Volume 14, Number 11: May 7, 2008
FUNDING TIPS
Guide for Seeking Foundation Funding
The Foundation Center's "Reference Guide for Approaching a Foundation" provides helpful advice for researchers seeking foundation funding. The guide recommends that prospective applicants learn as much as possible about the foundation's mission, programs, priorities, giving history, and review process. Discuss your project in advance with the program officer to ensure that your plan fits the foundation's giving interests.
Some foundations request an initial phone call or letter of inquiry, while others expect a detailed initial proposal. These requirements are usually described in the foundation's guidelines or website, but sometimes the best source is the program officer. Find out what proposal format is required by the foundation you are approaching. Following that format exactly and presenting a carefully written appeal will help you make a good first impression.
Insider's Guide to NIH Peer Review for Applicants
To help new and established applicants submit better applications, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Scientific Review asked six current and retired study section chairs to share their personal insights on what makes a good NIH grant application. Some of their tips include:
- Propose something significant.
- Tell the reviewer from the beginning why your project is important.
- Make it exciting.
- Probe for mechanisms and seek new models.
- Avoid proposing to "collect more data."
- Be very clear.
To read their detailed responses, click here.
For more proposal writing tips from NIH, click here.
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 on sabbatical in Japan , 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.
New Cardiovascular and Stroke Research Grant Program
The American Heart Association (AHA) announced a new National Innovative Research Grant Program to support highly innovative, high-risk, high-reward research that could ultimately lead to critical discoveries or major advancements in the field of cardiovascular and stroke research. The application deadline is July 1, 2008.
AHA funds clinical and basic sciences, bioengineering, biotechnology, and public health research broadly related to cardiovascular disease and stroke. Applications related to obesity, heart disease in women, and resuscitation are particularly encouraged.