Overview on Grant Writing for Graduate Student Research

Abstract

Grant writing is an important skill to develop during graduate school. This article provides an overview of grant writing for graduate students. Specific topics covered include understanding your funding needs, identifying appropriate grant opportunities, analyzing the guidelines for the proposal, planning and time management, understanding the priorities of the funding agency or organization, proposal organization and writing strategies, additional forms and letters of support that may be required, the editing and revising process, and submission of your grant proposal. Courses and workshops are an efficient and effective way to be guided through the grant proposal writing process with a greater potential for positive outcomes.

INTRODUCTION:

Effective communication is one of the most important skills for students pursuing a career in research to develop. Grant proposal writing is a skill that is essential to career success, and a skill that can be learned while in graduate school. While this skill is recognized as essential, the necessary training is not always available to students in graduate programs and students may struggle with crafting successful grant applications to support their research. To address this limitation, we provide an overview of grant writing for student research projects. Honing these skills while a student can set the stage for a successful postdoctoral fellowship and early career success as a young faculty member.

An overview of specific elements of successful grant proposal preparation include having a good understanding of the funding needs for the research that will be performed. Additionally, it is essential to identify the appropriate funding opportunity for the specific project and for the investigator at the specific career stage. Taking the necessary time to carefully read and analyze the guidelines for the specific proposal is critical for success. Planning for the proposal preparation and time management skills are among the most important aspects of a successful proposal. Graduate school is an ideal time to develop good writing habits, that include writing each day. To be successful, it is important to understand the priorities of the funding agency or organization so that the proposed research matches the funding priorities and what the agency wants to fund. Knowing this can help align the mission and goals of the investigator with those of the funding agency. While each funding agency will require unique and different sections to the proposal, there are some commonly requested elements that may include a brief abstract, specific aims or objectives, introduction, brief background information, a research plan or research strategy, a statement of significance, a statement describing the innovative qualities of the proposed research, broader impacts of the research, intellectual impact, a statement of the expected results or alternatively, potential pitfalls to the proposed approach and alternative strategies in the event that your plans do not work. Additionally, a timeline of the experiments with specific benchmarks can be included to clearly outline how the work will be accomplished during the funding period. In some cases, a brief summary or conclusion with future directions can be included to indicate where the work is headed in the long-term and to provide broader context for the specific work that is proposed. With every grant proposal, letters of support and other documents such as biosketches, budget, budget justification, may be required for submission, and it is important to allow enough time to prepare these accurately and carefully. Making time to share your proposal with peers or mentors before submission provides an opportunity to receive critical feedback. Pre-review will allow editing and revision of the proposal so that it can be understood by the target audience, the reviewers.

Grant proposal writing can be a daunting task for anyone, including students. Time-management can be especially challenging if one is trying to balance the demands of taking academic courses, working as a teaching assistant, tutoring, and other demands on a graduate student’s schedule with the expectations and deadlines of the new and unfamiliar experience of writing a grant proposal at the same time. One way for colleges to address this challenge and support their graduate students is to provide a course-based mentored cohort or a proposal writing course. A class conducted within a college term or semester with a syllabus and a schedule to outline deadlines for assignments that are individual components of the final proposal. Students are able to manage their time, make forward progress, stay on track, and complete the proposal in a timely manner.

Topics included in this overview are: understanding your funding needs, identifying appropriate grant opportunities, analyzing the guidelines for the proposal, planning and time management, understanding the priorities of the funding agency or organization, proposal organization and writing strategies, additional forms and letters of support that may be required, the editing and revising process, and submission of your grant proposal.

MAJOR TOPIC: (Guidelines for student grant writers)

The guidelines presented here are divided into nine key topics that serve as best practices for successful grant writing for student research projects.

Subtopic: (Understanding funding needs)

Financial support for graduate student research may address unique needs based on the stage of the graduate student career. Grants can provide funding to support research expenses and supplies or services that are needed to complete the dissertation research, such as those that might be provided by a core facility. A grant may also provide funds for travel to a conference where research results will be disseminated, and the graduate student can network with experts in the field. Grant funding can also provide stipend and funds for tuition and fees, thus allowing fulltime dedication to the research. Some grants are designed to support late-stage graduate students as they are writing up their research results for publication and finalizing their dissertation.

Subtopic: (Identifying appropriate grant opportunities)

Identifying appropriate grant opportunities can be challenging, especially if this is a new endeavor for a student. It is essential to check the eligibility requirements before starting so as not to waste time and energy. To find the best opportunities, talking to individuals with experience is a good practice. Faculty advisors and other students who have been successful with grant proposals can provide valuable advice. University Offices of Research or Graduate Colleges often have resources available for graduate students and can provide information on which internal and external funding opportunities may be best suited for a graduate student in a specific field of study. Eligibility may also be dependent upon national citizenship or underrepresented minority status. Information on extensive databases that include national and international funding opportunities are available through Offices of Research or Sponsored Programs at universities. Grants.gov, National Science Foundation (NSF), and National Institutes of Health (NIH) are a few of the places one can find information about available federal research funding. Table 1 provides examples of graduate student grant opportunities including the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Predoctoral Fellowship (F31) from NIH, which is to enable promising predoctoral students to obtain mentored research training while conducting dissertation research in a health-related field relevant to the missions of the NIH, the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) from NSF, which supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions, and the Grant-In-Aid-of-Research (GIAR) from Sigma Xi, a scientific research honor society, which supports undergraduate and graduate students to carryout mentored research in most areas of science and engineering. The NIH NRSA F31 is available to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are enrolled in a research doctoral degree program. The NSF GRFP is available to U.S. citizens, U.S. national, or permanent residents who are at an early stage in their graduate career and have completed no more than one academic year of full-time graduate study.

Table 1.

Examples of Graduate Student Grant Opportunities

Funding Agencies, program	Funding Agency Home Page	Link to Funding Program
National Institutes of Health (NIH), NIH (F31) Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (NRSA)	https://www.nih.gov/	https://researchtraining.nih.gov/programs/fellowships/F31 and https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-21-051.html
National Science Foundation (NSF), NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)	https://www.nsf.gov/	https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/nsf-graduate-research-fellowship-program-grfp
Sigma Xi - The Scientific Research Honor Society, Grants in Aid of Research (GIAR)	https://www.sigmaxi.org/home	https://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/grants-in-aid-of-research

Subtopic: (Analyzing the guidelines for the proposal)

Gathering all information about specific grant funding opportunities and organizing into a spreadsheet is a good practice. Including essential information such as name of grant or fellowship program, the web address, the eligibility requirements, deadlines, requirements for letters of support, requirements of the written application, relevant forms, award amount, name and address of point of contact at the funding agency. Review and analyze the guidelines for the proposal thoroughly and carefully. Outline the proposal exactly as the guidelines indicate. Do not omit any requirements and do not rearrange sections. Analyze the instructions and organize the proposal accordingly. Be aware of page limits, margin and font size requirements, and line spacing restrictions.

Subtopic: (Understanding the priorities of the funding agency)

Most funding agencies and organizations provide publicly available information about their mission and funding priorities. It is important to understand the mission and goals of the funding agency, and how to address the mission and goals in the written proposal. Grant writers should be informed about who the proposal is written to. Know the audience and focus the writing on the needs of the funding agency. Write the proposal to demonstrate that the proposed work will solve the problem or serve a need.

Subtopic: (Time management and planning)

Time management is critical for a successful grant. You will need to plan for the following activities in your schedule;

• Read the existing literature to research the topic thoroughly

• Carry out a comprehensive, critical review of the current literature

• Dedicate three months to development and submission of proposal (this will help with balancing other obligations)

• Create a timeline and set weekly goals for the proposal writing process (set realistic writing and review schedules)

• Protect time on the calendar (1–2 hours per day) to allow a focused approach to writing each day

• Request letters of support one month before the deadline, provide a draft of the support letter so essential details are included

• Ask for colleagues to read prior to submission

• Allow for time to revise

Stick to your schedule and don’t get behind. This will reduce stress on both you and anyone you recruit to support you. This is also where the structure of a proposal writing class is very beneficial for both the student and for the faculty researcher.

Subtopic: (Proposal organization and writing strategies)

Writing strategies should incorporate a logical flow of information that is logical and easy to follow. It is important to understand what sections or components need to be included in the grant proposal as well as what purpose each section serves in the proposal. A general example of the order in which elements should be presented in a research narrative is shown in Figure 1. However, each type of grant proposal and funding agency has unique and slightly different requirements. For example, the NIH F31 NRSA requires specific sections in a specific order that serve specific purposes in the proposal. The sections are as follows: Project summary, Project Narrative, Bibliography and references cited, Facilities and other resources, Equipment, Applicant’s background and goals, Research training plan, Specific aims, and Research strategy. Additional documents that are required for the NIH F31 include descriptions of the Respective contributions, Selection of sponsor and institution, Training in the responsible conduct of research, Sponsor and co-sponsor statements, Letters of support, Description of institutional environment and commitment to training, Budget section, and Vertebrate animals and Human subjects, if applicable. The NIH F31 begins with a Project summary, which is limited to 30 lines of text and includes a description of the key focus of the proposed research, the long-term goals, the relevance of the work to NIH’s mission, a brief description of the research design and methodology. The Project summary should be written in 3^rd person and should not describe past accomplishments. The Project narrative is approximately three sentences in length that should describe the relevance of the work to public health. The Project narrative should answer the question, ‘What will your research contribute to the field?” The Bibliography should include all references that are included in the Research strategy section. The Facilities and other resources section should describe how the research site will contribute to the probability for the successful completion of the proposed work. This section may include a description of institutional support provided for the project, a description of the physical resources available, and the intellectual environment and rapport with other investigators. The Equipment list should include major instruments that are available for the project, where they are and what the instruments can do for the project.

Figure 1.

Order of information presented in the research narrative, also referred to as the Research strategy, Research Approach, or Proposed investigation, depending upon specific funding agency.

The Applicant’s background and goals section, should be organized to include the following subheadings: A. Doctoral dissertation and research experience, B. Training goals and objectives, C. Activities planned under this award, D. Research training plan. The Research Training plan should relate the research to your career goals, it should explain the relationship between the applicant’s research and the mentor’s ongoing research. Additionally, the plan should be tailored to the applicant’s experiences and career skills and goals. The Specific Aims page (a 1-page maximum) should identify the need or gap for the research, it should state the long-term goals, the hypothesis, and the specific aims that will be used to test the hypothesis or research question. The specific aims page should also include a statement of the expected outcomes and the impact of the results of the proposed work. The Research strategy section (6 pages maximum) is a narrative of the research that will be carried out. It should describe the significance of the work and the experimental approach that will be taken to accomplish the goals. Potential pitfalls or potential limitations should be acknowledged within the Research strategy, and alternative approaches may be included in the event that the original experimental plans are not feasible. A time line with benchmarks may be provided to demonstrate feasibility of the overall plan within the timeframe of the award.

The NSF GRFP is a shorter proposal and is comprised of the following sections: Personal information, Education, work and other experience, Transcripts, Proposed field of study, The Proposed graduate study and graduate school, the names and emails of at least three reference letter writers, the Personal, relevant background and future goals statement, which is limited to 3 pages in length, and the Graduate research plan statement, which is limited to 2 pages in length. The overall goal of the program is to support fellows who will become knowledge experts who will contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. Both the Personal, relevant background and future goals statement and the Graduate research plan statement must address NSF’s review criteria of Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts. Each must be addressed individually under separate headings in both the Personal and Research Plan statements. The purpose of this requirement is to provide the reviewers with the information that is necessary to evaluate the applications. Reviewers will evaluate the applications based on what the applicant wants to do, why they want to do it, how they plan to do it, how they will know if they succeed, and what benefits may be realized if the research is successful. The Intellectual Merit statements should encompass the potential to advance knowledge and understanding within the field or across different fields, and the Broader Impacts statement should address the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific desired societal outcomes. The Intellectual Merit statements and the Broader Impacts statement should clearly explain to what extent the proposed activities suggest and explore creative, original, and transformative concepts. Reviewers of NSF GRFP applications will evaluate how well-reasoned and how well organized the plan for carrying out the proposed research is, and the extent to which it is based on sound rationale. Additionally, reviewers will evaluate the qualifications of the applicant and the resources that are available to the applicant to carry out the proposed research, so it is critical that grant writers communicate clearly and address all required elements using a comprehensive approach, giving a balanced consideration to all components of the application including educational and research record, leadership, outreach, service, future plans, and individual competencies.

The Sigma Xi GIAR is an even shorter proposal, limited to 500 words in length. GIAR may be used to support scientific research in any field. Within the 500-word limit, applicants must include the following sections: Background information, Goals, Hypothesis/research question, Specific objectives, Methods, and Significance of the research. Additional documents include a Budget and Budget justification. The Background information must be brief and be written in a concise manner. The statement of goals must also be concise, and limited to one or two sentences. The hypothesis or research question should be one sentence followed immediately by the Specific objectives/aims, which can be listed as a bulleted list. Methods should be briefly described under each of the specific aims. The statement of significance of the research should describe how the study contributes to the big picture of research in this field of study. If the proposed work is part of an ongoing project, clearly state how the project is integrated into the ongoing project yet represents a unique contribution to the field. The Budget is limited to items that are not routinely found in standard research laboratories and to reagents that are clearly project-specific. In the case of items for which applicants wish to provide justification, the Budget justification must demonstrate how the item relates to the methodology described in the Proposed investigation section. Applicants should include justification for expenses that may not normally receive funding. Three key elements are evaluated including the proposed investigations, the budget, and the recommendations from the research advisor.

While each type of grant proposal and funding agency has unique and slightly different requirements, there are common features and strategies that are generally applicable for most grant proposals. It is best to link one component to another in order to create a linear progression of logic, using a conceptual framework that allows readers to link details to the framework as they read. Summarize the current state of knowledge in the field. Identify a specific gap in knowledge or previously published work and explain why there is a critical need to address the problem and the necessity or rationale to solve the problem. State a central hypothesis. Clearly and concisely explain how the proposed research will fill the gap and solve the problem. Provide specific information about methods, materials, and any preliminary data that addresses the problem or gap. Try to come up with overall objectives/goals that are specific for the proposal. Then, work on the specific aims, which are those that are needed to pursue in order to attain the overall objectives/goals. The objectives/goals can be categorized as short-term (can be accomplished in one to three years) or long term (expected to be completed by the end of the grant). Provide a brief statement of the short-term impacts, benefits, or results that are anticipated from the proposed work. Add future research directions upon achieving the short-term goals/objectives. Provide a statement of broader impacts and benefits that are anticipated upon successful completion of the proposed work. Last but not least, explain how the work will result in a benefit to the larger research community or state who will most likely benefit from the new knowledge generated as a result of the proposed research.

Include a sentence of each following item’s in your proposal;

• A statement of critical need that your proposal will address early in the introductory paragraph

• A statement of long-term goal that describes the goals for the next ten years in the field as a whole

• Create a statement of overall objectives that are specific for the proposal; objectives that can be accomplished in one to three years and that you expect to complete by the end of the grant

• State the central hypothesis and the rationale for the project

Be sure your proposal answers the following questions;

• To attain the overall objectives, what specific aims will be pursued?

• At the completion of the proposed research what is the expected outcome?

• What positive impact do you expect to have?

• What is the significance of the proposed work?

• Finally, what is innovative about the proposal and the approach taken, and how will this contribute to the field of study?

Create a bulleted outline of your proposal that includes each of the components of the proposal. Refine as necessary. Seek constructive criticism of the bulleted outline from peers and mentors. Continue to work on the bulleted outline until each component meets its purpose, each is linked to the others and the progression of logic is linear. Format your proposal according to the guidelines. Expand the bulleted sections into complete sentences in such a way that reviewers will know why the information has been included. Edit and refine until it reads well and fits into the page or word limit.

Integrate your review of relevant literature into your proposal in the introduction or background section. Cite primary literature, not reviews. Use the most current references. If you include figures in the introduction section or as preliminary data, make sure that they are large enough to read (no smaller than 9 point) and that they will be understood if the document is converted to black and white. Use a succinct writing style and include only essential, meaningful detail. List the results that you expect from each proposed experiment. Identify potential problems and alternative strategies if problems were to arise. Create a timeline and benchmarks. Conclude with a future directions statement.

Subtopic: (Additional forms and letters of support)

Additional documents may be required as components of the proposal. These may include budget, budget justification, college transcript, description of research facilities available for the project, and letters of support. Start on these other components early. Request letters of support one month before the deadline, letting letter writers know of the deadline and provide a draft of the support letter so that the essential details are included. Share a draft of your proposal with them. Develop a title for your proposal and share it with your letter writers. The title should emphasize the payoff from the proposed research. Use your overall objective and the significance to inform your title. Make several candidates for your title. Ask colleagues to select the most informative, interesting title.

Budget development will follow the specific guidelines for the grant proposal and specific funding agency. It is important to know what the allowable costs are and what costs are not allowable on the grant. For most grant proposals, it is important to include a budget justification, which serves as a narrative that explains each component of the budget in terms of the proposed research. When writing a budget justification, the focus should be on how each component of the budget is required to meet the goals of the project and how each projected cost was calculated. For NIH F31 and NSF GFRP applications, where funds are made available for specific purposes only such as predoctoral stipend, institutional allowance, and tuition and fees, a detailed justification may not be required. Sigma Xi GIAR in contrast, allows the applicant to request funding for purchases of specific equipment necessary to undertake the proposed research project, travel to and from a research site, supplies that are specific to the project and that are not generally available in a research laboratory, and reimbursements for human subjects research in the case of psychological research. For Sigma Xi, a budget justification would be included to justify how the items in the budget are related to the methodology described in the proposed investigation section. For other grant proposals in which the funding agency guidelines list categories or criteria for allowable expenses in the budget, the budget justification may include the following main categories: Personnel (senior personnel, other personnel, other significant contributors), Consultants, Fringe benefits, Travel, Participant/trainee support, Other direct costs, and Facilities and administration costs.

In cases in which a budget justification is required, organize the budget justification to follow the same order as the budget. Include details to explain the costs included in the budget. Only include items that are allowable, reasonable, and allocable. Use subheadings to organize your budget justification to make it easy for reviewers to read. The writing style for the budget justification should be concise but complete, and all numbers presented in the budget justification should match those presented in the budget.

Subtopic: (Editing and revising)

Draft the proposal. Let it sit for a few days before returning to work on it. Read again and revise for clarity and conciseness. Edit any superfluous language that does not add to the proposal. Plan for a pre-submission review. Ask others to read the proposal, including faculty advisors, committee members, and graduate students who have had previous success with the specific funding agency. Plan to revise multiple times until all ambiguities are clarified, and logic is flawless. Make sure that the grant makes sense to others.

Subtopic: (Submission of your grant proposal)

Students should be aware of policies and procedures for submitting grant proposals through their university. It is important to know if the application will be submitted by the university or alternatively, directly by the student. It is important to know this well ahead of the deadline, as Offices of Sponsored Programs may have requirements for proposals to be submitted to them prior to the actual agency or organization deadline. Become familiar with the online submission system. Submitting early is always a good practice, as it provides the opportunity to catch potential errors that will be identified upon submission and correct them before the deadline.

CONCLUSION:

Key guidelines for proposal development can be summarized by the following points:

1. Understand the mission and goals of the funding agency, and how the mission and goals will influence the focus of your proposal.

2. Become familiar with the online submission system. Read all instructions for your application. Understand the formatting requirements for your proposal (font size, type line density, margin widths, lengths, etc.).

3. Carry out a comprehensive, critical review of the current literature.

4. Develop a one -three sentence statement describing your proposal idea. Share your ideas and seek constructive criticism of the idea with your colleagues. Refine your idea based on their input.

5. Use a writing style that makes people want to read your proposal. Understand how to link one component to another in order to create a linear progression of logic. Use a succinct writing style and include only essential, meaningful detail.

6. Protect your time on your calendar to write your grant proposal. Maximize the amount of quality time that you have for writing – balance your other obligations with your writing efforts. Identify the time of day when you have one to two hours of quality time working on your proposal every day. Protect that time in your calendar. Set realistic writing and review schedules. Stick to your schedule. Don’t allow yourself to get behind.

7. Start your proposal with a section to provide a conceptual framework that allows readers to hang details on the framework as they read.

8. Understand the structure and purpose of each section. Create a statement of critical need that your proposal will address. Create a statement of long-term goal. Create a statement of overall objectives of the proposal. State the central hypothesis. State the rationale for the project. To attain the overall objectives, what specific aims will be pursued? At the completion of the proposed research what is the expected outcome. What positive impact do you expect to have? What is the significance of the proposed work?

9. Create a bulleted outline of your proposal that includes each of the components of the proposal. Refine as necessary. Seek constructive criticism of the bulleted outline. Continue to work on the bulleted outline until each component meets its purpose, each is linked to the others and the progression of logic is linear.

10. Format your proposal according to guidelines. Expand the bulleted sections into complete sentences in such a way that reviewers will know why the information has been included.

11. Edit and refine until it reads well and fits into the page or word limit.

12. Know how to integrate your review of relevant literature into your proposal. Cite primary literature, not reviews. Use the most current references.

13. If you include figures, make sure that they are large enough to read (no smaller than 9 point) and that they will be understood if the document is converted to black and white.

14. List the results that you expect from each experiment, integrate them into a narrative.

15. Identify potential problems and alternative strategies if problems were to arise.

16. Create a timeline and benchmarks.

17. Conclude with a future directions statement.

18. Notify your letter writers of your deadline – share a draft with them.

19. Budget development—know allowable costs and what costs are not allowable on the grant. Include a budget justification.

20. Develop a title for your proposal that emphasizes the payoff from the proposed research. Use your overall objective and the significance to inform your title. Make several candidates for your title. Ask colleagues to select the most informative, interesting title.

21. Plan for a pre-submission review.