Kaplan Sponsored Research Strategies Staff Writers offer advice for winning NSF CAREER Awards:
Bethesda, MD – Winter is almost here and Spring cannot be far behind. The mention of Spring brings with it a reminder that we are getting closer to that time of year when young faculty start thinking about applying for NSF Early Faculty Development (CAREER) awards. The NSF CAREER Program offers the Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. NSF especially encourages submission of CAREER proposals from women, members of underrepresented minority groups and persons with disabilities.
To put it bluntly, as soon as new assistant professors move into their offices and get settled in, they are often encouraged to begin work on developing CAREER proposals. If they don’t make it on the first attempt they are encouraged to keep trying until they either win an award or are no longer eligible. To help relieve some of this pressure and guide you in working smarter, KSRS has gathered a few tips on how to increase your chances of winning a CAREER award.
First. There are many common mistakes to avoid. One of the most frequent weaknesses is not paying attention to the award guidelines. Specifically, the solicitation tells you that proposals must include creative, integrative and effective research and education plans, and must show excellence in both education and research. Many applicants discount the importance of the education part. Most authors work hard to create great research plans, but do little to develop their education plans. Applications with weak education plan development rarely get funded. It is important to realize that most applications have strong research plans. Thus, the education plan often determines whether you get an award.
Second. Be sure to read the CAREER Program solicitation carefully and follow all instructions. Provide exactly what is asked for, and nothing less. For example, the solicitation tells you to include an integrated plan of research and education. Make sure you include that. The solicitation tells you to obtain the written endorsement of your department head. Do it. Your bio must contain no more than 10 references. Do it. Your project description is limited to a maximum of 15 pages. Do it.
Third. Run your draft plans by the CAREER contact person in the NSF division or program to which you plan to submit. This is legal and highly encouraged by NSF program officers. They are generally extremely helpful. For example, they might recommend changes that make your proposal more suitable to their division or suggest sending it to another program for which it would be a better fit.
Fourth. Be sure to do a thorough literature review and cite the most important relevant work and researchers in areas covered by your proposal. Include areas of related education in your search. For example, find the relevant published work and cite it on a new approach to cooperative learning, or distance education or K-12 outreach. Do not omit an important researcher, because he or she may be a peer reviewer of your application. And, never be negative in your citations, e.g., propose building on previous work rather than correcting it.
Fifth. Be specific about how you will measure success in your research and education plans. For example, state your hypotheses and itemize the data you plan to collect. Make explicit connections between the hypotheses and the data. In other words, the reviewers want to know how you plan to demonstrate that you have done what you proposed.
Sixth. This is a career development grant. So, take a little time to spell out your long-range goals and how the proposed work will further them. Also, do not be modest in writing your biography, but do not overreach in describing your accomplishments. Include any experience, education, publications, awards and special skills that suggest you can carry out your plans successfully.
Finally. Get feedback from colleagues, mentors and others in the field before submitting your proposal. Nit-picky readers are irritating but can be helpful in pointing out weaknesses.
There are no guarantees, but do the items suggested and you will unquestionably improve your odds. The insights presented here represent a few key hints needed to successfully create and build a career in academic research. KSRS helps researchers to create, establish, fund and sustain research projects. Check us out and consider bringing the special CAREER Award Seminar (described below) to your campus.
Contact KSRS today for more information, including pricing:
202-258-6133