Melnyk ppt chapter_21

Copyright © 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Chapter 21
Writing a Successful Grant
Proposal to Fund Research and
Evidence-Based Practice
Implementation Projects
Chapter 21
Writing a Successful Grant
Proposal to Fund Research and
Evidence-Based Practice
Implementation Projects

Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer • All Rights Reserved
Grant Proposals
•
A grant proposal is a written plan for a research project
that requests funding from a source, usually professional
organizations, federal or state agencies, or private
foundations
•
Grant proposals contain an outline of specific aims,
background information, significance of the project,
methodology and procedures that will be used to meet
project aims, and the budget and personnel needed

Qualities of Successful Grant Writers
Successful grant writers need:
•
Passion to drive them forward; lack of passion can
lead to premature termination of a worthwhile
project
•
To be meticulous planners, including the ability to
identify barriers to project aims and describe
strategies to overcome them; they also need to
describe the detailed activities of all project
personnel and the related time frames

Qualities of Successful Grant Writers—
(cont.)
•
To be able to persuade with a compelling case as to
why the project is so important that it absolutely
needs to be funded
•
To be persistent enough to go through the effort of
reading reviewer critiques and using them to revise
the proposal, possibly multiple times
•
To have the patience to wait to hear for about final
funding decisions, sometimes for several months,
then possibly start again

Checkpoint Questions to Be Considered
Before Writing a Grant
•
What are the credentials needed for the PI?
•
What is the funding source?
•
What are the application criteria?
•
Will the funding agency perform an advance review of the
abstract for possible match if requested?
•
Are copies of successful proposals available for review?
•
What are the guidelines for submission?
•
What are the criteria on which proposals are rated?

Question
Before beginning to develop a grant proposal, which is the
most important question to ask?
a. What are the application criteria?
b. Is the source of the funding private or is it a
government source?
c. How much funding is available from the funding
source?
d. What is the percentage of funded versus nonfunded
applications?

Answer
a. What are the application criteria?
Rationale: Although the other questions ask for information
that is useful, the most important question to ask is about
the application criteria. If the investigator’s credentials or
the project aims do not meet the funding organization’s
criteria, then the proposal probably will be rejected.

Strategies for Successful Grant
Production
•
Formulate a team whose individual expertise
complements each other
•
Develop a compelling abstract that addresses the “so
what” factor of the project and its match to the funding
agency’s objectives
•
Meticulously follow grant submission guidelines

Strategies for Successful Grant
Production—(cont.)
•
When proposal writing is a team project, develop a
topical outline of the proposal with a timeline for
component completion
•
Always provide clear rationales for decisions about
project methodology, procedures, timelines, and
personnel
•
Develop a detailed budget justification

Question
A primary aim of a proposal abstract should be to:
a.Present the expecting findings convincingly
b.Identify the academic qualifications of the research team
c.Present the reasons why the project deserves to be
funded
d.Describe the match between the clinical question and the
methodology

Answer
c. Present the reasons why the project deserves to be
funded
Rationale: Although all of the areas listed are important,
the abstract is the first exposure of the proposal reviewers
to the proposal. If enough compelling reasons for funding
are not presented within the abstract, it is possible that the
rest of the proposal may not even be reviewed.

Writing a Powerful Background and
Significance Section
The background and significance sections should:
•
Convey the “so what’s” of the problem’s prevalence
and the projected project outcomes
•
Convey exactly how the proposal will extend the
science or have a positive impact on clinical practice
•
Provide justification for the proposed study’s
objectives, hypotheses, and/or research questions

Writing a Powerful Background and
Significance Section—(cont.)
•
Include a well-defined conceptual or theoretical
framework that drives study hypotheses and
interventions, and potentially explains the
relationship between variables

Essential Components of the Proposal
Design and Methods Section
•
Study design
•
Measures to enhance validity of the study
•
Sampling strategy
•
Reliability and validity of instruments
•
Procedure of the study and timeline
•
Data analysis strategy
•
Potential limitations
•
Human subjects protection

Question
Which of the following considerations is most important
when developing the sampling strategy to be used in a
grant proposal?
a.Similar sampling strategies have been used in studies
that address similar research questions
b.The size and expertise of the research team
c.The size of the population that is affected by the study
question
d.The number of participants necessary to enhance validity
of the study

Answer
d. The number of participants necessary to enhance validity
of the study
Rationale: Although the strategies of prior research teams
and the workload of the research team need to be
considered when choosing a sampling strategy, the primary
consideration is the validity of the study and the demands
that this places on the sampling plan and the sample size.
This factor supersedes the importance of the size of the
population.

Common Weaknesses of Unfunded Grant
Proposals
•
Lack of cutting-edge ideas and significance
•
Failure to acknowledge relevant previously published
work or current literature
•
Absence of a theory or conceptual framework
•
Inadequate description of the study
design/methods/procedures

Common Weaknesses of Unfunded Grant
Proposals—(cont.)
•
Unrealistic amount of work
•
Human subjects’ concerns
•
Inappropriate or weak data analysis plan
•
Incomplete applications

Melnyk ppt chapter_21

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