Funding Fundamentals: 6 Dos and Don’ts from a UC San Diego Grant Writer

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Fewer notices of funding opportunities and a backlog of applicants waiting to submit mean grant applications that make it to the review stage need to be thoughtful, ambitious and cleanly executed to compete. So, whether you are an entrepreneur writing your first proposal, an early career professional honing your skills or a long-time researcher with a multitude of successful projects under your belt, here are a few tips and reminders to increase your odds of a successful award.

• DO use AI for initial research: The first step in any successful grant application is finding the right funding opportunity. Public resources like Grants.gov and subscription databases, such as Pivot remain a great way to find funding opportunities, but with a well-crafted prompt that is specific about topic, deadline and geographic region, the ChatGPT (or other AI program) search function could also help find potentially less-publicized opportunities that fit your specific focus area. As a bonus, ChatGPT often offers unsolicited comments, which usually represent fairly practical advice, on how to tailor your application to a targeted funding agency or program.

• DON'T let AI do all the work: A side effect of AI's productivity-enhancing powers is that funding agencies all over the world are now being overwhelmed with proposals as applicants submit multiple project ideas. As a result, NIH and other groups forbid the use of AI-generated content in proposals. More importantly, applications written with AI tools, while technically sound, often miss the nuance of persuasive writing. Research proposals may be academic in nature, but that does not mean they can't also be passionate. Stand out from the AI-generated crowd by tapping into your personal motivation and add some emotion to your writing. For example, when describing the need for your research or product, rather than bombarding reviewers with numbers and statistics about the size and fiscal costs of a certain problem (a popular AI-generated argument), use your own judgement to curate facts that might surprise a reviewer, make the problem personal for a reader, or emphasize the human impacts of a challenging problem.

• DO hone your humblebrag skills: All proposals are a sales pitch. You are selling the problem, the solution and yourself as the person who can bring a great idea to fruition. That means you can't be afraid to talk about yourself, particularly if applying for a fellowship. Highlight skills, accomplishments and lessons learned in personal statements, and, when appropriate, go ahead and use strong adjectives and descriptive terms such as "pioneering," "innovative" and "highly productive" when describing your research. When possible, cite your own work to support relevant statements of fact. If you are early in your career or an entrepreneur with minimal research experience, talk up the partnerships, expertise and resources that you may have access to through affiliations with the University of California San Diego Qualcomm Institute and other campus groups. UC San Diego is a fantastic place to conduct research with outstanding shared-use facilities. Use your presence on campus to enhance the Facilities and Equipment documents and add credibility to your application while giving reviewers confidence in your capabilities to carry out the goals of your project.

• DON'T make it all about you: As awesome as you are, always remember that a proposal is never truly about your own goals - it is about the mission of the agency that is offering possible funding. Frame every proposal around how your work will help the agency succeed. Projects that clearly align with the overall goals of the funding agency and the specifically stated objectives in the request for proposals (RFP) will stand out. To make it obvious to reviewers what a great fit your project is for a particular program, repeat the same language used in the solicitation in headings and text, and be prepared to adjust the focus of your project description around the interests of the agency. For example, if you are exploring the potential of a new diagnostic device, highlight the advancement or innovative use of technology when talking to NSF, but make the healthcare challenges and benefits the emphasis of a proposal to NIH.

• DO follow the rules: Another common-sense piece of advice is to be sure to read the solicitation all the way through and familiarize yourself with the agency's general application instructions. It is a terrible feeling to have a proposal rejected without review because a hyperlink was spotted in the text or a non-standard supplemental document described in the solicitation was missing, and this happens more than you would expect. Submitting early helps prevent these mistakes by giving campus grant offices a chance to review your application for just these sorts of problems - ensuring your long nights of overthinking every detail of the Research Strategy do not go to waste. If you do not have the support of a campus grants office (because you are submitting an SBIR proposal, for example), you might consider seeking outside support from an experienced grant professional who can help with a final review of your proposal package.

• DON'T play it too safe: If you are applying for a research grant (as opposed to a contract or cooperative agreement), then any knowledge gained from the work that you do can be valuable, even if you failed in your expected outcomes. Agencies like NSF and NIH often seek high-risk, high-reward projects, so don't be afraid to propose something that is not a sure thing but could dramatically move the needle if it works out. If pushing the envelope makes you nervous, find other ways to distinguish your application from the competition through unique specialization, creative partnerships or targeted populations. To get a feel for the competition and what an agency is looking for, review funded projects on program web sites. Proposing something to complement or build on the work an agency has already shown interest in is a solid proposal strategy. However, proposing something the agency has perhaps never seen before could be even better.

UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute grant writer Molly Wofford's services are available to support projects submitted through the Qualcomm Institute Sponsored Programs office, as well as other offices and organizations. For more information, contact her at [email protected]. Other resources for UC San Diego faculty members can include department-specific grant writers, Altman Clinical & Translational Research Institute services and UC San Diego's Research Development group (which focuses on proposal development services for large, multi-partner projects).

Topics covered:

• Grant writing

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