Volume 15, Number 10: April 1, 2009
FUNDING TIPS
Making a Good First Impression with Your Letter of Inquiry
Many sponsors require a letter of inquiry (also called letter of intent, preproposal, or concept paper) before you can submit a formal proposal. Often these letters are used to make initial selections of applicants who will be invited to submit full proposals. Sometimes letters of inquiry (LOI) are simply used to gauge the number of submitted proposals and to plan for the review process. The content and format of your LOI will vary depending on how the sponsor will use it.
Some agencies have detailed guidelines about what should be included in an LOI. If there are no specific instructions, follow these general guidelines:
- Address your letter to a specific person, probably the program officer or other person responsible for funding.
- Point out the relevance of your project to the mission of the agency. How will you help the agency accomplish its goals?
- Describe the opportunity the agency has in supporting your project, not how their funding will fill your needs.
- Be brief, summarizing the important points in one or two pages (unless more are specifically allowed).
- Discuss the amount of funding needed.
- Request an appointment with the appropriate program officer to discuss the agency's funding priorities and other subtle distinctions that might not be obvious from the guidelines.
Source: Grant Application Writer's Handbook by Liane Reif-Lehrer. 1995, p. 315 (available in the GrantSource Library).
More useful web resources:
What should an LOI include?
Tips on writing an LOI.
The GrantSource Library has other proposal writing resources with tips on writing letters of inquiry. For more information contact the library (962-3463).
Get to Know the Projects and Activities of NIH-funded PIs
Learning more about projects already funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) can be a great help when you are preparing an NIH grant proposal. Using NIH CRISP, now part of the Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT), you can craft a comprehensive search of all NIH funding activities by keywords, general topics, sponsoring Institutes or Centers, geographic locations, and more. This search will result in a list of funded projects. Each project description will include an abstract, a statement of public health relevance, and the principal investigator's contact information.
As you read through project descriptions, keep in mind that one of NIH's primary goals is to develop, maintain, and renew biomedical resources that will improve our nation's health. Think about how your work might build upon projects that NIH has already funded, and highlight in your proposal how your scientific work will be relevant to public health. You might also consider using CRISP to locate potential collaborators or mentors.
For more tips on effective grant writing, visit the About Grants section of the OER homepage.
COS Helps Track Recovery Act Funding
The federal government has announced a sweeping economic stimulus package, officially known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Many major U.S. federal agencies now have additional funds to award. In many cases, agencies are increasing the amounts they will award to grant programs already open. In other cases, they will award multiple grants for programs accepting applications now. To identify these Recovery Act funding opportunities, you can use COS Funding Opportunities Database.
In COS every record for this stimulus funding has now been labeled Recovery Act (ARRA). This label is in both the title and the abstract of the funding records. Searching for "Recovery Act" or for "ARRA" in the "All Fields", "Title", or "Abstract" fields will return the appropriate records.
For more information about Recovery Act funding, including specific funding announcements and important procedures and guidelines, visit the Research@Carolina Recovery Act Funding Information webpage.
Remote Access to COS
Using your COS Workbench, you can access all COS funding information services no matter where your summer may take you. Whether you are working from home or abroad, you can log into your COS Workbench to read your funding alerts, conduct a funding search, or find a collaborator. If you have forgotten your COS username or password, request them from the login page or by contacting the GrantSource Library (962-3463).
For instructions or to register for a COS expertise account if you don't already have one, click here.
Promoting Grantee Awareness Webinar: Susan G. Komen for the CureŽ Research Grants
Date: Monday, April 20
Time: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Registration
This webinar will discuss Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Research Programs. Komen's managing executive director of scientific operations will provide an overview of Komen's research programs, the kinds of research Komen funds, the application process, and several success stories. The grants application, review, and science management phases will all be discussed.
Komen has contributed to many of the most remarkable advances in the fight against breast cancer, and has provided more than $400 million for 1,600 research projects.
If you have any questions, contact Molly Loyer (972-855-4382).