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Writing grant proposals: Writing grant proposals:

Writing grant proposals: - PowerPoint Presentation

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Writing grant proposals: - PPT Presentation

an overview Doug Levey Dept Biology Take home messages Start small but above all start Proposal writing is a skill requiring practice Dont be afraid of failure Seek mentoring ID: 298412

corridors habitat hypotheses studies habitat corridors studies hypotheses native proposal ants abundance increase invasive species isolated effectiveness frequently spread

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Slide1

Writing grant proposals:an overviewDoug Levey (Dept. Biology)Slide2

Take home messagesStart small (but above all, start!)Proposal writing is a skill

, requiring practiceDon’t be afraid of failureSeek mentoringFollow directionsKeep objectives of funding agency in mind

Put yourself in the shoes of a reviewerSlide3

Why proposals are important (and why you should be writing them)

Fellowship supportThey empower you to do your own researchThey prove you:

Have good ideasCan communicate those ideasWill be able to support your work

IMPORTANT: Size doesn’t matterSlide4

It’s not naturalProposal writing is hard – it requires practiceRisk is requiredT

he successes are what matter

(Photos of baseball players removed from original presentation)Slide5

It’s not naturalProposal writing is hard – it requires practiceRisk is requiredIt’s the

successes that countDoug’s batting average .260

Doug’s successes: $5.4 millionDoug’s “failures”: $15.1 million

Remember this (quiz coming up…)

Photo of congratulatory mob at home plate removedSlide6

The 2 RoadblocksFear of failure (If I don’t try, I can’t fail)

Flip this around: What is the best predictor of success in writing grant proposals ? Number of times you submit

average = 2.7 for NSF Slide7

The 2 RoadblocksFear of failure (If I don’t try, I can’t fail)

ADVICEStart smallSubmit at least 1 proposal per semesterHave a vision and build towards it

“If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else” (Yogi Berra)Find mentors (professors and peers). Don’t be shy!Get examples of successful proposals

Web resources (at UF: i-cubed; UF library

; Graduate School)Slide8
Slide9

Workshops

Subscribe to funding alerts

Master list of grants & FellowshipsSlide10

UF Graduate School Site – lots

of information!Slide11

The 2 RoadblocksFear of failure (If I don’t try, I can’t fail)

It’s too complicated & overwhelmingADVICE

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going” (Beverly Sills)Same as before: Start small; keep trying; find mentors and seek feedback

Read directions (There’s a reason for the complexity; figure it out!)

Example: NSF’s two merit criteria,

Scientific Merit

and

Broader Impact

Plan in advance. (Make a list of proposal deadlines and requirements)

Reviewers are your best

guides

to a better proposal. Act on their advice.Slide12

You’ve found your way around those roadblocks. Now what?(Miscellaneous advice)

Put yourself in the shoes of reviewers and panel members

How the process works

Bottom Line

: Reviewers are hurried but care. Make their job as easy as possible.Slide13

How to make a reviewer’s job easierAssume the reviewer is a generalist in your field, who knows little about your particular topic. Thus …

Job #1 is to convince them your idea is worthwhile. Paint the big picture first. Then, highlight how your project fits into the big picture.Friendly formattingFollow exactly the order of sections requested

Use different fonts to highlight important pointsState hypotheses (or goals)Explicitly link anticipated results to your hypotheses. Or, how will goals be assessed?

Make sure you’ve addressed merit criteria

We’ll return to this slideSlide14

Example of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Proposal (J. Resasco)Testing

an Ecological Cost of Habitat Corridors: Spread of Invasive SpeciesBackground:

As extensive tracks of habitat become fragmented, populations in the remaining habitat become isolated and increasingly vulnerable to extinction. A frequently touted solution is the creation or maintenance of habitat corridors – strips of habitat that connect otherwise isolated patches of the same habitat and that presumably increase animal movement between patches

1-3. Although corridors make intuitive sense, their actual effectiveness remains controversial4,5. The controversy has arisen because: (1) studies frequently reach opposite conclusions1

, (2) the vast majority of studies are non-experimental, small-scale or poorly replicated2, (3) confounding factors are often overlooked (e.g., the additional area and edge habitat that corridors inevitably bring with them)1, and (4) corridors may facilitate the spread of invasive species

6

.

I

will test the effectiveness of corridors in restoring communities of native ants in a highly threatened ecosystem, longleaf pine savanna

. I am fortunate to be able to address or overcome many of the above problems and constraints of previous studies.

Specifically …..

The issue

A novel twistSlide15

Example of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Proposal (J. Resasco)Testing

an Ecological Cost of Habitat Corridors: Spread of Invasive SpeciesBackground:

As extensive tracks of habitat become fragmented, populations in the remaining habitat become isolated and increasingly vulnerable to extinction. A frequently touted solution is the creation or maintenance of habitat corridors – strips of habitat that connect otherwise isolated patches of the same habitat and that presumably increase animal movement between patches

1-3. Although corridors make intuitive sense, their actual effectiveness remains controversial4,5. The controversy has arisen because: (1) studies frequently reach opposite conclusions

1, (2) the vast majority of studies are non-experimental, small-scale or poorly replicated2, (3) confounding factors are often overlooked (e.g., the additional area and edge habitat that corridors inevitably bring with them)1

, and (4) corridors may facilitate the spread of invasive species

6

.

I

will test the effectiveness of corridors in restoring communities of native ants in a highly threatened ecosystem, longleaf pine savanna

. I am fortunate to be able to address or overcome many of the above problems and constraints of previous studies.

Specifically …..

The issue

The solution

A novel twistSlide16

Example of a successful NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Proposal (J. Resasco)

Testing an Ecological Cost of Habitat Corridors: Spread of Invasive Species

Background: As extensive tracks of habitat become fragmented, populations in the remaining habitat become isolated and increasingly vulnerable to extinction. A frequently touted solution is the creation or maintenance of habitat corridors – strips of habitat that connect otherwise isolated patches of the same habitat and that presumably increase animal movement between patches

1-3. Although corridors make intuitive sense, their actual effectiveness remains controversial4,5

. The controversy has arisen because: (1) studies frequently reach opposite conclusions1, (2) the vast majority of studies are non-experimental, small-scale or poorly replicated

2

, (3) confounding factors are often overlooked (e.g., the additional area and edge habitat that corridors inevitably bring with them)

1

, and (4) corridors may facilitate the spread of invasive species

6

.

I

will test the effectiveness of corridors in restoring communities of native ants in a highly threatened ecosystem, longleaf pine savanna

. I am fortunate to be able to address or overcome many of the above problems and constraints of previous studies.

Specifically …..

The issue

The solution

The

contro-versySlide17

Example of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Proposal (J. Resasco)Testing

an Ecological Cost of Habitat Corridors: Spread of Invasive SpeciesBackground:

As extensive tracks of habitat become fragmented, populations in the remaining habitat become isolated and increasingly vulnerable to extinction. A frequently touted solution is the creation or maintenance of habitat corridors – strips of habitat that connect otherwise isolated patches of the same habitat and that presumably increase animal movement between patches1-3. Although corridors make intuitive sense, their actual effectiveness remains controversial

4,5. The controversy has arisen because: (1) studies frequently reach opposite conclusions1, (2) the vast majority of studies are non-experimental, small-scale or poorly replicated

2, (3) confounding factors are often overlooked (e.g., the additional area and edge habitat that corridors inevitably bring with them)1, and (4) corridors may facilitate the spread of invasive species

6

.

I

will test the effectiveness of corridors in restoring communities of native ants in a highly threatened ecosystem

, longleaf pine savanna

. I am fortunate to be able to address or overcome many of the above problems and constraints of previous studies.

Specifically …..

The issue

The solution

The

contro-versy

Statement of PurposeSlide18

Hypotheses: I hypothesize that (H1) Corridors will increase species richness of longleaf pine savanna ants

. (H2) Corridors will increase abundance of S. invicta

. (H3) S. invicta abundance will be negatively correlated with the species richness and abundance of native ants.

(H4) Removal of S.

invicta will increase the species richness and abundance of native ants. Methods: The experimental manipulation required for H 1-3

has already occurred. Testing these hypotheses now requires data on spatial and temporal variation in ant abundance. I will census

ants….

To test

H4

, I

will ….

Analyses:

Tests of

H1

and

H2

will employ the same Mixed Linear Model used in previous studies at this site

1-3

, with landscape as a random effect and patch type and distance to edge as fixed effects. Species richness will be standardized via rarefaction.

H3

will be tested via regression.

H4

will be tested as a Before–After-Control–Impact (BACI) design.

Clearly articulated hypothesesSlide19

Hypotheses: I hypothesize that (H1) Corridors will increase species richness of longleaf pine savanna ants

. (H2) Corridors will increase abundance of S. invicta

. (H3) S. invicta abundance will be negatively correlated with the species richness and abundance of native ants.

(H4) Removal of S.

invicta will increase the species richness and abundance of native ants. Methods: The experimental manipulation required for

H 1-3

has already occurred

. Testing these hypotheses now requires data on spatial and temporal variation in ant abundance. I will census

ants….

To test

H4

, I

will

….

Analyses:

Tests of

H1

and

H2

will employ

the

a Mixed

Linear Model

….

H3

will be tested via regression.

H4

will be tested as

a Before–After-Control–Impact (BACI) design.

Clearly articulated hypotheses

Methods and Analyses linked to HypothesesSlide20

Broader Impacts: Many conservation plans simply assume that habitat corridors are effective4. Data are sorely lacking. My project provides an opportunity to

integrate straightforward tests of corridor theory with restoration of a highly threatened habitat. Likewise, invasive species are often blindly assumed to have detrimental effects on native species, but

restoring native biodiversity may not be as simple as removing non-native species10. My project will test the extent to which this is the case. Finally, the U.S. Forest Service is keenly interested in applying

our results in their longleaf management plans at SRS -- I am already collaborating with them, attempting to bridge research and restoration. Apart from this project’s broader impacts on conservation, I believe ecologists have a responsibility to educate the general public about their work. Such outreach is especially critical for children and youth from groups under-represented in science.

I will use this project to bring new material to my current and future outreach activities (STEP and SPICE, respectively; see Personal Statement).

How this study fills a need in conservation

Integration of theory and practice

Novel twist

Personal statement of conviction

Specific plan and link to other part of applicationSlide21

How to make a reviewer’s job easierAssume the reviewer is a generalist in your field, who knows little about your particular topic. Thus …

Job #1 is to convince them your idea is worthwhile. Paint the big picture first. Then, highlight how your project fits into the big picture.Friendly formattingFollow exactly the order of sections requested

Use different fonts to highlight important pointsState hypotheses (or goals)Explicitly link anticipated results to your hypotheses. Or, how will goals be assessed?

Make sure you’ve addressed merit criteria

We’ll return to this slideSlide22

Take home messagesStart smallProposal writing is a skill, requiring practiceDon’t be afraid of failure

Seek mentoringFollow directionsKeep objectives of funding agency in mindPut yourself in the shoes of a reviewer