will be considered for

a regular position if awarded•Must submit a research proposal and a supporting letter through the appropriate university officials• Proposals are $360,000 for 3 years• Competition is intense


Post-Doctoral Fellows:

If eligible by program definition to submit as a PI, the Stevens Proposal

Routing Sheet must be accompanied by a letter from the Chair and/or Dean that

confirms office, laboratory space and other appropriate infrastructure support

will be available if an award is forthcoming.


• All proposals are processed through the Faculty Support Center• All proposals must be accompanied by a Proposal Routing Sheet• All proposals should be submitted to the Faculty Support Center 5 days prior to the stated deadline• All awards are made to the university


NARRATIVE - SPECIFIC AIMSFollow the instructions !!

• Do not exceed page limitation• Use specified margins and fonts• Put the material together in the order and presentation style specified• Ensure all acronyms are defined• Use basic English and avoid jargon• Do NOT include proprietary data unless it is

critical for explanation or understanding• Clearly mark any proprietary data used


BUDGET

“The budget plan is the financial expression of the project or program as approved during

the award process….it shall be related to performance for program evaluation purposes

whenever appropriate.”

Circular A-110 C25 (a) – “Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education”


BUDGET JUSTIFICATIONMost sponsors require budget justifications

• PIs can use to their advantage: justify and explain inclusion of normally

unallowable computers explain presence of unpaid consultants explain presence of large number of graduate students explain smaller percentage of PI presence by inclusion of post-doc/other research scientists

RCR –Proposal PreparationRCR –Proposal Preparation

• Be aware of the need for Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee review and approval-- required for use of all living, vertebrate animals. ‘Exempt’ is a category, it does not imply an investigator is ‘exempt’ from the application process

• Be certain you know what animals are included in the categories of “…living vertebrates.” --Fish….Amphibians….Rodents (typical animal models used at SIT). Vertebrates also include reptiles, birds, mammals, primates, marsupials, whales and dolphins and seals

• Be aware of the need for Institutional Review Board review and approval for the use of human subjects-- ‘exempt’ is a category, it does not imply an investigator is ‘exempt’ from the application process



• Also known as ‘refereeing’• Subject scholarly work, research or ideas to the scrutiny of others who are experts in the field• It can be brutal• Generally considered to be essential to academic quality• Peer reviewed proposals submitted to large

federal agencies rarely get funded on the first submission• A few more get funded on the second submission


What’s the Purpose?• Focused content and investigative design:

Difficult for PIs to spot every mistakeDifficult to anticipate every relevant piece

of dataPIs often need the input provided by peer

review to refine the methodologiesNew investigators sometimes need help

to shape realistic research designsPeer review brings together diverse

community of experts to help refine the research design



The Real DealFor an insightful look at what is really involved

in peer review at a large federal agency, the Office of Extramural Research, (an office within the National Institutes of Health) publishes a huge amount of material specific to the Peer Review Process at NIH.

It’s not all about the science. Among the initial items that are reviewed are:

• Applications checked for completeness• Identification and management of conflicts of interest• Prepare summary statements for next panel of reviewers



• Communication skills essential to successful research scientist

Results have to be reportedWritten – publications and proposalsOral – presentations and interviews

Successful personal interactions are critical



• Written Definitive step in bringing research to wider

audience Authorship is critical to developing careers Journal differ in target audience – learn how to

tailor presentation formats Read articles in your field written by successful

authors Learn group ground-rules as they pertain to

publications

• Oral – presentations and interviews Rehearse in front of small group Volunteer for presentations – may be painful at

first but the experience is invaluable Practice – succinct and clear statements Talk to your audience – not the screen



• Successful personal interactions Negotiation, persuasion and diplomatic skills are

important Sometimes you need to convince people of the

importance of your ideas Identify and observe someone you consider

persuasive or skilled at generating cooperation Learn to network Learn the hierarchy and “food chain” within your

lab, department and organization Understand that department staff can often help

you and ‘make things happen’ for you



New Faculty/First Award Recipients

When a faculty who is new to Stevens, or a research award recipient who is new to the processes involved in sponsored research, receives an award, the Grant and Contract

Specialist will make an appointment to talk to the recipient. This is done to familiarize the award recipient with their Specialist and to help the awardee understand the processes

at Stevens


• Faculty Support CenterAssistance to faculty for proposal preparation and submission – Chrissa Papaioannou, x8051,Manager of [email protected]

• Office of Sponsored ResearchAward management and oversight – Barbara DeHaven, x8762, Executive [email protected]




Stevens offers a professional development certificate course that offers a variety of classes,

including one on Proposal Writing.http://howe.stevens.edu/academics/graduate-programs/

certificates/professional-communications/?0

Stevens employees may take up to six courses free of tuition and

fees

Proposal Development, Peer Review and Communication created January, 20091.

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