IRTL Grants & Fellowships Workshop Series

Dissertation and Research Funding: Grants & Fellowships 101

Institute for Research on Teaching and Learning

Doctoral Student Research Support

April 2015

IRTL

Institute for Research on Teaching & Learning

IRTL supports doctoral students in the College of Education by enhancing their knowledge of funding opportunities and grant writing.

We are available to discuss funding opportunities; assist in conceptualizing, writing, and revising a grant proposal; or assist in preparing a competitive budget request.

http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad

What is IRTL?

• Workshops, sessions for groups and classes• Overview of grants & fellowships; Grant proposal

writing; Budget development; RCR; and more!

• One-on-one consultation (mdrangst@msu.edu)• in person, over the phone, Skype/FaceTime, email

• Web resources (http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad/)• Sample proposals, budgets, timelines, resources

• Monthly newsletters (sign up on our website)• Announcements, workshops, resources, funding

opportunities

• Facebook updates (facebook.com/MSUIRTL)

What does IRTL do?

Grants & Fellowships 101

• To focus on research and/or writing

• To advance knowledge in your field

• National recognition and prestige

• A lifetime professional network

• Professional development opportunities

• To demonstrate your ability to win grants for academic job applications

Doctoral student grants & fellowships can allow you:

• Grants can be used for training, travel, work buy-outs, supplies, hourly staff, tuition, graduate assistantships.

• Funds can be used to complete a dissertation or conduct small research projects.

• Funding agencies exist to advance research and/or practice within an area.

• Foundations are required to spend their funds.

• Start small, “earn” your way up to larger awards.

What role can grants (or other external funds) play in my career?

• Travel (mileage to/from research sites; gasoline; conferences; international trips; car rental; etc.)

• Lodging/Meals• Software• Health insurance• Recruiting subjects• Research Assistant salary• Interpreter (e.g., for international

projects)• Undergraduate student hourly pay

(general—includes teachers, etc., working on the project)

• Printing• Equipment/Technology (software; A/V

equipment)• Supplies (e.g., stationery; video/audio

tapes)

• Tech support (e.g., processing statistics)

• Services (e.g., mentor)• Postage/telephone/fax/internet charges• Transcription• Publication/Dissemination of findings• Incentives (participants/subjects)• Stipend (i.e., salary)• Training• Tuition and fees• Advisor? (i.e., her summer and/or

academic year salary—calculated by % of faculty time dedicated to the project, e.g., 25%). May be necessary if advisor serves as Primary Investigator or co-PI to project.

• Indirect costs (i.e., “overhead”)

What are Possible allowable project expenses? *

* These are general guidelines. For individualized assistance with questions on expenses allowed by a particular funding agency, please consult IRTL staff and agency guidelines.

Your opportunity should match with these four areas:

Money

research funding is available

Eligibility

you’re ready and meet

requirements

Fit

your research interests map to

RFP

Time

a competitive proposal can be written in the time available

Internal Funding

• Your department / college / program / organization

• Research entities on campus (grant administration, other departments)

• Institution-wide opportunities

External Funding

• Databases

• Regional foundations

• Professional organizations & associations

• Government entities

Money… is there research funding available?

IRTL’s Focus

Early Stage

Funds tuition and fees, as

well as a stipend for living for

early doctoral students

Pre-Dissertation

Funds research

and experiences

that aid research, such as travel,

language study, and supplies

Dissertation

Funds research and experiences that aid research, such as language

study, travel, supplies, facility

use, and/or stipend for living after the defense

of the dissertation proposal to completion

Analysis & Write-Up

Funds tuition and

fees, stipend for living

expenses to concentrate mostly or only on

writing and completing

the dissertation

Postdoctoral

Funds opportunities

toward the development

of an academic

career

Eligibility …are you ready?

Think one step ahead!

• Citizenship?

• Comprehensive exams and/or coursework complete? Degree obtained?

• Dissertation proposal defense complete?

• Full-time employee vs. faculty member vs. student?

• Faculty advisor’s “OK”

• Pilot program complete? Collaboration in place?

Eligibility…do you meet the sponsor’s requirements?

Many sponsors have websites with helpful information:

• What are the sponsor’s goals and priorities? What have they funded in the past?

• What is their program focus?population? method? Issue?

• Who can I contact for informationfor assistance, guidance, or advice?

• What are the review criteria?

• Do they have sample proposals?

Fit…does your project match the funder’s goals and priorities?

• Start early.

• Assess your timeline.

• When will you complete doctoral program requirements? collect data? conduct analysis? write up?

• Can you continue operations until funding would be received?

• Do you have time to complete the application?

• How long does it take for a decision? When will the funds become available?

• Can you reapply?

Time... can a competitive proposal be written in the time available?

“There is no amount of grantsmanship that will turn a bad idea into a good one, but there are many ways to disguise a good one.”

William Raubformer Deputy Director, NIH

• Title

• Project summary / Abstract

• Narrative

• Bibliography

• Support materials

• Biographical narrative

• Letters of recommendation

• Budget

Typical grant components

What makes a grant proposal successful?

• start early

• contact with funding sponsor

• research matches funding announcement

• aligned with priorities of sponsor

• written with the review process in mind

• captures reviewers’ attention

• well-organized, engaging language

• clear focus

• follows the instructions precisely

• applicant seeks outside review before submitting

• compelling idea that advances the science

• not too ambitious or unrealistic

• no typos, grammatical errors

• reasonable and accurate budget

• submitted on time

• Keep in mind that the reviewers may not be in your same discipline / functional area.

• Write clearly in a way that is accessible to non-academics.

• Grab their attention right away – title, intro sentence, etc..

• Websites may provide information on past/current reviewers. Use this knowledge to inform your writing.

Reviewers

Create Your Support Network

You

Colleagues & Classmates

Friends & Family

Research Administration Staff

Advisor, Committee & Faculty

Links to budget creation resources at MSU: http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad/search.asp

Budget workshop slides: http://www.slideshare.net/irtl/201502budgets

Sample budgets: http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad/pdf/IRTL_BudgetSamples.pdf

Budget Resources

Links to grant writing resources: http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad/search.asp

Proposal Writing workshop slides: http://www.slideshare.net/irtl/201503grantwriting

Planning your proposal: http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad/plan.asp

Writing your proposal: http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad/write.asp

Proposal Writing Resources

Funds may be out there … we just need to hunt for them.

Institute for Research on Teaching and Learning

2nd Floor, Erickson Hall

http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad

https://www.facebook.com/MSUIRTL

http://education.msu.edu/irtl/grad/Subscribe.asp

Bob Floden, Director, floden@msu.edu

Marcy Wallace, Associate Director, wallacem@msu.edu

Megan Drangstveit, Graduate Assistant, mdrangst@msu.edu(201C Erickson Hall)

IRTL – Doctoral Student Research Support