writing

The Letter That Will Get You Funded

In order to assess the validity of a proposal in relationship to the solicitation, many donors, especially foundations, request a Letter of Intent (LOI) from future applicants. This is the letter that will lead to the invitation to apply for the grant. If the application that follows meets the donor’s criteria and is well written,… read more

doctor

How Can the Academic Community Recover from the Impact of COVID-19

There is no question that COVID-19 has had and is having a severe impact on faculty throughout US colleges and universities. This is reflected in all areas of their work, including research, teaching, tenure and promotion and service. Findings of a recent Chronicle of Higher Education survey of faculty stress which surveyed 1,122 faculty members… read more

diversity

Higher Education Applauds the Biden Administration FY 22 Budget

The Biden Administration’s FY 2022 Budget for higher education signals support for innovation in agriculture and science, climate change, rural development and access as well as equity via the funding of minority institutions. For example, the NIH and NSF budget increases of 20% are for innovative programs that translate to the increased funding for transformative… read more

support

University Support for Faculty Funding Success

The pool of funds available for grants in the US is steadily shrinking given that funding is similar from year to year, and those funds are not keeping up with inflation and labor costs. Also, grant funding has been dramatically reduced in certain federal funding agencies and in others it has fallen by 20-25 percent,… read more

doctor

Critical Questions to Clarify Your Research

How you will construct the direction and destination of your proposal depends on the initial questions that you ask. As you move from generating the topic, to gathering the background information, to adding focus to your research, you should begin with the open-ended questions of “how” and “why”, while at all times considering the “so… read more

international

Foundations & Corporations: The Art of Procuring International Funding

In my last blog, I discussed United States federal funding for international programs and research. In this article, I will focus on foundation giving for international programs. According to The State of Global Giving by U.S. Foundations, during a five-year study from 2011-2015, grant-making by American foundations to charitable organizations outside the United States reached… read more

international

Increase Your Funding via International Partnerships

In my own career, I recall a very wealthy donor from Asia, who funded a major program at a leading university department where I was the director. He asked me what I believed would be an important funding area if he were to donate $1 million to my department. I told him that international research… read more

doctor

Five Crucial Facets of Successful Research Funding

Do you want to get a grant? Chances are that you can, but only if you properly organize yourself. Whether you have a complex or simple proposal, the major facets you must master are: rigor, focus, preliminary data, communication, and persistence. Rigor Rigor encompasses a whole host of practices. In research, it’s the belief that… read more

teaching-and-research

Building a Culture of Research at “Teaching Institutions”

In my most recent grant writing workshop, one of the participants had been instructed to attend by the provost of his institution. Unfortunately, he did not want to be there, and was certain that all efforts for research funding would fail at his institution. When I asked him why he is so certain, he replied:… read more

fatal

Five Lethal Research Grant Flaws

The success rate for scientific proposals can be as low as 12%. Poor writing, insufficient preliminary data, and a deficient literature review can all contribute to rejection, but are fixable. On the other hand, the five most fatal flaws which follow are very difficult to overcome even with multiple submissions. Lack of significance To help… read more