KEYS TO SUCCESSNCURA Region IV

Spring MeetingApril 27 – 30, 2014

© 2014 National Council of University Research Administrators

The Logistics of Developing Complex, Multi-Project Proposal

National Council of University Research Administrators

NCURA Region IV Spring MeetingApril 27 – 30, 2014

@ 2014 National Council of University Research Administrators

Steven B. ChinJulia L. Angstmann

Office of the Vice Chancellor for ResearchIndiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

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Introduction: Defining a Common Vision

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Proposal Development Services

• Proposal Planning– Establish timeline and process for development– Alert project team to specific requirements– Coordinate assignments and track sections

• Proposal Production– Edit technical and non-technical sections– Develop budget forms– Identify proposal sections to be strengthened

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NIH Multi-Project Activity Codes

• Resource Programs– G12

• Research Program Projects and Centers– P01, P20, P30, P40, P41, P42, P50, P51, P60

• Research Projects– R24, R28

• Research-Related Programs– S06

• Cooperative Agreements– U10, U19, U24, U41, U42, U45, U54, U56, UC7, UM1

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Features of Multi-Project Grants (NIAID)

• At least two interrelated research projects related to a theme with each capable of standing on its own scientific merit by complementing one another.

• Collaboration and interaction among projects and investigators to achieve a common goal.

• One grantee institution that will be legally and financially responsible for the use of funds.

• Support as needed for shared resources—core resources or facilities—that provide services or resources to at least two research projects.

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NIH Electronic Multi-Project Applications

• Single Overall Component– Data collection comparable to a single-project application

that describes the entire application and how each of the components fit together

• Additional Components– Additional component types with predefined data collection

requirements (e.g., Admin Core, Project Core, FOA-specific)• Summaries– Information compiled from the data provided in the

individual components (e.g., component and categorical roll-ups of budget data)

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Promoting Faculty Collaborations

• Administration-initiated responses– Identify senior investigators– Facilitate investigator meetings

• Investigator-initiated responses– Identify staffing gaps, fill staffing gaps– Facilitate investigator meetings

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Investigator Screening

• Faculty questionnaires– School, department affiliations– Research description– Current funding, past funding, pending funding– Collaboration history– Anticipated relationship to proposed project• Core usage• Research projects• Analytical approaches

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Promoting a Common Vision

• Promoting a common vision of the project– Agency mission– Institute/Center mission– Funding opportunity announcement– Principal investigator– Investigator meetings

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Promoting a Common Vision

• Promoting a common vision of the proposal– Understanding of complex, multi-project

proposals– Application Guide– Funding opportunity announcement– Principal investigator– Investigator meetings

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FOA References to Application Guide

• “It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, except where instructed in the funding opportunity announcement to do otherwise…

• Conformance to the requirements in the Application Guide is required and strictly enforced.

• Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

• All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) must be followed, with the following additional instructions, as noted.”

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Application Guide

• Required sections• Required content• Required typography– Typeface

• Arial, Helvetica, Linotype, Georgia– Font size

• 11 points or larger– Font color

• Black– Margin size

• At least one-half inch (top, bottom, left, and right)

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Funding Opportunity Announcements (NIH)

• 1. Overview Information• 2. Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity DescriptionII. Award InformationIII. Eligibility InformationIV. Application and Submission InformationV. Application Review InformationVI. Award Administration InformationVII. Other Information

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Promoting Timely Submissions

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Proposal Outline

• All proposal components• Outline format to indicate position of

component in structural hierarchy• Special instructions and limitations• Page limits• Assignment of each component to specific

investigator(s) or specific staff member(s)

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Development Schedule

• Tasks in chronological order• Dates, responsible persons, and actions to be

taken• Dates to request action or information• Agency due date as starting point• Internal institutional deadlines and developer

deadlines

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Non-Technical andTechnical Editing

Nontechnical editing: Format

• Alignment with the FOA/guidelines– Enforce typographical requirements

• Number/header system – Establish early in the process– Use headings or key phrases from FOA to organize– Provide outline to each section lead

• Administrative components– Biographical sketches– Budgets, budget justifications– Descriptions of facilities, resources, equipment– Letters of support and collaboration

• Visual appeal– Format all figures and tables the same– White space 19

Nontechnical editing: Content• Begin with the proposed activity• Alignment with the FOA– Confirm that all requested topics are addressed

• Research plan– Timeline of research– Personnel– Plan of attack

• Administrative components– Insure that all administrative components support the proposed

research• Typos and misspellings

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Technical Editing: Focusing the Proposal

• Outline project goals, objectives, and outcomes• Ensure proposed work is relevant to the agency’s

mission• Ensure all items in FOA are adequately addressed.• Compose the overview/first page so that the

purpose, rationale, connection to agency mission, and significance of the work is concisely conveyed.– More detail later in the proposal.

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Technical Editing: The art of persuasion and stylized writing

• It’s not a mystery novel (nor a technical paper)!• Background section should be the shortest part

of the proposal• Be explicit, don’t leave anything to the

reviewer’s interpretation.• Avoid long, complex sentences.

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Technical Editing: The art of persuasion and stylized writing (cont’d)

• Forward-moving– Sentence stress-points

“You have asked me twice now to respond to your short notice requests.”

“Twice now you have asked me to respond to your requests on short notice. This short notice causes my office to rush and may result in mistakes.”

– Parenthetical commas– Flow of narrative

• Overview Background Rationale/Significance Objective/Hypothesis Methods Expected Outcomes Contingency 23

Technical Editing: Aim-driven Research

• All research is aim-driven• Must conclude in an outcome

• The research aim of this proposal is to apply method M from field Q to problem X in field R.

• Unclear language = fishing expedition– A clear aim and/or testable hypothesis will avoid

this!• Aims can be accomplished through

descriptive or hypothesis-driven research.24

George Hazelrigg, NSF 2012

Technical Editing: Descriptive- versus Hypothesis-driven Research

• Dependent on agency and field of research• Descriptive research is used to describe a

population or phenomenon (the “what”). – Does not answer the how, when, or why of the

phenomenon.• Hypothesis-driven research must be testable:– Do not be vague

• Poor: “X could cause Y”• Good: “X causes Y”• Better: “X will increase Y”• Best: “X will increase Y by Z amount”

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Other items

• Include only figures that are simple and useful• Once a decent draft of the proposal is

completed, go back and check off each point in the FOA, including the merit review guidelines.

• External review

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Coordination with Other Institutional Offices for Submission

• Departmental/School Fiscal Officer– Work with PI on budget/budget narrative– Assist with internal routing through SRO– Paper submissions: pagination, final check, copying– Electronic submissions: final check of all documents

• Institutional SRO– IUPUI: 5 day administrative deadline; 2 day technical

deadline; funding agency deadline– Know the policies at your institution and follow them!

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Division of Labor

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Concluding Remarks

• The FOA and guidelines are your best friends, read them carefully at least 2-3 times!– Try to convince PI and any others writing a portion

of the proposal to read the FOA/guidelines too.• Use the FOA/guidelines as a checklist to ensure

that all content is present in the final application.

• Print and read the application prior to submission.

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Questions?