Grant-Writing Workshop-1

(prepared by Ashwini Kelkar)

On September 19^th, 2003, the agenda was to introduce the participants to the process of grant-writing to obtain funding for research projects and the various details that go with it. (After a little fiddling around to get the projector up, we were ready.)

The guest speaker was Prof. Renaut, who outlined the basic procedure.

Research funding is an important aspect of any University and to the indivisual.Along with being the means of a summer support, it is an in obtaining tenureship.

A lot of stages are involved and each step is important. The rules have to be followed meticulously, however insignificant they might appear. And any format, and/or guidelines specified must be strictly adhered to. Although the reviewers have a broad range of knowledge, one should not assume them to be experts in your field. A brief explaination of how your research is going to be beneficial, with clear project objectives, and a scheduled project methodology is important. Although the Proposal Summary appears first and plays a key role, it is typically prepared at the end, when you are fully aware of the contents.

Writing a grant proposal requires, almost the same amount of effort, if not more, as required in writing a paper. So, a successful grant proposal is a big challenge, but a rejection should not be viewed as a failiure. It exposes you to all the stages of the process, and it still gives you recognition and prepares you for future grant-writing.

One of the major sources for grants in Mathematics is the NSF (National Science Foundation). For applied mathematics, DARPA and some other sources are also available.

Link to the presentation (containing links to other related useful information!):

http://math.la.asu.edu/%7Erosie/pfmfguidelines03.html