Getting Better Results from Your Proposal Writing

Alex HeisterkampLaser Zentrum Hannover e.V.

Better Results from Your Proposals

Some Tips and Hints

Andrew J. W. Brown, PhDSenior Director, Global Business Development

SPIE

With thanks to

Alex HeisterkampLaser Zentrum Hannover e.V.

Why Me?

• Unfortunately Alex unable to attend• 30 years in the industry• 10 years in marketing and business dev• SPIE presenter, session chair,

conference chair, exhibitor, committee volunteer and now employee!

Why do you write proposals?

• To fund your research• Equipment• Travel• Collaboration• Attend Conferences (very important!)

– Stay on top of field– Visibility via paper and proceedings– Visibility, make connections, network,

network, network

What is important for Proposal/Grant writing?

• Know your strengths• Know customer and what they want• Offer something unique, that meets

their needs (stay current on field)• Talk to your peers about the idea• Collaborators can be key brining

additional capability or connections• Use your network!• File a patent if idea is really unique!

More thoughts

• Talk to customer directly if possible• Maybe even send them a White Paper• If responding to a solicitation, do a

storyboard of your idea with reviewers• Get a colleague to be a critic, help edit

and review• Follow submission instructions

– Method (electronic) ,page limit, deadline, etc. – So many submissions, looking for excuses

Real life story

• At previous company I took over a program funded by a Gov customer

• Near end of funding and not delivering• Gave honest status update to customer

and asked for more $ to complete• Delivered world record performance and

subsequently multi-million $$ awards• Be honest, build trust and relationships,

deliver. Customers will take care of you.

Starting your first proposal

undergraduate

PhD-thesis

post-doc

assistant-professor

tenure

Starting your first proposal

undergraduate

PhD-thesis

post-doc

assistant-professor

tenure

Travel-grantsAwards

Work on first proposalsTravel-grantsAwards

First grant?FellowshipsWork on proposalsTravel-grantsAwards

First grants!FellowshipsWork on proposalsTravel-grantsAwards

Where money comes from...

• Industry, Foundations, Federal- and State-Funds, NSF/DFG, EU, Government (SBIR),

• International Grants

• VC’s, investors, private individuals

• Look at who is funding what. Get names, make contacts, ask people. Use announcements for your own research. E.g. FedBizOps.gov. Use the internet.

• Do your research (like making travel plans, buying a stock, gather all the info you can)

Make sure you are eligible e.g. NSF/DFG

• „standard“ proposal• coordinated programs• Fellowships

must:

• own position and PhD/Doctorate

• free choice of topics

• application always possible

• typical funding period 3 years

• adequate effort

There are a lot of people out there!

• Know your competition, who might bid, and what will they propose? What makes you different

• Knowledge of customer, technology, reputation, team of collaborators, cost?

• Determine probability of being funded by a particular source so you go in with eyes open

• Do your homework, propose something really compelling. Differentiate yourself.

Recycle!!!

Tips

• „think broad“ (not narrow minded!)

• keep updated (new prizes, fellowships, programs)– study homepages of third party funding

– use local information (local research networks)

– newsletters (!!!)

• (if possible) contact to people in charge

What does a proposal look like?

(Depends on solicitation, be sure to check guidelines)

• Summary

• State of the art

• Preliminary work, experience

• Goals for the work or research

• Work program or statement of work with timeline, tells them what they will get for their $$

• Reasoning for funding money

(investments, travel etc.)

Proposal Summary

• this is your “elevator speech” for the proposal

• “label of your proposal”

• (sometimes) only 15 lines for your whole project and you must be succinct

• Clearly state relevance and goals

• Usually last part to write once proposal is done

State of the art

• careful and thorough literature research

analyze internationally leading groups-> draw conclusion

mention opinion (/research) leaders

key-publications of competitors

Preliminary work

• trivial: good publications are most convincing

– Nature, Science etc... (impact factor)

• BUT: most young researchers don’t have that, yet!

– presentations at conferences, awards?

– manuscripts, preliminary results

• position your results/research to leading groups

– own competence

– present yourself/advisor

– why at your institute (mention history)

– infrastructure, existing collaborations

Goals

• precise and short description

• list achievable goals, but they need to be beyond state of the art (or why fund it?) Aggressively conservative!

• set feasible timeline

• goals should

– be a logic consequence from summary (a reviewer may only read the introduction then the statement of work)

– continue to advance “state of the art”

– be the basis for the work program

Work-program

• heart-piece of the proposal

– important after granting of the proposal

• who is doing what/when, who coordinates?

– “why with this guy?”

• get outline from goals!

• describe methods and experiments

– how is the problem being tackled?

• no detailed recipes/laboratory secrets

– (if necessary refer to preliminary work/papers

1.1 Aufbau mit Laserdiode und AOM n n

1.2 Vorrichtung zur przisen Ortsmessung der Pinzette n n

1.3 Aufbau eines Rckkopplungssystems fr erhhte

Fallensteif-heit

n n

1.4 Charakterisierung: Steifigkeit, Kraftmessungen n n

1.5 Ausbau der Pinzette (Erweiterung auf Mehrfach-

Tweezers, Automatisation)

n n

1.6 Trapping vor SNOM-Spitze?

n

n

Arbeitspaket 2: Multiphotonenmikroskopie durch † berlagerung von fs-Pulsen

2.1 Frequenzverdopplung bei "Colliding fs-pulse"-

Anordnung

n

n

n

2.2 Auflsungsvermgen an biologischen Proben

n n

Arbeitspaket 3: Optisches Skalpell

3.1 Bestimmung von Schwellwerten

n

n

3.2 Dokumentation des Auflsungsvermgens

n n

3.3 Selbstfokussierung

n n

3.4 Kollaterale Effekte, Wechselwirkungsmechanismus

n

n

3.5 Schneiden durch † berlagerung zweier Pulsspitzen

n

n n

3.6 SNOM-Nahfeld als Optisches Skalpell

n

n

n

3.7 Experimente zur Manipulation biologischer Proben

n

n n

What can I apply for?

• Personal support for a research activity (75 %

of all proposals)

• Provide thorough description and refer to

program

• describe area and tasks

• mention names and qualifications!!! Do all you

can to distinguish yourself

Reasoning

• describe your contribution as project leader

• list input of the researchers

• if possible describe area and tasks

• collaborations:

– “why this guy/institute?”

– letter of intent (!!!), at a certain stage from your advisor

– reviewers (often) love interdisciplinary collaboration

Name, akad. Grad, Dienststellung

engeres Fach des Mitarbeiters

Institut der Hochschule oder der au§eruniv.

Einrichtung

Mitarbeit im Projekt in Wochenstunden (beratend: B)

Vergtungs-gruppe

Grundausstattung 3.7.1.1 wissenschaftl. Mitarbeiter

[1] Prof. Dr. Alexander Heisterkamp, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter

Biophotonik, Optik Universitt Hannover 20

[2] PD Dr. Holger Lubatschowski, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter

Biophotonik, Optik Laser Zentrum Hannover 10

[3] Prof. Dr. Rudolf Guthoff Klinikdirektor

konfokale Mikroskopie, Optik

UAK Rostock 4

[4] Dr. Oliver Stachs Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter

konfokale Mikroskopie, Optik

UAK Rostock 15

[5] PD. Dr. Anaclet Ngezahayo Zellbiologie, Membranbiologie

Universitt Hannover B

[6] Prof. Dr. med. Andreas Wree

Pathologie, Histologie Universitt Rostock B

[7] Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Lenarz

HNO Medizinische Hochschule Hannover

B

3.7.1.2 nichtwissenschaftl. Mitarbeiter

Ergnzungsausstattung 3.7.1.3 wissenschaftl. Mitarbeiter

[8] DoktorandIn der Physik Biophotonik, bildgebende Verfahren

Laser Zentrum Hannover 38,5

[9] DoktorandIn der Physik konfokale Mikroskopie

38,5

[10] MTA/TechnikerIn Zellpathologie, Histologie

UAK Rostock 19,25

[11] MTA/TechnikerIn Zellbiologie Universitt Hannover, Institut fr Biophysik

19,25

3.7.1.4 nichtwissenschaftl. Mitarbeiter

[12] Hilfswissenschaftler Laser Zentrum Hannover 19

[13] Hilfswissenschaftler UAK Rostock 19

Reasoning

• mention other third party funding

• list funded project

• list proposal, submitted and in preparation

– goals

– timeline

– budget

– partners

• border between different projects

What can I apply for?

• apparatus– (-quotes, quotes and quotes..., why laser A, not B?)– time consuming!!!

• consumables– detailed description– be modest!

• travel money– (roughly 750$/p.a. per position is ok)

– sometimes even more with good reasoning, for example international conferences (already presented at this conferences, international partner, idea exchange)

– during funding provide reports about conferences, etc.

– Communicate with customer

What reviewers look for...

• description of a “really important” problem that meets their needs

• originality

• research- and problem- solving-strategy should be convincing

• Clear statement of work (what do they get for their $$?)

• competence of PI (publications, awards, manuscripts...)

Reviewers

• May not be specialists in your field

• Likely sitting in a room where you are making a presentation!

• Sometimes you can make suggestions (e.g. NSF)

Really important:

...proposal writing takes a lot of time, is a lot of work and requires a lot of research ahead of time. Don’t go in thinking

you can write a good proposal without proper preparation!

Really important:

• Develop a proposal strategy

• If partners, coordinate and distribute tasks

• get the facts and state of the art right!

• describe little steps,

...but don’t loose focus on the main goal!

• proper language, get reviewers in place

• readable and appropriate level

Goal

Get the reviewer to be enthusiastic about the project!

Proposal timeline

excellent idea – do a story board

convincing competence/preliminary work

thorough research, find partners

collaboration/work plan

write proposal

review by advisor/experienced people

Conclusion

• excellent idea

• thorough work

• straight outline