tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post6892451078655563174..comments2024-03-28T17:13:01.117+10:00Comments on Condensed concepts: Grant writing tipsRoss H. McKenziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09950455939572097456noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-37507828389773694242014-12-01T12:49:21.693+10:002014-12-01T12:49:21.693+10:00Oops - there should have been a NOT in my point 7!...Oops - there should have been a NOT in my point 7!Ben Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04312113344388752854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-88313805115238760852014-12-01T07:30:37.323+10:002014-12-01T07:30:37.323+10:00I agree finding the right balance between generali...I agree finding the right balance between generalities and details is a real challenge. Furthermore, the referees/assessors can be quite frustrating. One will say there is not enough technical detail and another will say there is too much technical detail.Ross H. McKenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09950455939572097456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-4422338999622538612014-12-01T07:28:12.039+10:002014-12-01T07:28:12.039+10:00Hi Ben,
Thanks for the helpful comments.
It is goo...Hi Ben,<br />Thanks for the helpful comments.<br />It is good to hear a complementary perspective.<br /><br />One minor point that is not clear to me is your point 7.<br />Why should your grant writing mentor and supervisor be the same person? <br />I think there could be some value from having different people for the different roles.Ross H. McKenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09950455939572097456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-28002037790557405062014-11-29T10:36:41.765+10:002014-11-29T10:36:41.765+10:00As you asked for comments here are a few - they...As you asked for comments here are a few - they're not very well thought out.<br /><br />1) Impact factors. One of your objections is that they encode things you know e.g. PRL~JACS>PRB~JCP - but that might not be known to everyone reading your grant (I bet it's not obvious to many physicist that JCP > CPL and do chemists know the relative rankings of PRB and JPCM?) So this information has some value (eg in the lists of publications)<br /><br />2) I think you should ignore the ARC's structure somewhat. This is hard to do well - but the rules re headings can get in the way of making a compelling case. I think one can benefit from bending the rules - but it is very important not to break the rules. (This may be hard to communicate to a large audience.)<br /><br />3) You mentioned this - but I think tailoring the track record to emphasise how this has positioned you to do this grant is important. I think you give some really good advice re this after my first, unsuccessful, application for a future fellowship. The track record there focused on what I thought were the best things I had done. In my second, successful, application I wrote about why I was ready to do this project. <br /><br />4) Remember you need to explain why the taxpayer should give _you_ money to do _this_ science. The two need to tie up. This goes double for fellowships. Why are you the best person to do this science?<br /><br />5) I find it useful to explain the science case to someone outside of my sub-field. Before I start writing. The figures you sketch on the whiteboard need to go into the grant.<br /><br />6) Get lots of feedback from different people - but make sure to send then the entire proposal, not just the science case. Often some of the most useful feedback does not concern the science case.<br /><br />7) Get a grant writing mentor - this person should be your supervisor!<br /><br />8) Write the boring bits first. This is helpful psychologically as you're less likely to get writers block and it feels like you're getting somewhere (50 pages, written just 10 pages of science to go!) Ben Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04312113344388752854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-55810334060741213282014-11-27T13:15:20.555+10:002014-11-27T13:15:20.555+10:00Thanks.
I agree. Excellent advice.Thanks.<br />I agree. Excellent advice.Ross H. McKenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09950455939572097456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-58545729349606485142014-11-27T04:20:16.750+10:002014-11-27T04:20:16.750+10:00oh, and the most important thing is that you shoul...oh, and the most important thing is that you should be able to communicate the proposal in 3 sentences. That includes 1 sentence of why (i.e. background and vision), and 2 sentences of how.<br />If you can't do that, don't start writing: you're not ready.pcshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03647766316634749128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5439168179960787195.post-90676406714742483862014-11-27T04:17:56.550+10:002014-11-27T04:17:56.550+10:00To me the devil is in the details, particularly ho...To me the devil is in the details, particularly how to separate details from the generalities.<br />Too much "background and significance", including a broad view of the impact the proposed work might (!) have in the field, and comments come back saying it's not practical enough.<br />Too much detail, proposed experiments, parameter space explored and hypotheses formulated for that space, and specific details on how to measure what you propose, and it looks like a vision is missing.<br /><br />So, the separation of vision/b&s/... from the details that you need to convey in order to make it possible to be judged on feasibility and understanding of the issues, is what I find hard.<br />It takes away the linearity of the story (from broad to detail), as writing a vision, and then a part on how to implement this in practical work, necessitates overlap.<br /><br />So, summarizing the relative fraction of B&S/vision and practical details, and most importantly how the former is distributed to make the latter not look like a list of "to do's" is what I find hard.pcshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03647766316634749128noreply@blogger.com