Funding Opportunities: Government Funding

In fiscal year 2014, U.S. universities received nearly $25 billion in federal grant funding for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) research. Studies show women are largely underrepresented in STEM fields. Federal agencies are required to enforce Title IXa law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs receiving any federal financial assistanceincluding at universities they fund. GAO was asked to provide information on federal grant-making to women in STEM. This book examines the extent to which differences exist in federal grant awards between women and men in STEM fields; the extent to which federal agencies enforce Title IX at universities they fund for STEM research; and possible actions federal agencies could take to address the representation of women in STEM research.

A first of its kind, this book provides you everything you need to know about successfully navigating the grant writing process including understanding the language of grant writing, finding grants, preparing the proposal, completing the application, preparing budgets, organizing information and timelines, revising and editing the proposal, including the assessment and evaluation, and building meaningful relationships with program officers and colleagues.

The Grant Writing and Crowdfunding Guide prepares you, the young investigator, to step up to the challenge of funding your own research. And what a challenge. Writing a successful grant demands much more than a first-class inquisitive scientific mind. As you will soon discover, raw talent may keep you from drowning in the new world of grants, but staying afloat and learning how to swim are two very different things. This book presents the best strategies you should adopt prior to taking the grant plunge. It will help you draft a reasonable budget plan, assemble a winning grant team, write a stellar pre-proposal, and reassure the funding agencies that the financial risk they take by investing in you will produce great returns. The book also helps you write a grant title, abstract, and a specific aims section that highlight the significance, impact, and innovativeness of your project. It presents specific tools to catch problems early and avoid rejection. It even covers a source of funding you likely have never considered: the public. Crowdfunding not only helps you collect preliminary data within weeks, but also lets you share your passion with people who want to see you succeed.New investigators are usually lost when attempting to write their first grant application. They need a compass to run through the grant maze. This book is that compass. It supplements the work of your mentor, and reviews the practices of your grantor and grant reviewers. Examples are taken from two of the largest grantors in the world, NIH and NSF, and their practices are applicable to other science funding agencies worldwide.Better to be young and funded than old and unfunded.