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Short
Guide to Proposal Preparation
THE PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Project Description is the most important part of any proposal, and
the part to which this guide can least address itself. Simply put, the
Principal Investigator's task in writing the project description (also
called the scope of work or research plan) is to be persuasive and to
convince reviewers that the proposed project will be a good investment
for their agencies' dollars. In it, you must:
- define the problem you are attacking;
- demonstrate your familiarity with the background to the problem, including
the literature surrounding it and, often, the work now underway in other
laboratories;
- describe your proposed experiments, always fully and sometimes exhaustively;
- explain the techniques you mean to employ, in such a way as to show
that you understand and can use them;
- specify the observations you plan or hope to make, and explain what
you intend to do with the data generated;
- describe the facilities available to do the research;
- outline the organization and personnel plan for the project; and
- attempt to do this in language that is comprehensible to the non-specialist
if not to the layman, and in as brief a space as possible-- some agencies
even stipulate an upper limit for the length of a project description.
All in all, the project description is a difficult species of literature,
part scientific presentation, part advertisement, part speculative paper.
People who are new to this sort of thing may find it helpful to look over
examples of existing funded proposals, since these can to some considerable
extent serve as guides to writing new project descriptions. (Please note
this: Although award documents are public information and are kept on
file in OCG offices, we feel more comfortable if the Project Director
gives permission for the proposal to be read by a third party.)
Help in writing project descriptions is also available from other sources.
Most funding agencies publish guides to proposal-writing, and these should
be consulted as the first step in composing a project description. For
example, the National Institutes of Health include a set of General Instructions
with every copy of their Form PHS 398, which is the form used when applying
to the Institutes for most kinds of research grants. These General Instructions
include an outline to follow when writing the proposed "research
plan" (also called "project description), complete with headings
and sub-headings:
Specific Aims
Background and Significance
Progress Report (required for renewal or supplemental applications)/
Preliminary Studies
Experimental Design and Methods
Human Subjects see the Human Research Committee site for more information
Vertebrate Animals see the Animal Resources site for more information
Literature Cited
Consortium/Contractual Arrangements
Consultants/Collaborators
The National Science Foundation's Grant
Proposal Guide (NSF 04-2) gives the following more generalized instructions:
"The project description should provide a clear statement of the
work to be undertaken and must include: objectives for the period of
the proposed work and expected significance; relation to longer-term
goals of the PI's project; and relation to the present state of knowledge
in the field, to work in progress by the PI under other support, and
to work in progress elsewhere.
The project description should outline the general plan of work, including
the broad design of activities to be undertaken and, where appropriate,
provide a clear description of experimental methods and procedures and
plans for preservation, documentation, and sharing of data, samples,
physical collections, curriculum materials and other related research
and education products. Brevity will assist reviewers and foundation
staff in dealing effectively with proposals. Therefore, the project
description (including Results from Prior NSF Support, which is limited
to five pages) may not exceed 15 pages. Visual materials, including
charts, graphs, maps, photographs and other pictorial presentations
are included in the 15-page limitation. PIs are advised that the project
description must be self-contained and are cautioned that URLs (Internet
addresses) that provide information necessary to the review of the proposal
should not be used because reviewers are under no obligation to view
such sites. Conformance to the 15-page limitation will be strictly enforced
and may not be exceeded unless a deviation has been specifically authorized."
As you can see, these two different agencies require the same kinds of
information in a project description. The precise manner in which that
information is presented is left to the Principal Investigator's discretion;
in other words, the nature of the project being described determines the
form in which that description is to be laid out. A clear and efficient
presentation is all that is required.
Most agencies ask for a description of the facilities available to the
proposed project. This is an important requirement, and worth some attention,
for at least three reasons:
- The existence at an institution of special equipment or space may
be a critical factor in determining whether a particular proposal is
feasible at all; if your project will require the use of some sort of
unusual facility (a cyclotron, a high-voltage electron microscope, a
massive computer), that facility and your access to it should be described
in full.
- More conventional research support facilities, such as glassblowing
and machine shops or large departmental machines (e.g. ultracentrifuges
or gas chromatography), cannot be assumed to exist at every university;
in fact, reviewers of a proposal are apt to assume that they don't exist,
unless you make specific mention of them.
- When your proposal includes a request for specialized research equipment,
the need for that equipment must be explained in terms of what already
exists; the environment into which the apparatus will fit must be described
and its suitability made clear; in fact, this consideration is important
in bolstering the justification for equipment of any kind.
The description of available facilities in your proposal may be long
and detailed enough to justify including it as an entirely separate section.
In unusual cases, especially where long lists of items, diagrams, or floor-plans
are involved, it may be advisable to include such details in an appendix
to the proposal.
The Principal Investigator should always be aware of the criteria by
which the proposal will be judged. These are often spelled out by the
agency, usually in a rather general way but sometimes quite specifically.
A project description that has been written consciously to meet published
criteria has a markedly better chance of being supported than one of equal
scientific merit that has not.
Also, take advantage of the knowledge acquired by your colleagues. This
is a very valuable resource which is often overlooked. Ask a trusted and
more experienced grantsperson to read your proposal and offer constructive
criticism.
Next:
The Bibliography
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