Tips on How to Write A Winning Grant Proposal

(1)

Tips on How to Write A Winning Grant Proposal

A.P. Dr Mohd Shahir Shamsir Research Management Centre

15 Jan 2015

(2)

INTRODUCTION

CORRECTING THE RESEARCH PARADIGM

(3)

Current scenario?

(4)

Current scenario?

(5)

Our scenario?

(6)

Future scenario?

(7)

Common research paradigm

Apply for

research grant Supervise

students Publication H-Index Promotion Retire?

Apply for

research grant Supervise

students Publication H-Index Promotion Retire?

Apply for

research grant Supervise

students Publication H-Index Promotion Retire?

Research 1

Research 2

Research 3

(8)

Thematic research paradigm

Disease monitoring using mobile

devices Income generation

Industry and Social perception

Adoption &

traction

Framework and design Device

heteroneity Software &

hardware

• Longer life cycle; 5-10 years

• Leverage different funds

• Leverage different levels

• Sufficient to

• graduating mass

• build credibility

• create cohort

• publication traction

(9)

Asymmetric Research paradigm

Income generation Social and

Industry impact

RESEARCH UG

supervision

Incoming Industrial placement Branding of

niche specialty

Industry’s pain

points

(10)

Multiplier effect in research

Example of equipment purchase

Accredited

research facilities Services Consultation Income

Equipment

purchase Research Publication H-Index

Training Income Network Publication H-Index Networking Publication Students

Services Income H-Index

De-facto

(11)

RESEARCH GRANTS

CORRECTING THE APPLICATION PARADIGM

(12)

Research Grants

• Determines the way we write their proposal

• Research funding sources?

– Private (industry, NGO, associations)

• TORAY, UNDP, JICA, World Bank, WHO, National Geographics

– Public (agencies, one-off, state, national, global)

• KPM; FRGS, PRGS, LRGS, RACE, KTP

• MOSTI; Technofund, eScience

• MOA, NRE, KETTHA

• AADK, MDEC, SSM, SKMM, FELDA

• Academy Sciences,

– Alternative? Pro-bono work? CSR? Crowdsourcing?

• On-demand research

• PetriDish

Innocentive

(13)

Research Grants

• Determines the way we write their proposal

• Research Level

– Fundamental vs applied

– Science and technology/social sciences/hybrids

• Research focus

– Academic research

– Contract research

– Industrial research

– Consultancies

(14)

Crowdsourcing research funding

(15)

Bidding for research funding

USD 5000- USD 1 mil Other examples

• Quirky

• Jovoto

(16)

UN Grants

Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) International Labour Organization (ILO) Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Office of the Secretary General

United Nations Human Settlements Programme (HABITAT)

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD)

United Nations Department of Disarmament Affairs (DDA)

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)

United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Affairs (UNDPKO)

United Nations Department of Political Affairs (DPA) United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI)

United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) United Nations Development

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) United Nations Gender Task Force

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)

United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP)

United Nations Non- Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS)

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

United Nations Secretariat United Nations Staff College (UNSC)

United Nations University For Peace

(17)

Foundations

(18)

Thematic research paradigm

Disease monitoring using

mobile devices Income generation

Industry and Social perception

Adoption &

traction

Framework and design Device

heterogeneity Software &

hardware,

prototyping

(19)

RESEARCH GRANTS

CORRECTING THE WRITING PROCESS

(20)

www.utm.my innovative ● entrepreneurial ● global

Correcting the writing process

• Ongoing, scalable and multifaceted

• Salient points

– Criteria of the funds – Background study

– Limits or prohibitions – Spending credibility – Spending ability

– Supporting document

– Impact of research

(21)

Example: executive Summary

The aggregation of the pathological prion protein (PrPSc) is the cause of prion diseases like Creutzfeldt-Jakob

disease (CJD), fatal familial insomnia (FFI) and Gerstmann-SträusslerScheinker syndrome (GSS), whereby the

familial/genetic CJD (gCJD), FFI and GSS are caused by an autosomal-dominant mutation in the prion protein

gene (PRNP). The structure of PrPSc has the tendency to assemble into insoluble aggregates, hence NMR

spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography are not able to determine the structure of this disease protein,

making molecular dynamic simulation a viable alternative to elucidate the aetiology of these mutations. The

pathogenic mutations E196K, V203G, N173K and Q212H are especially rare in humans and their effects on the

protein conformation has never been studied before. We propose to study the conformational effect of these

four rare mutations using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and characterise the pathogenic

conformational behavior. The MD simulations will utilise wildtype, variants of the prion protein and compare

with various animal prions e.g. horse (Equus ferus caballus) and mouse (Mus musculus) as the E196K for

example has been discovered in these species. The result of this study will elucidate why these mutations are

very rare in human and is pathologically absent in animals. We hypothesize that the delayed disease onset is

due to ineffectual conformational changes of the mutant structure and reduced oligomeric formation

susceptibility. The new knowledge will provide fundamental understanding on the aetiology of rare prion

diseases which may have prolonged latency and delayed onset, making its occurrence a rare event in a human

lifespan.

(22)

Demo with Sample

*Participants would share their proposals to be

edited live during the worshop

(23)

RESEARCH GRANTS

MANAGING THE APPLICATION PROCESS

(24)