RDO and grants: An introduction Linda Everse Senior Funding - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

MolMed Grant Writing Workshop 2018

RDO and grants: An introduction

Linda Everse Senior Funding Advisor l.everse@erasmusmc.nl

• Research Development Office:

who are we and what do we do?

• Introduction to funding & funding agencies
• Preparing the proposal
• What does a reviewer look for in a CV?

RDO

RDO – who are we?

Management Team Personal Grants

Managing Director Margrietha (Greet) Vink, MBA Coordinator Nathalie Weber, LLM Management Assistant Ellen Muller Personal Grants Margrietha (Greet) Vink, MBA Student Assistant Feya Bijleveld Junior Advisor Marije Behet, PhD

Team NL Team EU Team Global

Coordinator Nathalie Weber, LLM Coordinator Ellen Schenk-Braat, PhD International Affairs Raoul Tan, PhD ZonMw, NWO, KNAW Irene Heijden-Hamelers, PhD H2020 Ismaela Nieuwenhuijs-Stöteler, MSc NIH & Global Charities Linda Everse, PhD Charities Linda Everse, PhD Erasmus+ Annejet Goede, MA Junior Advisor Marije Behet, PhD Top Sectors & PPP Heleen van der Valk-Hohner, MSc Junior Advisor Nina van Wezel, MSc

RDO – what do we do?

Consulting and advice about grant applications

• Advice on what funding agencies and calls could be appropriate for your idea
• Tips on what that agency finds important
• Review of application – rules, coherence, style, flow, how (if!!!) your project is

understandable for non-experts.

• CV-check
• Mock-interviews

increase research cooperation and funding , while reducing the burden in applying for it Grant opportunities & information

• Funding Alert (e-mail newsletter – register on our website!)
• Funding Database
• Intranet site RDO

The RDO website

intranet.erasmusmc.nl/research-development-office

Master Classes via RDO website

RDO – what do we do?

Master classes & information events

• Personal grants (ERC, Veni-Vidi-Vici, charities)
• Netherlands Science Agenda (NWA)
• H2020 / Horizon Europe
• Grant writing (LogFrame)

Masterclass (selection) Date ERC Starting Grant 18 April 2019 Veni 4 July 2019 Personal Grant Charities 26 September 2019 Logframe 14 November 2019 Strategic lobby

• Regular visits from or to funding agencies (liaison-function)
• Analyse agency policies and prioritisation strategies
• Proactively influence funding organizations’ policies to Erasmus’

benefit

• Represent Erasmus MC in international research/education

cooperation missions Our services are freely available to all Erasmus MC staff

Introduction to Funding & Funding Agencies

How a funding agency (FA) works

Project proposal Rank proposals

• - board --

Money goes to top-ranked proposals until it is all gone.

• - board and program staff --

Summarize proposal

findings expert reviewers points of importance to FA

• - program staff or member of board --

Administrative check

follow rules? within scope?

• - program staff --

Administrative check

follow rules? within scope?

• - program staff --

Administrative check

follow rules? within scope?

• - program staff --

Select reviewers

• - program staff --

Select reviewers

• - program staff --

Select reviewers

• - program staff --

Critique proposal

based on guidelines FA fill in response form FA

• - expert reviewers --

Critique proposal

based on guidelines FA fill in response form FA

• - expert reviewers --

Critique proposal

based on guidelines FA fill in response form FA

• - expert reviewers --

Funding agencies: Who is what?

Expert Reviewers

• Scientists with expertise relevant to your application, may be from outside NL
• They usually only see your proposal; they do not compare proposals
• They critique the entire proposal based on the guidelines/response forms from the agency

The Board

• They decide who actually gets funding
• May include scientists, but also physicians, businessmen, and patients
• Most Board members will NOT read your entire proposal – they will depend on the presentation of the

staff plus your general sections (title & abstract). Program Director and staff

• They can reject the application for administrative reasons, e.g. not following the rules, outside the FA

scope.

• Their JOB is to get the best possible proposals for the Board to make their selection
• They are very open to calls from researchers to determine if your project meets their needs or to

answer specific questions – but not questions that you could have figured out by reading the instructions!

Sources of research funding

taxes RvB 1st GS purchases 2nd GS

grant

donations 3rd GS

grant

4th GS

contract

Government and industry

1st GS (government monies)

• Not external, so outside of RDO scope
• Departmental financing via RvB
• Internal grants via MRace/Research Policy, meant to stimulate certain groups/behavior

4th GS (industry)

• Not a grant, so outside RDO scope
• Contract review by Technology Transfer Office (TTO) – really important!!!!
• Payment is not based on input (hours worked), but on output: have you provided the deliverables?
• What are the results worth to the company? How does your project fit within their strategy?

Government granting agencies (2nd GS)

• Different programs/calls are meant to stimulate different things.
• Amount of funding per program is set by parliament.
• Some programs (eg Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI)) are co-funded by industry.
• Often have specific programs designed to stimulate/encourage talented researchers (personal grants).
• Deadlines often recur at regular time points for several years (pre-determined).

Netherlands EU global Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMW) H2020 / Horizon EU National Institutes of Health (NIH) Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) European Research Council / Marie Curie Medical Research Council UK Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) Infrastructures

Charitable granting organizations (3rd GS)

• Broadest and most varied group of granting
• rganizations
• What is important to the charity is decided by its board,

within the limits defined by the original organizer or donation(s). Netherlands global Dutch Heart Foundation Gates Foundation Dutch Cancer Society American Association for Cancer Research Lung Foundation Wellcome Trust Alzheimer NL Fondation Leducq (CV) Kids with Cancer (KiKa) Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Theia Foundation (ZilverenKruis/ Achmea) Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation Association of University Women Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation

(no foreign applications)

• Health charities are often disease-driven, but there are

also charities interested in gender, cultural heritage, UFO’s, bears, skateboards, …, …, …. If you and your project fall within their interests, you can still apply.

• May collaborate with or even originate from a company

(eg Volkswagen Foundation). May also originate from an insurance agency (eg Theia Foundation). This will influence its scope and mission.

• Often standard funding programs with annual or

biannual deadlines, but may also issue special one-off

• calls. If the board decides to change direction,

implementation can be immediate (expected calls replaced with new ones).

• Many also have a personal grant program.

Grant databases

• EUR has a institutional license for

Research Professional: www.researchprofessional.com

• Specify applicant country = NL

 but still check the funders website!!!

• E-mail alerts based on saved searches

Personal Grants

Personal Grants are to stimulate talented researchers – YOU are judged before your project!

Starting Grants 2-7 years > PhD 5 years € 1,500,000 Consolidator Grants 7-12 years > PhD 5 years € 2,000,000 Advanced Grants research leaders 5 years € 2,500,000 Special Criteria High-risk // High-gain Expected to change the field

European Research Council

European Fellowships

• Held in the EU or associated countries.
• Open to researchers either coming to Europe or moving within Europe.
• 1 – 2 years

Global Fellowships

• Fund secondments outside Europe for researchers based in the EU or associated countries.
• 2 – 3 years
• There is a mandatory one-year return period.

Marie-Sklodowska Curie grants provide an allowance to cover your living, travel and family costs.

Marie-Sklodowska Curie Individual Fellowship

• Daniel den Hoed Foundation

an annual research award of € 250,000 for young, promising cancer post-docs in the field of cancer research

• Human Frontier Science Program

postdoctoral fellowships to broaden research skills by moving into new areas of study while working in a new country, up to 3 years

• Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds - PhD Fellowships

fellowships supporting ambitious PhD projects (up to 3 years) of outstanding junior scientists in basic biomedical research in an internationally leading laboratory. Includes mentoring.

• Federation of European Biochemical Societies

highly competitive post-doctoral fellowships to members to encourage mobility. Both short-term (2-3 months) and long-term (1-3 years) are available

Charitable grants of special interest

Preparing the Proposal

Communicating

The key to good communication is: identify your audience and tell them what they need to know in a way that is comprehensible to them

Writing grant proposals and CVs is no different.

Why is good writing important?

Your writing reflects a great deal about important aspects of your research capabilities

• An organized, logical proposal means organized, logical research
• A logical, easy-to-read proposal means a logical, easy-to-read publication (which is the type that

actually gets read and therefore used/cited) So make the reader’s life easier

• Write clearly, understandably, and persuasively
• Make sure that the information that they need to know is easy to find
• A layman or educated non-expert must be able to understand why the research is important and how it

fits the goals of the agency Your reviewers are not at their best

• The typical reviewer is busy, tired, and will certainly put his/her best brain time into his/her own

research, not into your proposal. Remember, they receive no reward for reviewing your proposal.

• They will likely read the proposal in less than ideal circumstances, such as while commuting.
• The reviewer cannot read your mind, and they have neither the time nor the inclination to read a

paragraph three times to try to figure out what you are trying to say. Nor will they spend time searching through your proposal to find the answer to the questions on the review forms.

Tips for a great grant proposal

• Start in time: you will need about 6 months to write a good proposal
• Get expert input: discuss your idea with colleagues and be open to their ideas for improvement
• Read the call documents: understand scope of call and know the eligibility and evaluation criteria to

make sure you address the items that will be scored

• Emphasize your connection with the objectives and priorities of the agency
• Know your audience: try to get an idea of who your evaluators may be
• Know your stakeholders: (societal) impact of research and involvement of end-users is becoming

more and more important, even in fundamental research

• Contact previous awardees: ask if they have tips and request to see their proposal for inspiration
• Tackle every weakness in your proposal: so will the reviewer!
• Be knowledgeable and current: use recent references, also from other groups, check if agency has

similar projects already running

• Have a smashing summary & first page: evaluators need to be convinced on page 1, some will not

read further

Timeline example: VENI 2019

• July 2018

Develop your project idea // Guarantee letter (TTW and SSH)

• October 2018

1st draft to review

RDO supports with feedback

• December 2018

2nd draft to review

RDO supports with feedback

• January 2019

Final adjustments and submission

• Late April 2019

First evaluation

• April/May 2019

Rebuttal

RDO supports with feedback

• May 2019

Mock interview

• rganized by RDO
• May/June 2019

Formal interview at NWO

• July 2019

Decision

What Does a Reviewer Look for in a CV?

Tips for a good CV (1)

(2) Learn how to really use Word

• Tables can be very useful to organize info.
• Use styling to make the most important info pop out, so that the reader can follow the main line

without having to read details.

• Do you know how to set a right tab? A hanging indent? What the difference is between Enter and

Shift-Enter? When to use ‘Keep with next’? How to insert a non-breaking hyphen (and what it is)? (1) Organize well

• Put sections that should be noticed in places where they will be noticed. Better the top of page 3

than the bottom of page 2.

• Your publications should be your last section – no one looks after the publications.

Tips for a good CV (2)

(4) Explain any employment/study gaps in your CV

• Note the gap years and say what you were doing, eg you were sick or caring for a family member.

(3) Show the information that makes you look best

• Unless specific information is requested, leave out information that is not to your advantage.
• If you must show info that is not to your advantage, balance it with info that **IS** to your

advantage.

• For example: if your h-index is not (yet) great, but your average impact factor is well above the

average in your field, only show the average IF unless the guidelines require you to give your h- index, then shown BOTH measures.

So what do granting agencies/reviewers look for?

Evidence of independence and maturity

• publications without your (co-)promotor / senior authorships
• supervision – PhD Students, MSc students, technicians  also mention informal supervision
• rganization/management experience – helping to organize a big congress or orchestrate a large

consortium, having led a grant to successful completion is a big plus! Positions of trust and recognition

• editorial board or advisory board member
• reviewer
• institutional responsibilities

International visibility and experience

• prizes/awards – indicate their prestige, e.g. “best out of X applications”
• (invited) presentations – congresses, workshops, other institutes
• research visits
• participation in international projects
• international collaborators – list your most impressive partners

What should you be aware of?

Social media/ personal webpage – evaluators do look!!!!

• be visible
• be up-to-date
• think hard before you upload that pic of you dancing on a table drunk on tequila at the

International Society of Whatever Annual Meeting!!!! You are NOT inferior!

• no one has EVERYTHING that an evaluator wants to see in a CV
• give a lessor version if you do not have the ideal: if you have not yet gotten a research grant,

tell about your travel grant or conference funding.

• look outside academia if you need to: if you have not led a research project yet, but
• rganized the 2016 Dutch National Ferret Championship, then say that (and indicate size by

budget or number of participants).

• for personal grants, evaluators consider how far you are in your research career when

looking at your CV.

Questions???

Contact RDO: Fd-313 // 4-1032 rdo@erasmusmc.nl intranet.erasmusmc.nl/research-development-office/