18 June 2002

What are little proposals made of?

Here's a quick overview of what goes into a NSF grant proposal:

  • Information about the "Principal Investigator." That's me. It's simple and boring information, like mailing address and contact info. Nothing as interesting as, say, Bernard Pivot's questionnaire.
  • A one page summary, where I have to promote both how good the science is and describe all the good things this will do for society ("broader impacts," they're called).
  • The description itself. Up to 15 pages, single spaced. Again, it has to both encapsulate the science and say how great it will be for society at large.
  • The references included in the description of the project.
  • A so-called "biographical sketch," which is essentially a short curriculum vitae.
  • A budget.
  • A list of all the other funding you currently have. Easy for me, because I won't have any!
  • A list of equipment and resources I have available to carry out the research.

Currently, I have a decent draft of everything but the budget. Ug. Drawing up that budget is turning out to be an uphill battle.

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