NSF

The Most Important Part of Your NSF Proposal: The Summary Page

In last week’s blog I discussed the Specific Aims page for proposals that will be submitted to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This week’s focus will be on the Summary Page for National Science Foundation (NSF) proposals. Each NSF Summary Page, which cannot be over one page in length (or 4,600 characters with spaces),… read more

NSF

Why Did My Research Proposal Fail?

The success rate for research proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF) is in the teens. So why do more than 80% of submissions fail? The reasons vary from poor writing, to not following directions, to a lack of examples. The major cause, however, is that many submissions are not research projects at all. For those that are,… read more

Update

2015 Federal Budget: What it Means to You

A new year, new appropriations, a new congress, and new fiscal management procedures will bring new concerns for grantees. Increasingly, applicants must focus their attention on accountability and performance measurements. The need for research money for large universities and laboratories is increasing, as is the pressure for faculty to receive external support. Given that the… read more

STEM education

Fixing America`s STEM Problem: Funding Opportunities

America is way behind in the STEM disciplines and if this is not reversed now, the U.S. will lose its economic strength. Fifty-one nations are more effectively teaching their students to compete in a technological society than the U.S. This makes educating America’s youth a national security priority. Given the urgency to educate U.S. students… read more

Politics

Grants: Who Decides Where the Money Goes

The process of deciding which funding to provide and which to cut is constantly in flux. Changes are happening both regionally and nationally, in both the public and private sectors. It was for this reason that the Department of Education of one Southern state invited me to work with those making the decisions about which… read more

Weymouth_-_Harbour_Bridge_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1007800

Science & Humanities: Should You Bridge the Divide?

Every time I greet workshop participants prior to teaching, the introductions quickly outline divisions in the disciplines. In a typical grant training course, I see about seventy percent scientists, twenty-five percent social scientists, and three to five percent various humanities professionals. Within minutes, I notice a stark behavioral approach between the two groups. The scientists,… read more

Van Gogh Starry Night

Dreaming the Possible Dream: 3 Areas of Humanities Funding

Don Quixote dreamed the impossible dream. To keep his dream alive, courage and persistence were his tools against windmills and other hurdles. As artists and researchers in the humanities, we dream possible dreams of preserving the past, creating the present, and exploring the future. A variety of donors believe in and encourage our work through… read more