Project Narrative (Grant Application: Fill & Download for Free

Your best bet at getting an NIH grant is to propose a novel project with clear innovation (i.e. novelty), impact (i.e. what is the potential benefit if the project is successful), significance (i.e why should scientists care), and clinical translation. The NIH posts several resources to help guide the process of grant writing.[1]Choose an appropriate funding source based on the budget of the work and the type of mentorship or training that the application aims to provide.[2] Students, post-docs, and early stage investigators should apply for distinctly different grants that support their career stage and goals for training. Investigators typically apply for R01 and R21 type grants, post-docs typically apply for F32 or K99 type grants, and students typically apply for F30/F31 grants. T32 grants are administered at the institution level (meaning that the institution applies for the award), and upon receipt of the funding, the institution then can offer predoc or postdoc T32 fellowships.Image source[3]Investigators primarily seek funding through R01 grants. All grant applications, but R01 grant applications in particular, should contain a strong rationale and several specific aims that are independent and individually capable of publications. The research plan should delineate what the impact would be if successful, and what alternative steps could be taken if the feasibility falls through. Good grants should provide some preliminary data showing feasibility, but not so much data that it seems the proposed work is incremental in nature. Strong proposals should spell out who the principal investigators are, and the investigators should have a proven track record in the particular field of study. Letters of support or co-investigators are important if the major PI lacks a track record in the proposed field of study. The most important aspect of the grant application is clarity - what is the motivation, what are the objectives of the project, how will the objectives be carried out and by whom, what alternative approaches exist, and most importantly, what is the significance and potential impact of the project if successful. The application should tell a clear narrative that both an expert in your field and a lay person could understand and appreciate its importance.The success of a grant application is determined primarily by the clarity of the proposal, the choice of study group, and just plain luck. Grants are not necessarily assigned purely on a need or merit basis for a PI - they indicate the quality and potential impact of a project, with consideration given to the lab environment, personnel, and mentorship. Failure to receive funding from a grant application should not be seen as a personal or professional failure - it represents the norm and an opportunity to improve and make the grant application stand out among the next round of applications. Stay on top of deadlines and plan to move the project forward with ongoing experiments and further preliminary data while waiting for the funding decision - this productivity will pay off for the revised application.Image source[4]Best of luck to you!Footnotes[1] Write Your Application[2] Grant Writing Tips Sheets[3] Grants & Funding[4] Strategy for NIH Funding

If by research proposal, you mean a grant application, here is the general form of an NIH grant proposal:IntroductionSummarize all the relevant literature to your proposalPropose 3 specific aims of your research proposal, where each specific aim captures a particular objectiveSignificance - highlight what makes your research proposal impactful (i.e. who would find it important, and why)Innovation - highlight what is novel about your approach that distinguishes itself from other similar approaches. If your approach is 100% novel and nobody has done it before, you can be brief here and bolster the significance section insteadApproach - highlight here the hypotheses and methods of your proposed research plan. Organize this section into the specific aims you highlighted in the introduction.Highlight preliminary data that you have gathered which motivate future studiesGive alternative strategies in case your proposed methodology fails to produce the result you're looking for or your hypothesis was incorrectFor any research proposal, you'll also need several other documents including*Biosketch - essentially a shortened version of your CV (this document has a very specific format, so make sure to follow the particular format of the funding agency)Project narrativeLetters of supportPrior funding - list all grants you previously receivedList of past and current traineesResearch environment - list of equipment/resourcesVertebrate animal studies - there are several different documents that must be complete if you propose animal studies in your research*note that this is not an exhaustive list, but something to consider if you plan to apply for a grantReferences:http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/SF424_RR_Guide_General_VerC.pdfhttp://grants.nih.gov/grants/writing_application.htm#developPlan

Many of the faculty I work with find that writing a grant proposal helps them to organize their thoughts. It is common to enjoy explaining your ideas to others, which is essentially what a grant proposal is.It can be fun to dream about your next project, which is why the narrative portion of the grant proposal is often enjoyable for researchers. Sometimes it's more fun to think about future projects than to actually work on current ones, unfortunately.Even the rote portions of grant applications (e.g. completing forms) can be enjoyable if you need a break from higher-order thinking for a while.Unfortunately, most research proposal-writing is tied up with high-stakes pressures like your graduation, job search and/or tenure. It is often the stress of these associations that make people dislike proposal-writing.