Title: Building a Validation Model for Proteins Derived from Cryo-EM Density Maps

Submission Date: August 8, 2018

NSF 18-554

Requirements

• Submission Checklist
  1. Title must start with CRII: followed by the acronym of the CISE office or program closest to the PI’s research interests and expertise.
  2. (RWR) Must not include any co-PIs or senior personnel.
  3. (RWR) Maximum budget on the cover page and on the budget sheets must not exceed $175,000.
  4. (RWR) Project description must be no longer than 10 pages.
  5. Letters of Collaboration are permitted as Supplementary Documents. Letters of Support are not allowed; reviewers will be instructed not to consider these letters in reviewing the merits of the proposal.
  6. (RWR) Must include as a Supplementary Document a department chair letter, certifying that the PI meets the eligibility criteria and providing a justification for how the proposal meets program goals.
  7. Must include the Collaborators & Other Affiliations (COA) list following the spreadsheet template as a Single Copy Document.
• Title, covey what the project is about, is often used to assign review groups
• Cover Sheet
  • CRII: III: RUI: Building a Validation Model for Proteins Derived from Cryo-EM Density Maps
• Table of Contents, automatically generated for the proposal.
• Project Description
  • 10 pages in length
  • The department chair letter must clearly explain why the lack of such support would prevent the PI from carrying out the research outlined in the proposal
• Abstract, publishable quality, clear, concise, one page, single space, avoid 1st person, Do not refer to proposal in the abstract, Cover all key elements in order
• The Needs or Problem Statement, Critically important, Convince the funding source that you understand the need and can help them solve the problem
  • test assumptions, anticipate questions of others, incorporate proposal guidelines
    • The first sentence is the problem
    • Then clarify the problem by defining both the behavior and what is normal
    • States that this is a pressing need which is hopefully the need the funder is addressing
  • Documentation
    • Cite current literature, 6-10 key references , 1-2 of works should be yours
    • Key informants
    • Case studies
    • Statistics - objective
    • Surveys
    • Focus groups
    • Use relevant graphs and charts
  • Ending
    • Emphasize the significance of the project, what will be the result, what impact will it have, will the impact continue
    • You might present you project as a model
    • Always address the priorities of the funding agency
    • Forecast the usefulness and importance of the results
  • Prove the need, cite evidence, illustrate with graphs and charts
  • Demonstrate that the need is pressing
  • That the problem is an important problem to be solved
  • How your project will address the problem and what gaps will it fill
  • Don’t assume that no one else has ever thought of your idea
  • The Problem Statement establishes a framework for the project’s goals, objectives, methods, and evaluation
  • Provide a thorough explanation of your need, test assumptions, anticipate questions of others, incorporate proposal guidelines, begin with a framing statement then provide documentation
  • Describe the theoretical or conceptual basis for your project and your knowledge of the issues surrounding your proposed project
  • Include statistical data, if appropriate
  • Demonstrate that your approach is creative or innovative
  • Describe how this project fits into the already existing goals of the organization
  • Questions
    • What significant needs are you trying to meet?
    • What is the current status of the needs?
    • Will this project help meet the need?
    • What really needs to be done?
    • What services will be delivered? To whom? By whom?
    • Is it possible to make some impact on the problem?
    • What gaps exist in the knowledge base?
    • What does the literature say about the significance of the problem, at a local, state, regional, national level?
    • Is there evidence that this project will lead to other significant studies?
    • What previous work has been done to meet this need? Was it effective?
    • What will be the impact of this study?
• Goals and Objectives
  • Goals convey the ultimate intent of the proposed project, the overarching, A CONCISE STATEMENT OF THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
  • The opening statement of this section should begin with “the goal of this project is to…”
  • Will have
    • one or two goals
    • several objectives related to the goals
    • many methodological steps to achieve each objective
  • The objectives state the essence of the proposed work in terms of what will be accomplished, break the goal down to specific measurable pieces, the outcomes of which can be measured to determine actual accomplishments
  • Objectives discuss who is going to do what, when they will do it, and how it will be measured, Discuss desired end results of the project, But not how those results will be accomplished, They are action oriented and often begin with a verb, Arrange them in priority order, In a research proposal the objectives are the hypotheses, they are less specific, but reinforce that the project is conceptually sound
• Methodology
  • What specific activities will allow you to meet your objectives
  • Task oriented, specific, detailed
  • Questions
    • Walk the reader through your project
    • Describe the activities as they relate to the objectives
    • Develop a time line and/or and organizational chart
    • How will the activities be conducted?
    • When?
    • How long?
    • Who?
    • Where?
    • What facilities?
  • If methodology is new or unique explain why it is better than that previously used
  • Specify research design and why it was chosen
  • Include descriptions of variables and their relationships
  • Define all important terms
  • Provide descriptions of data sources including subjects, how they will be selected, the size of subject pool, and the size of the sample
  • Describe all procedures
  • Include pilot instruments and data when possible
  • Step-by-step work plan
• Quality of Key Personnel
  • This is where you demonstrate that you are the right person to do this project
  • Convince the funding agency the you are capable of accomplishing what you say you can accomplish
  • Highlight the expertise of all key personnel
  • Include experience you have had managing other projects
  • Weak qualifications or inexperience in some cases can be compensated for by adding appropriate consultants. Include why you need consultants and how you chose them
  • If you don’t identify a person, summarize the job description or qualifications required and how you will find that person
  • Indicate responsibilities of all, and level of effort
  • Addressing
    • Publications in the area of the proposal or related areas
    • Evidence of relevant training, certification, or clearance
    • Unpublished papers, conference presentations in the area
  • Institution’s Qualifications
    • Why should the award be made to your institution?
    • Highlight institution’s capabilities, relation of the project to mission
    • Facilities, support, library, computer, etc.
• Evaluation
  • Formative evaluation of objectives, how the project will be evaluated as it progresses
  • Summative evaluation of objectives, how the project will be evaluated when it is finished
  • Design
    • Explanation of the methods
    • What was the impact?
    • Descriptions of record keeping, surveys, and assessment instruments
    • Consider what would count as evidence that your project succeeded or failed?
    • If you where someone else who wanted to replicate the project what would you need to know to determine if you would benefit
    • What form should that information take to be sufficiently credible or useful?
  • Questions
    • Formative
      • Who participated?
      • Were they organized and staffed as planned?
      • Were materials available?
      • Were they of high quality?
      • Was the full range of topics actually covered?
      • Too few, too many?
      • Problems?
      • Modification?
      • Timing?
    • Summative
      • Did faculty change their instructional practices?
      • Did this vary by teacher or student characteristics?
      • Did faculty use information?
      • What obstacles prevented implementing change?
      • Were changes made in the curriculum?
      • Were students more interested in class work?
  • Outside Evaluation
    • Hire a third party
    • Someone well known in the field
    • Someone you quoted in the needs section
    • Identify evaluators before submitting proposal and include their resume and a letter of commitment
    • They may often contribute to the writing of the evaluation section
• Continuation
  • Funding agencies want to have a lasting impact and they want to know how that will happen
  • Include how you propose to continue the project beyond the funding that you are requesting
  • May include a ‘good faith” statement from the institution
  • Demonstrate Continuation with budget construction
  • How will this project become part of an established program?
  • Will it generate fees to sustain it?
  • Will it become part of the institutional budget?
  • Is it part of an on-going research endeavor?
• Dissemination
  • Process by which your project is reported to other professionals and the public
  • Important to the funding agency
  • Sometimes presented as the concluding thoughts of the project plan
  • How will you make the research results available to others?
  • Will there be workshops, publications, or conferences?
  • If you are producing materials how will they be advertised, marketed, and distributed?
  • Websites
  • Plan
    • Which results will be reported?
    • What audiences will be reached?
    • disseminated, e.g., computer networks, video tapes, conferences, professional journals, or publication of books, chapters, or monographs?
• Biographical Sketches
• Budget
  • Not to exceed $175,000 for up to 24 months
  • A minimum of 0.5 months salary for the PI for each year of the award
  • At least two part-time undergraduate students
  • Travel, research equipment
  • the budget form which breaks the budget into specific categories
  • a budget narrative that explains how you arrived at these figures and why you need the money
  • Direct Costs
    • Costs that can be identified specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity; or that can be directly assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy
  • Indirect Costs
    • Costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives, and, therefore, cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity
• Current and Pending Support
• Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources
• Supplementary Documents
  • Letters of Support
    • Department Chair/Head Letter
      • Certify that the PI meets the eligibility criteria, including that, as of the CRII submission deadline, he or she is (a) in the first three years of a tenure-track position; (b) untenured; and (c) no more than five years since being granted a PhD
      • A justification of how the proposal meets the goals of the program (i.e., why the lack of this support will prevent the PI from carrying out the research outlined in the proposal, given the available resources to the PI at the institution
    • how does project fit with mission/goals of college
    • Presents type of support
  • Data Management Plan
    • Describe how the proposal will conform to NSF policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results
    • Dissemination and Sharing of Research Results
    • Data Management Guidance for CISE Proposals and Awards
      • Template at UNLV
      • UVA template
  • Letters of Commitment
    • Evidence of interest in project from participants
    • if project is funded they are ready with their contribution
    • what they will contribute
    • they will participate at the time that you need them
• Single Copy Documents
  • Collaborators and Other Affiliations Information
  • Chapter II.C.1.e
• Format
  • Font
    • Arial9, 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
  • Margins, in all directions, must be at least an inch
• Review Criteria
  • Intelllectual Merit, the intellectual merit criterion encompasses the potential to advance knowledge
  • Broader Impacts, the broader impacts criterion encompasses the potential to benefit society and contribute the the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes
  • Elements
    • What is the potential for the proposed activity to Advance knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields (Intellectual Merit); and Benefit society or advance desired societal outcomes (Broader Impacts)?
    • To what extent do the proposed activities suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts?
    • Is the plan for carrying out the proposed activities well-reasoned, well-organized, and based on a sound rationale? Does the plan incorporate a mechanism to assess success?
    • How well qualified is the individual, team, or organization to conduct the proposed activities?
    • Are there adequate resources available to the PI (either at the home organization or through collaborations) to carry out the proposed activities?
  • Application Guidelines contain review criteria
  • Peer Reviewed
  • Panel Review
  • Staff Review
  • Board Review
• A Reviewer Friendly Grant
  • A Readable Style
    • Use bulleted items
    • Use graphics in methodology and needs sections
    • Use headings and subheadings, bold and underline, no italics
    • Look at each introductory sentence of a paragraph, it is the most important part, it is all they may read
    • Use type faces with serifs, like Times, they are easier to read
    • Do not justify
• Editing
  • No jargon, No first person
  • Writing in Plain English
    • Use action verbs, avoid “to be”, subject first
    • Use lists when you have several items
    • Use parallel construction
    • Avoid noun strings
    • Avoid openers with There is, There are, and It is - try “ing”
• Remember
  • Get
  • Read
  • Follow The Guidelines
  • Call The Program Officer

Contact

• John T. Raynor, jtraynor@ecsu.edu, ECSU Sponsored Program, 252-335-3983