Successful Grant Application Research Articles

Building the capacity for psycho-Oncology research: a survey of the research barriers and training needs within the International Psycho-Oncology Society.

The International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) is a multidisciplinary professional network that aims to improve psychosocial care for individuals impacted by cancer. IPOS encourages research activity, recognizing that a high-quality evidence base is essential to provide best-practice, data-driven clinical care. This study aimed to determine the barriers to research involvement and the training needs and priorities of IPOS members, with the goal of facilitating the development of training resources tailored to the needs of IPOS members. A link to an online, cross-sectional survey was disseminated to all registered members of IPOS via email. The online survey platform SimpleSurvey was used, and questions included demographic characteristics and items related to research interests, involvement, and training needs. High priority research training needs were identified as research tasks respondents rated as highly important, yet possessed a low perceived skill level in. Thirty-two percent of IPOS members (n = 142) completed the survey. Participants represented 49 countries and were at a variety of career stages. Overall, participants reported spending an average of 17.3 hours per week on research (range 0-80 hours per week), with 69% of respondents wanting to increase their research involvement. The main barriers to research participation included lack of research funding (80%) and lack of protected time (63%). IPOS members identified 5 high-priority training needs: preparing successful grant applications; preparing research budgets; community-based participatory research; working with decision makers; and finding collaborators or expert consultants. Participants suggested funding access, statistical advisors, and networking and mentorship opportunities as ways to enhance research involvement. Members preferred online training modules (39%) and mentorship programs (19%) as methods by which IPOS could provide research support. IPOS was viewed as being able to contribute to many aspects of research capacity building such as networking, training, and dissemination of research findings. IPOS has an important role in encouraging research capacity building among members. This survey provides an agenda for workshops and training opportunities. Mainly, for respondents it was less about training in research methods and more about training in how to prepare successful grant applications, including budgets, and receiving mentorship on this as well as having opportunities to collaborate with other researchers.

Simulation Modeling as a Novel and Promising Strategy for Improving Success Rates With Research Funding Applications: A Constructive Thought Experiment.

Writing a successful grant or other funding applications is a requirement for continued employment, promotion, and tenure among nursing faculty and researchers. Writing successful applications is a challenging task, with often uncertain results. The inability to secure funding not only threatens the ability of nurse researchers to conduct relevant health care research but may also negatively impact their career trajectories. Many individuals and organizations have offered advice for improving success with funding applications. While helpful, those recommendations are common knowledge and simply form the basis of any well-considered, well-formulated, and well-written application. For nurse researchers interested in taking advantage of innovative computational methods and leading-edge analytical techniques, we propose adding the results from computer-based simulation modeling experiments to funding applications. By first conducting a research study in a virtual space, nurse researchers can refine their study design, test various assumptions, conduct experiments, and better determine which elements, variables, and parameters are necessary to answer their research question. In short, simulation modeling is a learning tool, and the modeling process helps nurse researchers gain additional insights that can be applied in their real-world research and used to strengthen funding applications. Simulation modeling is well-suited for answering quantitative research questions. Still, the design of these models can benefit significantly from the addition of qualitative data and can be helpful when simulating the results of mixed methods studies. We believe this is a promising strategy for improving success rates with funding applications, especially among nurse researchers interested in contributing new knowledge supporting the paradigm shift in nursing resulting from advances in computational science and information technology.

The Effects of Eu-Funded Enterprise Grants on Firms and Workers

This paper investigates the effects of non-repayable enterprise grants financed from the European Union's Structural and Cohesion Funds on firm outcomes in Hungary using firm- and worker-level information on all rejected and successful grant applications between 2004-2014. In our model, after paying the fixed cost of applying, firms can purchase capital at a reduced marginal cost and they share the rent generated from the grant with their workers. In line with the model's predictions, larger than average, more productive and faster growing firms are more likely to apply for a grant. We combine panel regression methods with matching techniques to estimate the effect of grants by comparing successful and unsuccessful applicants' outcomes. Subsidized firms increase their employment, sales, capital-to-labor ratio and labor productivity, but not total factor productivity. The skill composition of workers is not affected by the grant but wages grow, especially for skilled workers. Firms winning multiple grans benefit more already from the first grant and successive grants have even larger effects. According to our simple calculations, each year's subsidy program created jobs in grant winning firms equivalent to 0.3-0.5 percent of total SME employment and contributed by 0.3-0.7 percentage points to aggregate SME productivity growth – with an annual cost often in excess of 1 percent of total SME value added. These results suggest that these grants promote firm growth, but do not lead firms to introduce new forms of production or upgrade technology.

THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF NIH PEER REVIEW: THE CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW

The National Institutes of Health is the largest public funder of biomedical and bio-behavioral research in the United States. The mission is to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. To achieve this mission, the NIH provides support for cutting-edge research and technology development in a variety of fields, ranging from translation of innovative ideas in technology to basic science on major health challenges and disease. There are many types of research and training opportunities and technology development programs that are supported by the NIH across the 24 institutes and centers that provide funding. The majority of grant applications are reviewed by the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR). In this symposium, attendees will get 1) an overview of the types of applications submitted to the NIH for support; 2) the basics of the NIH peer review process and criteria and scoring system for evaluating applications, and 3) tips for writing a more successful grant application. Peer review is the cornerstone of the NIH grants process, and an insider’s view can lead to a better understanding of how the most meritorious projects are identified that lead to innovative re-search in the biomedical and bio-behavioral sciences.

Make It So: Harnessing Technology to Provide Professional Development to Regional Museum Workers

Make It So: Harnessing Technology to Provide Professional Development to Regional Museum Workers

Study-based registers reduce waste in systematic reviewing: discussion and case report

BackgroundMaintained study-based registers (SBRs) have, at their core, study records linked to, potentially, multiple other records such as references, data sets, standard texts and full-text reports. Such registers can minimise and refine searching, de-duplicating, screening and acquisition of full texts. SBRs can facilitate new review titles/updates and, within seconds, inform the team about the potential workload of each task.MethodsWe discuss the advantages/disadvantages of SBRs and report a case of how such a register was used to develop a successful grant application and deliver results—reducing considerable redundancy of effort.ResultsSBRs saved time in question-setting and scoping and made rapid production of nine Cochrane systematic reviews possible.ConclusionWhilst helping prioritise and conduct systematic reviews, SBRs improve quality. Those funding information specialists for literature reviewing could reasonably stipulate the resulting SBR to be delivered for dissemination and use beyond the life of the project.

Successful grant applications: Follow the 4 F's.

All nurses have the potential to influence the healthcare industry and the nursing profession through research, but preparing a grant application can be intimidating. This article addresses the process of writing and developing successful grant proposals.

Working Scientist podcast: How to plan a successful grant application

Julie Gould investigates the importance of advance planning when you're preparing a funding application. Expert advice on how to prepare a perfect funding application

Partnership for mental health development in Sub-Saharan Africa (PaM-D): a collaborative initiative for research and capacity building.

The Partnership for Mental Health Development in Africa (PaM-D) aimed to bring together diverse MH stakeholders in SSA, working collaboratively with colleagues from the global north, to create an infrastructure to develop MH research capacity in SSA, advance global MH science by conducting innovative public health-relevant MH research in the region and work to link research to policy development. Participating SSA countries were Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa. The research component of PaM-D focused on the development and assessment of a collaborative shared care (CSC) program between traditional and faith healers (T&FHs) and biomedical providers for the treatment of psychotic disorders, as a way of improving the outcome of persons suffering from these conditions. The capacity building component aimed to develop research capacity and appreciation of the value of research in a broad range of stakeholders through bespoke workshops and fellowships targeting specific skill-sets as well as mentoring for early career researchers. In the research component of PaM-D, a series of formative studies were implemented to inform the development of an intervention package consisting of the essential features of a CSC for psychosis implemented by primary care providers and T&FHs. A cluster randomised controlled trial was next designed to test the effectiveness of this package on the outcome of psychosis. In the capacity-building component, 35 early and mid-career researchers participated in the training workshops and several established mentor-mentee relationships with senior PaM-D members. At the end of the funding period, 60 papers have been published and 21 successful grant applications made. The success of PaM-D in energising young researchers and implementing a cutting-edge research program attests to the importance of partnership among researchers in the global south working with those from the north in developing MH research and service in LMIC.

Strategically Unclear? Organising Interdisciplinarity in an Excellence Programme of Interdisciplinary Research in Denmark

While interdisciplinarity is not a new concept, the political and discursive mobilisation of interdisciplinarity is. Since the 1990s, this movement has intensified, and this has affected central funding bodies so that interdisciplinarity is now a de facto requirement in successful grant application. As a result, the literature is ripe with definitions, taxonomies, discussions and other attempts to grasp and define the concept of interdisciplinarity. In this paper, we explore how strategic demands for interdisciplinarity meet, interact with and change local research practices and results of higher education and research. Our aim is to question and trace the consequences of applying the slippery and difficult term interdisciplinarity in research. The paper is based on ethnographic fieldwork in a Danish interdisciplinary research programme, where we observed and analysed practices of writing, publishing, collaboration and educational development in five different research projects. We show how the call for interdisciplinarity was mobilised in a way that rendered the incentives and motives behind the programme unclear. Furthermore, we argue that the absence of clear definitions and assessment criteria produced a dominant, all-inclusive, but vague, configuration of interdisciplinarity that affected the research outcome, and ultimately, promoted and reproduced the existing monodisciplinary research and power structures.

TF-2 Grant Writing Elective for Resident Physicians

Emergency medicine residents with an interest in research have the unique opportunity to pursue a resident research grant during training. A resident research grant provides valuable research experience, a potential peer-reviewed publication, and may provide preliminary data for future research grant applications. While there are grant writing programs available for faculty, no structured training program is available specifically for resident physicians interested in pursuing a research grant. The goal of this 1-week elective is to instruct emergency medicine resident physicians in the principles of scientific grant writing. Study Objective: During this 1-week elective, the resident physician will: (1) Develop an understanding of the key components of a research grant; (2) Demonstrate knowledge of basic grant preparation; (3) Identify a testable research question; (4) Determine the study design for the research question; and (5) Formulate specific aims for a resident research grant with mentorship from an experienced, funded investigator with a dedicated commitment to mentoring grant writing elective participants. The learner will read “Guide for Writing the Resident Research Grant that Will Be Funded,” and will view videos prepared by career researchers on the key components of a successful research grant including specific aims, research project, budget, letters of support, and biosketches. Each video contains tips for successful grant writing and pitfalls to avoid from investigators who have successfully obtained research grants. Throughout the elective week, the resident physician will meet with an experienced investigator with a dedicated commitment to this elective. The mentorship meetings will be designed to review and reinforce the content in the written materials and videos. In addition, the mentor and resident will discuss research study opportunities and through this mentored relationship, the resident will formulate specific aims for the resident research grant. At the end of the elective, the resident physician will present their specific aims at the departmental research meeting and will receive written and verbal feedback on the project. Resident physicians will evaluate the grant writing elective using an online anonymous survey tool. After completing this 1-week elective in grant writing, resident physicians will be able to successfully create the specific aims section of a grant. This elective will provide resident physicians with a foundation in the skills necessary for a successful research grant application, thereby stimulating scholarly activity among residents with an interest in academia.

A Guide to Submitting a Successful NIH S10 Shared Instrumentation Grant Application

A Guide to Submitting a Successful NIH S10 Shared Instrumentation Grant Application

Use of the Community Assessment for Public Health Response (CASPER) Method by Public Health Agencies in Texas, 2001-2015.

The use of the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) method in disaster and non-disaster settings continues to grow. While CASPERs flexibility has been well demonstrated, the documentation of specific actions that have resulted from the utilization of CASPER data has been limited. We attempted to document changes in emergency preparedness planning and policy based on CASPER data. Written reports from 19 CASPERs conducted in Texas between 2001 and 2015 were collected. Key informant interviews were conducted with 9 public health staff knowledgeable about the CASPERs. Written reports and interview transcripts were coded and analyzed for themes. Few specific outcomes could be documented beyond a single successful grant application. Respondents felt CASPER data was not duplicative and was useful for improving existing plans. CASPER is seen as an effective way to enhance relationships with communities and partnerships with agencies including Emergency Management. As the use of CASPER grows, it is increasingly important to document any specific and measurable benefits, actions, and changes to planning or policy taken as the result of data collected using the CASPER method. Without measurable outputs and outcomes, support for the use of CASPER from decision-makers may begin to wane. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:680-684).

Are there disciplinary differences in writing about pornography? A trialogue for two voices

ABSTRACTIn 2016, Professors Alan McKee (a humanities researcher) and Roger Ingham (a psychology researcher) submitted a successful grant application for a project entitled ‘Pornography's Effects on Audiences: Explaining Contradictory Research Data’ (DP170100808). We were approached by Feona Attwood, who knew of the grant and asked whether we could provide a piece for this special issue that explored ‘writing about porn across disciplines’. The process of writing the grant application had already provided plenty of rich data about differences in disciplinary vocabularies and the ways in which various words implied different objects of study and different relationships to objects of study. Rather than trying to hide these differences we decided to make them the focus of the article. This piece presents three voices – Alan (AM), Roger (RI) and the original grant application (GA) – in trialogue, as a tentative beginning to the exploration of some potential differences between academic disciplines in conceptualizing, researching and writing about pornography.

Writing a successful fellowship or grant application.

Writing a competitive grant application is an essential skill for any scientist who wants to embark on an independent career. This instalment of the Words of Advice series provides a comprehensive guide to preparing a successful grant or personal fellowship application.

Why Is It Worthwhile to Get Involved in Stroke Organizations?

In the first years of your career as a stroke physician, you are concerned with the patient you thrombolyzed yesterday and worry whether there is an intracerebral hemorrhage on the follow-up scan. Besides, you stress over the statistics for the paper your professor has been telling you to write for the past 6 months. While you are doing your best to become an excellent clinical stroke physician and you are trying hard to understand the world of academics, it is difficult to find the time for organizational work. The idea that you, as a trainee, may be able to influence global clinical practice and establish an international network may seem unrealistic. However, national and international stroke organizations act as platforms for influence, collaboration, inspiration, exchange of experiences, networking, and career promotion from early on. In the following article, we summarize why it is more than worthwhile to get involved in a stroke organization and we report our own experiences as members of the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) Young Stroke Physicians Committee. Vascular neurologists at the start of their careers are at the forefront in the emergency room, working directly with all disciplines involved in stroke care. They are exposed to the daily challenges of treating patients. Whether in a tertiary stroke center or in a hospital without a stroke unit, fellows get to see strengths and weaknesses of the pathways at their institutions. Nevertheless, the ability to change basic processes in patient care and in the organization of stroke services in general is limited. Involvement in a stroke organization yields opportunities to influence the direction of stroke care and research, for example, by contributing to guidelines, reviewing grant applications, reviewing papers, and rating abstracts for conferences. Being involved in these processes will improve skills needed for writing successful grant applications. …

Evaluating external research grant proposals in tourism and hospitality: insights from senior researchers

ABSTRACTAn academic’s ability to secure external research grants is an important indicator of research performance. However, the method by which to write a successful grant is neither uniform nor standardised, and insights for tourism researchers to write a successful grant application is lacking. The objective of this study is to examine how experienced scholars review research grant applications in order to facilitate a better understanding of grant writing for tourism academics. Four critical factors were identified via in-depth interviews with senior tourism and hospitality researchers who have extensive grant review experience. These factors include: the impact of the research, execution of the study, track record of the research team, and budget of the project. Overall, this study contributes by helping new and emerging scholars gain confidence in preparing better applications, and by allowing mid-career and senior researchers to (re)assess their own grant writing styles.

ATVB Named Lecture Review-Insight Into Author.

ATVB Named Lecture Review-Insight Into Author.

Research essentials.

TO MAXIMISE success, a research grant application should: ■ Have a clear purpose with demonstrable and measurable outcomes. ■ Be in line with government policies, healthcare agendas and health priorities. ■ Meet objectives of the funding body and application criteria.

Capacity and Equity: Federal Funding Competition between and Within Metropolitan Regions

ABSTRACT:Major federal grant programs in areas such as transportation, neighborhood development, and education increasingly rely on competition to award funds. Yet the capacity to develop a competitive application for funds can vary widely, with some places lacking civic resources that contribute to successful grant applications. Moreover, not all civic actors and priorities have similar levels of involvement in grant seeking; in particular, low-income communities may be left out of the process. Our research examines how two forms of capacity—civic and equity advocacy—affect the distribution of federal transportation grants between and within metropolitan regions. We use multiple methods of analysis, including comparative case studies of transportation projects in Miami and Orlando, as well as a cross-sectional quantitative analysis of competitive transportation grants. First, we assess how civic capacity affects whether a region secured federal transportation funding and find that civic capacity is positively associated with receiving competitive transportation grants in both the case studies and quantitative analysis. Second, we examine whether equity advocacy capacity within a region is associated with grant project benefits for low-income communities. Based on the case studies, we find that equity advocacy capacity may be a key condition in order for grants to benefit low-income communities, and our exploratory quantitative analysis further supports for this finding. Overall our findings substantiate concerns that competition for federal awards could exacerbate disparities between and within regions.