Does anyone have time to do some paperwork to apply for the following grant on the project's behalf? I would do it myself but unfortunately I have to do some travelling this week which leaves me with very little spare time.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/p/127829.htm Michael Rogers has kindly put together some advice in the attached file. Any volunteers? Ian. -- Ian Clarke Founder, The Freenet Project Email: ian at freenetproject.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <https://emu.freenetproject.org/pipermail/devl/attachments/20110111/6f0a72e0/attachment.html> -------------- next part -------------- Tips: research proposals ------------------------ What and why; how long; desired outcome. Intellectual contract: specifies what you will do, how you will do it, expected results, and how you will interpret the results. Criteria for determining whether the research goals were met. Identify what's missing from your area of research, as a set of prioritized, linked questions. Show a reasonably informed non-expert reader why the topic is important to address and how you will do it. Show how your work fits with existing work, what contribution it makes. How will you know when the work is finished? Outline for a two-page proposal: * First sentence: general topic area. Second sentence: research question. Third sentence: establish its significance. * Next two paragraphs: historical perspective. One sentence per important person or finding. Your preliminary work. Open questions. Restate the research question in this context. * A paragraph describing the methodology: what you will do and how. Timeline. Needed resources. * Final paragraph: the expected results and how you will interpret them. * References Assess competition in the field. Know the level of resources needed to compete. Know the opportunities for collaboration / carving out a niche. Make sure you and your collaborators are properly trained. Examine successful grant applications. Ask experienced applicants to critique your application. * How high is the intellectual quality of the study? * What is its potential impact? * How novel is the proposal? * Is the hypothesis valid and supported by evidence? * Are the aims logical? * Are the procedures appropriate, adequate, and feasible? * Are the investigators qualified? * Are the facilities adequate? A good grant application is driven by a strong hypothesis, not by advances in technology (ie not a method in search of a problem). Match the list of experiments to the list of aims, in the same, logical order. Show that you're aware of the limitations of your chosen approach. Think about how the research will eventually become a product - but it should be research, not product development (industry's job). Tips: grant applications ------------------------ Make sure you have a realistic idea of your goals and costs. Allow a cushion for rising costs. Develop meaningful cooperative relationships as the basis for strong fundable initiatives. * Self-explanatory title * Realistic aims and objectives * Focus on why the project is important and how the funding will achieve the aims * State the benefits - use statistics and be specific * State the costs - be specific * Describe how the project will be monitored and evaluated * Exit strategy: what will you do when the funding ends? Assume no background knowledge, avoid jargon. Ask people not associated with the project to read the application, and listen to what they say. Make sure the first page acts as a stand-alone summary of the entire proposal: what you want to do, why it's important, why you will succeed, and how much it will cost. * Who you are * What you do * Why the need * What you need funds for * Why your work is important (data) * Partnerships / other funders * Annual report / accounts Don't set unrealistic targets. * Know your project * Know your group's achievements * Have a budget * Have a timeline * Prove the benefit * Know the funder * Include volunteer contributions in budget
