Overview

The Office of Sponsored Projects and the Division of Statistics and Scientific Computation (SSC) offer free grant development assistance each semester to eight (8) early-career tenure-track faculty at The University of Texas at Austin who have not received federal funding to date. The program is specifically designed to improve our faculty’s development of successful NIH and NSF proposals, including those for exploratory and early-career grants (e.g., NIH R03 or R21; NSF CAREER). Participating faculty will receive structured guidance and writing assistance on all major sections of their proposals, with special emphasis on the methods and analysis sections. Faculty will attend presentations on how to make each section of the proposal as effective as possible, and will participate in peer review sessions with other participating faculty to strengthen each other’s proposals. Each faculty member will also be assigned a statistical or mathematical consultant to collaborate on the creation of a high-quality analysis section. The program is an intensive one, requiring two to three meetings per month across the spring semester, with the aim of creating a strong draft of an NIH or NSF proposal by June of 2010. In addition to developing new proposals for submission, faculty may also use this program to work toward the resubmission of a proposal that has been rejected previously by NSF or NIH.

In addition to monthly presentations about each section of a research plan, faculty will work closely with each other and with their assigned SSC statistical or mathematical consultants. SSC consultants can assist faculty across a wide array of disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, biomechanics, biogerontology, genomics, engineering, and many other fields. For more information about the Division of Statistics & Scientific Computation, see http://ssc.utexas.edu.

Deadline

IFor the spring 2010 semester, applications for the Early-Career Grant Development Support program are due by December 1, 2009, for grant proposals to be submitted no earlier than June 2010.

Eligibility

Early-career (within three years of joining The University of Texas at Austin), tenure-track faculty who have not received federal funding.

Application

• APPLICATION FORM.
• a description of the proposed research project that discusses the project’s significance, approach and innovation (three-page maximum; two additional pages may be included to describe any preliminary studies)
• if the proposal is a resubmission, submit any feedback or reviews that were received from the funding agency for the original submission (no page limit)
• a current c.v. or biographical sketch (NSF or NIH format)
• NOTE: DO NOT submit a Proposal Review Form with your application.
• Send your complete application (with your CV and project description) to Nate Marti, via e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by 6:00 p.m. on December 1, 2009. If you prefer to submit a paper application, you may send it to: Nate Marti, Division of Statistics and Scientific Computation, G2500.

Schedule

The schedule of events for participants is as follows (all events are mandatory):

• January 21, 2010:        Introductory meeting and Grant Writing Workshop
• January 2010:              Work on “Page 1” material (including Specific Aims or merit/impact statements, depending on the grant)
• January 2010:              Meet with Consultant to review Page 1 material
• February 4, 2010:        12:00 p – 1:00 p - Presentation #1 NIH and NSF – What to Know Before You Begin
• March 4, 2010:            12:00 p – 1:00 p - Presentation #2 Background and Significance; Goals or Aims
• April 8, 2010:               12:00 p – 1:00 p - Presentation #3 Research Methods and Preliminary Studies
• May 6, 2010:               12:00 p – 1:00 p -  Presentation #4 Other Proposal Components (e.g., Broader Impact)
• June, 2010:                 Submission of Final Product to Sponsor

Frequently Asked Questions

Some faculty have contacted us questioning their eligibility for the ECGD program, stating that they have received NSF/NIH funding as part of a consortium or group proposal, dissertation grants, past postdoctoral fellowships, etc. Such faculty are still eligible to participate in the ECGD program. The ECGD program supports those who have not yet received NSF/NIH funding for a research grant in which their role is *single lead investigator (PI, not co-PI).* Please note that ECGD program content has been developed specifically to assist faculty with the preparation of single-investigator research proposals, including early career development proposals.

We have also received questions about the mandatory meeting requirement for the four meetings taking place from 12-1 on Thursdays. To accommodate faculty that have conflicts in their teaching schedules, we will make video recordings of those sessions to allow their participation in the program.

For additional questions, contact Nate Marti at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it