Writing a Competitive NSF CAREER Proposal Development Workshop

Writing a Competitive NSF CAREER Proposal Development Workshop UT San Antonio April 13, 2015 Lucy Deckard Academic Research Funding Strategies, LLC Ldeckard@academicresearchgrants. com Copyright 2015 Academic Research Funding Strategies. All rights reserved

Your CD/memory stick contains These slides Handouts (one pdf file) Additional resources Annotated excerpts from successful CAREER proposals Articles These files can be downloaded from http: //1 drv. ms/1 aw. Ra. TL

Academic Research Funding Strategies, LLC Our goal: To help your institution, faculty and staff to develop the skills they need to compete successfully for research funding. http: //academicresearchgrants. com 3

Lucy Deckard Ldeckard@academicresearchgrants. com 979 -693 -0825 Founder and President, Academic Research Funding Strategies, LLC (2010) Nine years in research and proposal development at Texas A&M University as associate director of two research development and grant writing offices BS/MS Materials Science and Engineering Junior Faculty Initiative, CAREER, instrumentation, research, education, Center-level proposals NSF, NIH, DOE, Do. D, Do. ED, IMLS, Foundations Research Engineer (16 years in applied research, with extensive proposal writing experience to NSF, DARPA, ONR, AFOSR, ARO, DOE) 4

Overview Getting started NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Before you start writing Writing the proposal step-by-step (quickly) If you don’t get funded this round 5

Getting Started 6

First, the big picture

Define Your Research and Education Agendas Long-term Goals, Grand Challenge, or Need You Are Addressing Preliminary/Prior Work CAREER Project Goals and Outcomes Further work

Establish a Long-Term Research Agenda What big questions do you want to answer in the first 5 years? In the first 15 years? Is your agenda in an exciting, high-impact area of scholarship? Is the topic separated enough from that of your advisor to establish an independent career, but builds on your grad work Is it a topic you are passionate about? Do have publications that will support this line of research or do you have a plan for producing them? Is your topic in an area that is currently funded by agencies or likely to be funded soon? 9

Your Long-Term Education Agenda What are your interests? What challenges or opportunities will you address? What fits your institution, department, students and discipline? What infrastructure do you already have at your institution? For example, Programs with teachers, K-12 students Programs with pre-service teachers Undergraduate research Science camps for middle schoolers Connections with Community Colleges 10

Grants Specifically for Early Career and Junior Faculty NSF CAREER approx. 600 awards/year Non-tenured, tenure track All disciplines supported by NSF Due late July ONR Young Investigator Approx. 20 awards/year First tenure track appt started in the last 5 years Disciplines of interest to Navy (see BAA) Due March 4, 2015 AFOSR Young Investigator Approx. 30 awards/year Ph. D or equivalent in the last 5 years Disciplines of interest to Air Force Last due Sept. 11

Grants Specifically for Early Career and Junior Faculty DARPA Young Faculty Award Approx. 30 - 40 awards Untenured within 5 years of starting appt. Last due January 2014; no new solicitation DOE Early Career Approx. 21 university awards last year (doesn’t count NL awards) Tenure track, untenured within 10 years of Ph. D Pre-applications typ. due Sept. NIH K 99 R 00 Approx. 114 awards Postdoc with less than 5 years postdoc training Due Feb, June, Oct. 12

Grants Specifically for Early Career and Junior Faculty NIH Director’s Early Independence Award Approx. 10 Received Ph. D or terminal degree within last 12 months or will receive within the next 12 months Due January NIH Directors New Innovator Award Approx. 50 funded Within 10 years of Ph. D/terminal degree and have not received an R 01 Due October Faculty Scholars Awards (HHMI, Gates, Simons Foundations) - NEW Approx. 70 Funded $100 K - $500 K/year for 5 years Due July 28, 2015 13

Grants Specifically for Early Career and Junior Faculty Foundations and professional societies American Chemical Society Doctoral New Investigator Grants American Diabetes Association Junior Faculty Development Award American Federation for Aging Research Grants for Junior Faculty Can be very targeted: e. g. , Hogg Foundation Mental Health Research Grants for Tenure-Track Assistant Professors in Texas See UC Berkeley website to search for more 14

NIH K Awards Different programs for different stages in your career Generally for those in transition See K-Kiosk and Career Award Wizard to see what might fit you

Also “New/Early Investigator” Category Special category in standard grant program NIH, USDA Not talking about these here

For All Career-Type Programs Be sure you’re eligible Understand the application requirements Be sure you understand the agency and program Place your project in context What are your long-term research plans? What are your long-term education plans (if applicable)? Relate these plans to the interests of the agency 17

Basics of the NSF CAREER

The NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program Page Solicitation FAQs page CAREER Contacts (by division) Staggered due dates by directorate BIO, CISE, EHR: July 21, 2015 ENG: July 22, 2015 GEO, MPS, SBE: July 23, 2015

CAREER Eligibility Untenured (until Oct. 1) Tenure track Assistant Professor or equivalent Have not applied for a CAREER more than twice before Propose to conduct research in an area that NSF funds No co-PIs or senior personnel allowed 20

CAREER in a Nutshell 5 years of funding Minimum $400 K total ($500 K for ENG, BIO and Polar Programs) Must apply to a particular program within a directorate – Key! Different NSF divisions and directorates use the CAREER program differently 21

What is NSF Trying to Accomplish with CAREER? Nurture the next generation of leading researchers/educators Change academic culture Integrate education and research Support diversity Reach out to the larger community Innovate in education 22

NSF’s Organization Divided into directorates: Biological Sciences (BIO) Computer and Information Science and Eng (CISE) Education and Human Resources (EHR) Engineering (ENG) Geosciences (GEO) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Office of Polar Programs (OPP) Each directorate divided into divisions and programs 23

NSF CAREER Proposals Submitted From http: //www. nsf. gov/bfa/dias/policy/outreach/grantsconf/career_june 14. pdf 24

NSF CAREER Proposals Awarded From http: //www. nsf. gov/bfa/dias/policy/outreach/grantsconf/career_june 14. pdf 25

NSF CAREER Success Rate From http: //www. nsf. gov/bfa/dias/policy/outreach/grantsconf/career_june 14. pdf

Plan to Reapply! Odds are you won’t get funded with your first application Your proposal should get stronger with each application Planning and intelligent persistence are key 27

Key Points for CAREER Career Development Plan to “build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education” Research Plan Integrated Education Plan Plus Description of how research and education are integrated with each other Results of Previous NSF support, if applicable Department Head letter 28

Getting Started 29

Understand the Review Criteria Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts equally weighted Is your research significant and innovative? Do you have the skills and resources to carry out the project? Do you have the support of your department? Are your research and education integrated? Does your education plan go beyond what is expected for all Assistant Professors? Is your project likely to be successful ? Do you address diversity, benefits to society? 30

Common Reasons for Not Funding CAREER Proposals “Research is either too ambitious or too narrowly focused Proposed methods do not address the stated research goals Educational component is either limited to routine courses or is unrealistically overambitious Integration of research and education is weak or uninspired” Quoted from J. Tornow presentation at QEM Workshop 31

Selecting a Research Idea What do you want to do? Does it address important questions in your field? Is it novel and cutting-edge? Do you have the background and resources to accomplish your goals? If you’re moving into a new but related area, be sure to discuss collaborations that will fill any gaps Will it contribute to your career goals? Will it contribute to your department’s and institution’s goals? 32

Are You Ready to Apply? Do you have publications in or related to your research topic? How many years do you have until you go up for tenure? If applicable, do you have your lab set up and do you have grad students? If you need preliminary data, do you have it? 33

Do I Need Preliminary Data? Expectations vary by discipline How risky is your research idea? Do you need preliminary data to demonstrate feasibility? How strong is your track record? Do you need to demonstrate your mastery of the methodology? Are there potential showstoppers that could be explored with some preliminary experiments/calculations? 34

Have a High Risk/High Payoff Idea? But you need funds to generate preliminary data? Explore NSF’s EAGER (Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research) Up to $300 K for 2 years Talk to Program Officer May go on to submit a standard grant to a core program or a CAREER 35

Before You Start Writing 36

Important! Talk to your Department Head/Chair Make sure she supports your research and education goals Discuss Department Head letter early 37

Determine which NSF Program to Apply To Submitting to the wrong program can doom a good proposal! NSF web site (see video) Check program goals Search awarded CAREER projects E-mail or call program director Talk to senior researchers in your area Interdisciplinary? Talk to program officers 38

Find your division http: //www. nsf. gov/staff/orglist. jsp

Find your program

Talk to Your NSF Program Director Send a short email briefly describing your project idea and asking for an appointment for a phone discussion Discuss your project with the Program Director Listen carefully to the PD’s advice and comments Hopefully this will be the start of a long relationship 43

Talking to the Program Officer

NSF CAREER vs. NSF Core Proposal 5 year project vs. 2 or 3 year project $400 K and up vs. $200 K and up No co-PIs vs. co-PIs allowed Competing with other junior faculty only vs. competing with investigators at all levels CAREER most prestigious; PECASE eligible 45

The Secret to Planning a Strong Education Component… Approach it with same rigor as your research plan!

Important: The Education Component is not community service; it is a project! I sentence you to 12 hours talking to 2 nd graders about quantum physics Goals Objectives Approach Outcomes Impact

Choose one main project Put lots of planning and effort into that idea Try to make it stand out Think through the logistics Tie into existing infrastructure if available Seek help if you need it

Education Plan Tips Identify the need you are addressing Have clear goals and measurable objectives Address diversity! Have a strong assessment plan Plan how you will disseminate your results An innovative, focused education plan is better than many standard activities

More Education Plan Tips Be sure to include funding in the budget to support your education activities May need to look for other resources you can leverage Think about how you can enhance even standard activities (e. g. , mentoring your graduate students) Including undergrads in research is expected 50

Typical Education Plans Can target various populations For example: New or updated undergrad or grad courses using innovative educational approaches Undergraduate research experiences including innovative elements Recruiting activities with underrepresented students Mentoring high school students in Science Fair projects Participating in a science summer camp with middle school students Working with elementary teachers to incorporate elements of your research into their curricula Reaching out to stakeholders in the community Communicating your research to the public in an innovative way 51

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel Talk to education experts at your institution Read the literature Education Resources Information Center MSPnet STEPnet Literature cited in the CAREER solicitation National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) – statistics supporting need/motivation (See Handout for more) 52

Leverage Infrastructure and Activities at Your Institution NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates Sites Summer STEM camps for K-12 students Connections to community colleges and/or high schools Student associations for underrepresented minority (URM) STEM students (e. g. , SACNAS, NSBE, SWE, etc. ) Centers for Teaching and Learning

What if You’re an Education Researcher? You still need an education plan that’s distinct from your research Think about: Ways to reach out beyond your normal constituency Innovative dissemination strategies Ways to encourage and mentor the next generation of education researchers or educators beyond what is expected

What Groups are Underrepresented? Typically African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, U. S. Pacific Islanders Women if underrepresented in the discipline Often first-generation college students Usually not: International students Asian Americans

Recruit Your Collaborators CAREER does not allow co-PIs or senior personnel But you can have a collaborator Can pay for equipment access Can help support a collaborator’s student Use collaborators to fill a gap in your expertise or capabilities For example, educational collaborator, collaborator from a different discipline, collaborator with facilities/equipment you need 56

Contact Your Office of Sponsored Projects Let them know you plan to submit a CAREER They can often help you with: Scheduling and approvals Budgets Fastlane Sometimes with review criteria and text Submission 57

Task Person Responsible Deadline Schedule with Lots of Intermediate Deadlines First draft of Project Description complete ACK! Second draft of Project Description complete Third draft of Project Description complete Send to internal reviewers/mentors Receive feedback from reviewers/mentors Revise Project Description – Draft 4 complete Close-to-final draft of Project Description Final draft ready for check Upload final draft Submit 2 days before due

Warning: Stuff happens!

Writing Your CAREER Proposal 60

Grantsmanship Things to Keep in Mind

Put Yourself in the Shoes of the Reviewer! 62

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Grantsmanship Tips Use figures, flow charts, tables, bullet lists, etc. Use heading and subheadings to help reviewers locate the information Bold, italics and underlining (used judiciously) can help reviewers find important points No tiny fonts or illegible figure labels Captions explain the point of your figure 65

Writing Your Proposal Step-by-Step

NSF CAREER Proposal Elements Project Summary (1 page) Project Description (15 pages) References Cited Supplementary Documents Letters of collaboration DH/Chair Letter Data Management Plan Postdoc Mentoring Plan (if applicable) Biosketch (2 pages) Current & Pending Form Budget Justification (3 pages) Facilities and Equipment 67

Format Follow NSF’s Grant Proposal Guide http: //www. nsf. gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf 15001/gpg_index. jsp Section IIB – Fonts, etc. http: //www. nsf. gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf 15001/gpg_2. jsp#IIB 1” margins all around Pages numbered by sections Allowed fonts: Arial, Courier New, or Palatino Linotype at a font size of 10 points or larger Times New Roman at a font size of 11 points or larger Computer Modern family of fonts at a font size of 11 points or larger AND No more than 6 lines of text within a vertical space of 1 inch 68

Project Summary This may be the only thing the reviewer will read State your goals/objectives/ hypotheses clearly Value of your project (research and education) must be clear and compelling! Written in 3 rd person Typically written last 4600 Characters (~1 page) 69

New: Project Summary Structure Three boxes, uploaded separately Overview Intellectual Merit Broader Impacts Aggregate of all three boxes cannot exceed 4, 600 characters

Overview Section Objectives Methods to be employed Description of activity that will result if the proposal is funded

Intellectual Merit: The intellectual Merit criterion encompasses the potential to advance knowledge (new) Previous: How well does your project advance knowledge and understanding ? How creative, original or potentially transformative are the concepts? How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity, and will you have sufficient resources? How well qualified is the proposer to conduct the project? 72

Broader Impacts: The Broader Impacts criterion encompasses the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes. (new) Previous: How well does the project advance discovery while promoting teaching, training and learning? To what extent will it enhance infrastructure for research and education? How well will it broaden participation of underrepresented groups? Will the results be broadly disseminated? What are the benefits to society? 73

Project Summary Example: Handout #4 Project Summary from Jairo Sinova’s successful CAREER awarded 2006 Clear goals stated early New knowledge to be generated PI’s collaborations, qualifications Broader impacts contain specifics 74

Project Description (15 pages) Flexible Structure Typical Outline Introduction, overview, objectives, significance Background (SOA and lit review) Preliminary Results/Prior Work Experimental Plan/Research Plan/Methodology Education Plan Broader Impacts Timeline 75

The Project Description: Getting Started Reviewer’s Attention Level 14 12 Get to the exciting Concise background stuff here! Strong, that provides context Unique Intro 10 8 6 4 2 0 Generic Intro Long, unconnected Zzzzzzz background Get to the exciting stuff here! First Paragraph

Put Your Project in Context Preliminary Work Funded project 1 Further work Project Goals/Specific Aims Ø Outcomes The Big Question or The Big Need

What is the kernel of your great idea? What you will accomplish The approach you will use The problem you’re addressing New tools or resources you’ll bring to the problem Put it up front!

Project Description Introduction, overview, objectives, significance Background (SOA and lit review) Preliminary Results/Prior Work Experimental Plan/Research Plan/Methodology Education Plan Broader Impacts Timeline 79

Introduction and Overview Provide reviewers with an outline of your proposed project which you will fill in later (1 – 2 pages) 80

Tell Your Project Story The Need/Motivation Goals Gaps in Knowledge New Knowledge Hypotheses Research Questions Approach Objectives How it’s Different Outcomes Significance Impact 81

After the Intro & Overview Reviewer should be intrigued and excited Should have a basic understanding of your project and why it’s important Should be convinced that this research is a great idea Will just be looking for details to confirm you can do what you say you’ll do (see Handout)

Project Description Introduction, overview, objectives, significance Background (SOA and lit review) Preliminary Results/Prior Work Experimental Plan/Research Plan/Methodology Education Plan Broader Impacts Timeline 83

Background What is the current state of knowledge and how does this relate to your project? What are the holes in knowledge and how will your research fill them? Cite important work but don’t provide a comprehensive literature review covering the entire history of the subject Keep relating discussion to your project Typical length: 3 – 4 pages 84

Project Description Introduction, overview, objectives, significance Background (SOA and lit review) Preliminary Results/Prior Work Experimental Plan/Research Plan/Methodology Education Plan Broader Impacts Timeline 85

Preliminary Results/Prior Work Sometimes folded in with Background, but be careful! Summarize up front the significance of your data as it relates to your project (see Handout #6) Beware getting bogged down in too many details Be clear who did the work – beware passive voice and the royal “we” 86

Project Description Introduction, overview, objectives, significance Background (SOA and lit review) Preliminary Results/Prior Work Experimental Plan/Research Plan/Methodology Education Plan Broader Impacts Timeline 87

This is where things get complex!

Have a clear structure For example… Project Goals Objectives Research Questions/Hypotheses Phases Tasks Subtasks

Research Plan Give a concise overview before launching into details. What are the objectives? What are the required tasks? What will be your overall approach? What are the roles of your collaborators? (see Handout #7) 90

Research Plan How will you accomplish your goals, step by step? Need enough details to convince reviewers you have a well-developed plan that is likely to succeed But don’t drown reviewers in non-essential details More details needed for the first 2 or 3 years Discuss how you will deal with any potential showstoppers 91

Research Plan If you need special resources (access to an instrument, a special cell line, etc. ) explain how you will get them Be clear what role your collaborators will play Name them and briefly describe their qualifications Refer reviewers to letters of collaboration 92

Example Flow Charts Task 1: description Output of task 1 Task 2: description Task 3: description Output of Task 3 Output of Task 2 Task 4: description of how it all comes together in this task Project Outcomes

Common Mistakes Rambling discussion of the problem and possible approaches to solving it with no clear structure Vague description of objectives Don’t say “We will explore phenomenon x” Say “We will measure x, y and z” or “We will determine if y and z affect x” Too applied with no theoretical framework (esp. engineering) We will develop a widget (e. g. , new sensor, new material)

Project Description Introduction, overview, objectives, significance Background (SOA and lit review) Preliminary Results/Prior Work Experimental Plan/Research Plan/Methodology Education Plan Broader Impacts Timeline 95

Education Plan What are your goals and objectives? What motivates your plan? What is the state of knowledge about this issue, the proposed approach, etc. (cite educational literature!) Do you have any preliminary results or prior related experience? How will you assess whether you are successful? How will you disseminate your results? 96

Education Plan Assessment Have clear, measurable objectives Explain how you will assess whether you met these objectives Formative: How are we doing and can we improve? Summative: At the end, did we meet our objectives? Dissemination How will other educators benefit from what you’ve learned or developed? Will you make products of your efforts available for others to use? See example Education Outline in Handout #8. 97

Education Plan Scope and length of section Depends on the mission of your institution Research Intensive: typically around 3 - 4 pages Predominantly undergrad or community college: can be longer 98

Project Description Introduction, overview, objectives, significance Background (SOA and lit review) Preliminary Results/Prior Work Experimental Plan/Research Plan/Methodology Education Plan Broader Impacts Timeline 99

Broader Impacts Broader impacts of the science How will other fields benefit? What new science will be enabled How will society benefit? Broader impacts of your education plan How will your project improve education? How will your project enhance diversity? How will you reach beyond the ivory tower? How will society/stakeholders benefit?

Project Description Introduction, overview, objectives, significance Background (SOA and lit review) Preliminary Results/Prior Work Experimental Plan/Research Plan/Methodology Education Plan Broader Impacts Timeline 101

Schedule and Milestones What do you expect to have accomplished after 6 months? After 1 year? After 18 months? Etc. Provides easy-to-find synopsis of your approach for reviewers Demonstrates that your project is properly scoped Shows that your project is well thought out

Example Flow Charts and Schedules Year 1 Objective 1: Development of the hoosits Integration and calibration Optimization of frumpits measurement methodology Objective 2: Assess XYZ spectroscopy MOA microscopy ABC testing Pandax studies Objective 3: Integrate hoosits with XYZ Instrument integration Instrument testing Demonstration Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Results of Prior NSF Support Required if had any NSF support in last 5 years Include one most applicable project Describe overview, intellectual merit, broader impacts Cite all products that came out of the project See GPG for all the rules

End of Project Description (15 pages)

Other Required Components

References Cited Separate section No page limit Follow GPG rules If available online, include url Websites may be included in references cited but not in body of the text Be sure to cite important works and works of likely reviewers 107

Collaboration Letters – New! One-sentence statement (in new solicitation) “If the proposal submitted by Dr. [insert the full name of the Principal Investigator] entitled [insert the proposal title] is selected for funding by the NSF, it is my intent to collaborate and/or commit resources as detailed in the Project Description. ” Rest of info on collaboration should be contained in the Project Description No letters of support or recommendation allowed 108

Budget Typical budget a little over $80 K per year (except BIO), including indirect costs Typically covers Research Intensive Universities: PI’s salary for one summer month and a graduate student Funds to support your educational component Travel to conferences, etc. (include students) Materials and supplies Maybe funds for undergraduate researchers (hourly pay) Start early on your budget! 109

Budget Justification Important document Many reviewers look at this to see what your real priorities are Provides an additional up to 3 pages to help justify your project 110

Department Head Letter Reviewers really look at these! Should make it clear that your head/chair knows what you are proposing Include required language regarding your eligibility (see solicitation) Should discuss support for education and research plan (can include your start-up package, logistical support, etc. ) Discuss how you will be mentored in research and education Explain how your project will support goals of the department (see example in Handout #9) Up to 2 pages long 111

Additional Forms NSF format 2 -page biosketch Section II. C. f(i) – Biosketch format (2 pages) http: //www. nsf. gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf 13001/gpg_2. jsp#IIC 2 f Follow this religiously! Non-compliant biosketches are a common reason for return without review. Current & Pending form – all external funding or pending proposals Facilities and Instrumentation – use this to reassure reviewers that you have access to needed facilities 112

Additional Forms Data Management Plan (max 2 pages) What data will you generate? How will you make it available to others? How will you store it? (Check with your library) See http: //www. nsf. gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf 13001/gpg_2. jsp# IIC 2 j Postdoc Mentoring Plan (max 1 page) Required if postdoc on budget How will you mentor your postdoc and provide professional development? See http: //www. nsf. gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf 13001/gpg_2. jsp# IIC 2 j 113

You’ve finished a draft! Ask others to read it and give you feedback Is it clear? Is it compelling? Did they see any technical weaknesses that should be addressed? Include time for revisions 114

Submitting Your Proposal Uploaded into Fastlane (check the file after it is uploaded!) Follow the requirements of our institution (check with Office of Sponsored Projects or equivalent) Routing and Approval Quality Check Uploading Submittal (must be done by an institutional representative) Include suggestions for reviewers Try to submit at least a day before the deadline 115

The Review Process Varies by Division Most combination Ad hoc (mail) reviews (usually 3) Panel (may be CAREER panel, or may be a general panel) Reviewers rate all proposals Excellent, Very Good, Fair, Poor Provide recommendation Fund, High Priority; Fund if Possible; Do Not Fund 116

Program Officer Makes a list of proposals would like to fund based on Recommendations of reviewers Portfolio of funded projects Interests of Program Types of institutions Works down the list until runs out of money Sometimes figures out ways to squeeze out a little more money to fund an extra project This process can take a while 117

If you get funded Celebrate! Use this grant as a foundation for more funding Communicate with your Program Director Publish Graduate students Work to make your education component a success Think about supplements Research Experiences for Undergraduates Faculty Opportunity Award, etc. 118

If you don’t get funded… Read the reviews Get mad/depressed Remember that even the most prominent scientists have a drawer full of declined proposals Put the reviews in a drawer for a few days Read the reviews again carefully 119

Analyzing the Reviews Did the reviewers have particular concerns that you can address? Were the reviewers confused or unclear about your project? Were the reviewers unimpressed by the significance or novelty of your research idea? Were the reviewers generally favorable, with no clear issues brought up? Did the project topic not fit the program? Be careful about chasing one comment by one reviewer – look at the Panel Summary 120

Call the Program Officer Be nice! Ask for clarification of reviewer comments Ask for advice Should you resubmit? Should you apply to a different program? What would strengthen your proposal? 121

Make Your Decision Resubmit a CAREER next year to the same program Use next year to revamp your project, generate preliminary data, etc. and resubmit the following year Resubmit a CAREER to a different program next year Revamp the project and submit to a core program Revamp the proposal and submit to a different agency Start again with an entirely new idea 122

Preparing to Resubmit Continue working on your ideas Each iteration of your proposal should be more developed and if possible have more preliminary data This means your education ideas also Volunteer to be a reviewer Don’t have to be funded by NSF See what makes a successful proposal 123

No Matter What Your next proposal will be better than your last You have gotten to know an NSF Program Officer You have learned from the experience and developed new skills Good luck! 124

Questions? 125