RIMI Grantwriting Workshop NIH National Institutes of Health

RIMI Grant-writing Workshop: NIH – National Institutes of Health Office of Research & Sponsored Programs Ellen Shimakawa, Ph. D. , Director Doug Carey, Grants Administrator Nancy Myers Sims, Grants & Contracts Development Specialist California State University, Fresno – Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

”…to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability…. . ” -- National Institutes of Health California State University, Fresno – Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

Thinking about your proposal… • Your Idea is KEY • Assess yourself, the competition (Reporter, other agency databases) • Agency, Program Relevance • Types of proposals – R 15 – SC 1, SC 2, SC 3 – R 03, R 21 California State University, Fresno – Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

The “Cheat-sheet” • R 15 – “mini R 01” – THOUGH DOES NOT PROHIBIT SC-x – renewable • SC 1, SC 2, SC 3 • R 03, R 21 California State University, Fresno – Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

Rationale for NIH mechanism choices? • NIH Reporter – Similar projects – Mechanism success rates (though v. little on SC’s) California State University, Fresno – Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

Resources for NIH proposals • Program Announcement, (Scientific) Agency Contacts • NIH SF 424 RR Guide (July 25, 2013) • NIH Grants Policy Statement (Oct 1, 2013) • SCORE: FAQ’s: http: //www. nigms. nih. gov/Training/SCORE/pa ges/SCOREUpdate. FAQ. aspx California State University, Fresno – Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

NIH SF 424 RR Guide • Part I: from Page I-111 – Specific Aims – “Research Strategy” • • Significance Innovation Approach Letters, References Cited, “Human Subjects” not included in page count California State University, Fresno – Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

Specific Aims • Rule of Thumb (#): NO MORE than 1 SA for each project year • Separate, discrete Aims • such that lack of progress on one does not impede progress on another • “No fishing” – Hypothesis driven research! • Wording: – Major predictions of Central Hypothesis • lower-order, SA-specific, working hypotheses ok • ‘compare’, ‘describe’, ‘catalog’, ‘investigate’ … and the like, often connote descriptive, rather than hypothesis driven research California State University, Fresno – Office of Research and Sponsored Programs

A thought about Innovation… • Review success is required for funding success. • Reviewer enthusiasm is required for review success. • “Innovation” can be a useful way to generate reviewer enthusiasm. California State University, Fresno – Office of Research and Sponsored Programs