In a continuing series on the basic and general sections of a grant proposal, this month, I am writing about the objectives presented in a proposal.  Please keep in mind when formulating objectives your objectives specify the outcome of your project, the end product(s).  When sponsors fund your projects, they are literally "buying" your objectives.  That is why it is extremely important to state your objectives clearly.  When you write your objectives, follow the acronymic advice:  "Keep them SIMPLE."  Your objectives should be:

S- Specific - indicate precisely what you intend to change through your project.

I- Immediate - indicate the time frame during which a current problem will be addressed.

M- Measurable - indicate what you would accept as proof of project success.

P- Practical - indicate how each objective is a real solution to a real problem.

L- Logical - indicate how each objective systematically contributes to achieving your overall goal.

E- Evaluation - indicate how much change has to occur for the project to be effective.

Although these categories are not mutually exclusive, each of your objectives should meet as many of these criteria as possible.  Your objectives section indicates precisely what you intend to change through your project and what you would accept as proof of project success for your target population.  Your objectives provide the yardstick you use to conduct your evaluation section; that is, if you write your objectives in precise, measurable terms, it is easy to write your proposal evaluation section because you know exactly what will be evaluated.

Key Questions to Answer:

1.  Clearly describe your project's objective, hypotheses, and/or research questions?

2.  Signal to project's objectives without burying them in narrative?

3.  Demonstrate that your objectives are important, significant, and timely?

4.  Include objectives that comprehensively describe the intended outcomes of the project?

5.  State your objectives, hypotheses, or questions in a way that they can be evaluated or tested later?

6.  Demonstrate why your project's outcome is appropriate and important to the sponsor?

List your objectives in no more than one or two sentences each in approximate order of importance.  Do not confuse your objectives with your methods.  A good objective emphasizes what will be done and when it will be done, whereas a method will explain why or how it will be done. 

If you have missed the other sections in this series on the Introduction and Statement of Problems sections, please visit the FRASP web page  and click on the newsletters section (see February and March 2007). 

(--sections reprinted by permission, Miner and Associates, Inc.)

Next month.....Methods.....

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at ext. 5849.

Have a great month!             

   Amy Summerlin                 

Proposals Submitted March 2007

Katherine Powell, Georgia Council for the Arts

Carla Moldavan and Martha Tapia, Mathematics, National Science Foundation

Mathematics and Natural Sciences Projects

National Science Foundation -

Upcoming Deadlines, May & June, 2007

• Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement, May 8
• Discovery Research K-12, May 8
• Science of Science and Innovation Policy, May 22
• Geophysics, June 1
• Broadening Participation in Computing, June 4
• Informal Science Education, June 21
• Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities, June 25
• Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers Program, June 29

Research Corporation

Research Corporation is a private operating foundation that aids basic research in the physical sciences (astronomy, chemistry, and physics mainly) at U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities. It supports ideas independently proposed by college and university faculty members and carries on activities related to science advancement. Opportunities occasionally arise for a department or institution in which the infusion of advice or the placement of resources can result in fundamental changes in operations or outlook. Research Corporation has, since its founding, been actively engaged in strengthening academic science. Research Corporation is willing to consider opportunities for significant science advancement that impacts an individual department or cluster of science departments. We are especially interested in opportunities where Research Corporation could play a catalytic role in strengthening science. The activities to which we are amenable include long-term consultation, program development, and resource enhancement. We will not consider requests to obtain endowment funds, contributions for the construction of new buildings or to complete building renovations, or for matching funds for instrumentation.

National Research Council: 

Senior and Postdoctoral Research Associateships

The goal of the National Research Council’s Research Associateship Programs is to provide advanced training for highly qualified postdoctoral and visiting scientists, while enhancing the research conducted in federal laboratories. This mission is accomplished by recruiting, and competitively selecting, postdoctoral and senior scientists for research awards in the laboratories of more than 30 federal sponsors. Federal sponsors are approved for program participation based on their ability to support postgraduate training in any field of science or engineering. The National Research Council recruits on a national and international basis for applicants to these programs. Panels of experts in all disciplines review applicants and participating laboratories authorize awards to the most qualified applicants, based on the availability of funding. The NRC handles all administrative details of the awards and manages stipend, insurance, travel and other details of the awardees tenure.  The presence of a postdoctoral or visiting scientist adds value to the federal research enterprise by importing new ideas and skills. At the same time, the awardee benefits by exposure to top-notch federal scientists and the availability of, often unique, equipment, facilities and data.

The Research Associateship awards are:

• for doctoral level scientists and engineers (U.S and Foreign Nationals) who can apply their special knowledge and research talents to research areas that are of interest to them and to the host laboratories and centers.
• for Postdoctoral Associates (within 5 years of the doctorate) and for Senior Associates (normally 5 years or more beyond the doctorate).
• for the purpose of conducting research at one of our host laboratories chosen by the applicant.

Deadline:  May 1, 2007

USDA:  National Research Initiative - Competitive Grants

Animal Growth and Nutrient Utilization

Suboptimal nutrition and growth are limiting factors in animal productivity. Basic information regarding these processes in agriculturally important animals, including aquaculture species, is lacking. The primary objective of the program is to increase our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying normal animal growth, development of skeletal muscle, lactation, and nutrient digestion and metabolism. Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the entire Program Description section for current priorities and additional information relative to the programs of interest. This program accepts a wide range of applications, please carefully review the budget guidelines to ensure application acceptance.

Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs -- Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship Grants Program

This program awards grants to train students for master's and/or doctoral degrees and provide additional postdoctoral training for Fellows who have completed their doctoral degrees at colleges and universities that have demonstrable teaching and research competencies in the food and agricultural sciences. Grants are specifically intended to support fellowship programs that encourage outstanding students to pursue and complete their degrees or obtain postdoctoral training in areas where there is a national need for the development of scientific and professional expertise. Applications are being solicited in the following Targeted Expertise Shortage Areas: 1) agricultural genomics and bioinformatics; 2) natural resources and the environment; 3) agricultural systems and natural resource engineering; 4) agricultural management and economics; 5) food science; 6) human nutrition; 7) sciences for agricultural biosecurity; and 8) training in sustainable sciences.

Human Nutrition and Obesity

This crosscutting program addresses the complex problem of obesity prevention. Projects funded by this program are intended to lead to a better understanding of the behavioral and environmental factors that influence obesity and to the development and evaluation of effective interventions to prevent obesity. Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the entire Program Description section for current priorities and additional information relative to the programs of interest. This program accepts a wide range of applications, please carefully review the budget guidelines to ensure application acceptance.

Agricultural Markets and Trade

Success of the U.S. economy in general, and the agricultural and rural economies in particular, is increasingly dependent on maintaining and expanding domestic and international markets It is also dependent on the development of new products, production practices, and business and marketing tools and information that enhance efficiency and correspondingly, the competitiveness of the producer. The Agricultural Markets and Trade program is designed to maintain and expand domestic and international markets and to identify public policies and private strategies that may be employed to enhance marketing efficiency and the competitiveness of agricultural producers. This program accepts a wide range of applications, please carefully review the budget guidelines to ensure application acceptance.

Deadline:  All programs listed above, June 1, 2007

Collegiate Inventors Competition

For 15 years, the Collegiate Inventors Competition has recognized and encouraged undergraduate and graduate students on their quest to change the world around them. With over $120,000 in prizes awarded to top student inventors and their academic advisors, the Competition is one of the most prestigious honors available to college and university innovators.

For a video on this program, and more information, please visit their website.

Deadline:  June 15, 2007

Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences & Education Projects

National Endowment for the Humanities - Upcoming Deadlines

Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions

Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized institutions, such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, town and county records offices, and colleges, improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections. These may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine arts, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, and historical objects.

Applicants must draw on the knowledge of consultants whose preservation skills and experience are related to the types of collections and the nature of the activities that are the focus of their projects. Within the conservation field, for example, conservators usually specialize in the care of specific types of collections, such as objects, paper, or paintings. Applicants should therefore choose a conservator whose specialty is appropriate for the nature of their collections. Similarly, when assessing the preservation needs of archival holdings, applicants should seek a consultant specifically knowledgeable about archives and preservation. Because the organization and the preservation of archival collections must be approached in tandem, an archival consultant can also provide advice about the management needs of such holdings as part of a preservation assessment.

Small and mid-sized institutions that have never received an NEH grant are especially encouraged to apply.

Preservation Assistance Grants may be used for:

• General preservation assessments
• Consultations with professionals to address a specific preservation issue, need, or problem

  Applicants may hire a consultant to help address challenges facing the care of humanities collections. For example, consultants can provide advice about:

  • developing disaster preparedness and response plans;
  • establishing environmental monitoring programs, instituting integrated pest management programs, and developing plans for improving environmental conditions or security or fire protection for collections;
  • studying light levels in exhibition and storage spaces and recommending appropriate methods for controlling light and reducing damage to collections;
  • developing plans for arranging, describing, and addressing the preservation needs of archival and manuscript holdings;
  • developing detailed plans for improving storage or rehousing a collection; and
  • assessing the conservation treatment needs of selected items in a collection
• Purchase of storage furniture and preservation supplies

• Purchase of environmental monitoring equipment for humanities collections
• Education and Training

  Applicants may request support to send staff members who work with humanities collections to workshops and training courses that focus on the care of collections and to workshops on disaster preparedness and response.

  Applicants may also hire a consultant to conduct onsite training for staff and volunteers. Onsite workshops may be tailored to meet specific needs of the institution. Staff and volunteers from neighboring organizations may also be invited to participate in onsite workshops.

Deadline:  May 15, 2007

Fellowships and Faculty Research Awards

Fellowships and Faculty Research Awards support individuals pursuing advanced research in the humanities that contributes to scholarly knowledge or to the general public's understanding of the humanities. Recipients usually produce scholarly articles, monographs on specialized subjects, books on broad topics, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly tools.

Fellowships support full-time work on a humanities project for a period of six to twelve months. Applicants may be faculty or staff members of colleges, universities, or primary or secondary schools, or they may be independent scholars or writers.

Faculty Research Awards support research in the humanities by faculty members at Historically Black and Tribal Colleges and Universities and Institutions with High Hispanic Enrollment. The awards support the equivalent of six to twelve months of full-time work.

NEH Partners and Initiatives

NEH collaborates with two organizations to offer support for scholarly research projects:

• Library of Congress
  Research projects in the humanities or social sciences that draw on the collections of the Library of Congress (LOC) are eligible for support by LOC. Only applicants who qualify as junior scholars are eligible for support. A junior scholar is one who has received a terminal advanced degree in the humanities, social sciences, or a professional field (such as architecture or law) within the past seven years. Exceptions may be made for individuals without continuous academic careers. Interested applicants planning to work with LOC's holdings should apply directly to LOC's Kluge Fellowships Program (www.loc.gov/loc/kluge/).
• Japan-United States Friendship Commission
  Research projects in the social sciences on subjects such as the modern Japanese political economy, international relations and society, and United States-Japan relations are eligible for joint support from NEH and the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) through the NEH Fellowships Program. Applicants are also eligible to apply to the Advanced Social Science Research on Japan Fellowships Program, which is supported by JUSFC and administered by NEH. Applicants may also wish to consult the JUSFC Web site.

NEH currently sponsors three special initiatives:

• We the People
  To help Americans make sense of their history and of the world around them, NEH has launched a special program: We the People. NEH encourages applications that explore significant events and themes in our nation's history and culture and that advance knowledge of the principles that define America. To learn more about We the People, visit the program's Web site.. Proposals will be evaluated through NEH's established review process and will not receive special consideration.
• Digital Humanities Initiative
  Digital technologies offer humanists new methods of conducting research, conceptualizing relationships, and presenting scholarship. NEH is interested in fostering the growth of digital humanities and lending support to a wide variety of projects, including those that employ digital technologies and methods to enhance our understanding of a topic or issue; those that study the impact of digital technology on the humanities—exploring the ways in which it changes how we read, write, think, and learn; and those that digitize important materials thereby increasing the public's ability to search and access humanities information. Individuals interested in applying for a fellowship for projects that utilize digital technologies should consider funding through NEH Digital Humanities Fellowships. Guidelines can be found here. Applicants are not permitted to apply for both a regular Fellowship and a Digital Humanities Fellowship nor a Faculty Research Award and a Digital Humanities Fellowship.
• Rediscovering Afghanistan
  NEH invites applications for projects that focus on Afghanistan's history and culture. The special initiative is designed to promote research, education, and public programs about Afghanistan and to encourage United States institutions to assist Afghanistan in efforts to preserve and document its cultural resources. Learn more about the initiative.

Deadline:  May 1, 2007

National Endowment for the Arts: 

Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth

NEA's Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth program funds projects that help children and youth acquire knowledge, skills, and understanding of the arts consistent with national, state, or local arts education standards. 

For additional information, please click on the title above.

Deadline:  June 11, 2007

Draper Richards Foundation

The Foundation provides funding and business mentoring to social entrepreneurs beginning nonprofit organizations. By delivering support at the critical start-up phase, the Draper Richards Fellowships help outstanding people create wide-reaching social change. The idea must be sustainable and scalable. The founder must have the skills to manage a national or global organization. The projects selected will demonstrate innovative ways to solve existing social problems. The Foundation will accept proposals for a variety of public service areas, including, but not limited to, education, youth and families, the environment, arts, health, and community and economic development. Based on the structure of a venture capital fund, the Foundation offers financial support as well as strategic and organizational assistance. Fellows will be required to present quarterly or annual milestone reports to the Foundation's Director.  The Draper Richards Foundation provides selected social entrepreneurs with funding of $100,000 annually for three years. The funds are specifically and solely for entrepreneurs starting new nonprofit organizations.