Research development training + resources
The KU Research Development team and partners across campus and beyond provide training and resources to help researchers build collaborations, improve grant writing skills, and optimize their chances of securing grants.
View training and resource opportunities below.
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National Science Foundation CAREER Writing Workshop
The NSF CAREER program typically expects to fund 450 proposals from approximately 3,000 applicants. To succeed, proposals must rank in the top 10 to 15 percent.
Want to increase your chances of success? Participate in KU’s 2025 CAREER Writing Workshop.
Brought to you by the KU Office of Research and the Bremner Editing Center in the KU School of Journalism, the program will provide strategies and tips for writing competitive CAREER proposals from CAREER Award winners and former NSF program officers, highlight potential educational-plan partners at KU, and explore the use of advanced writing techniques and partner review for enhancing proposal clarity and persuasiveness.
CAREER Writing Workshop details
Crafting a competitive CAREER proposal requires dedication, skill and nuance. You’ll be competing against your peers, a group that’s already succeeded through many years of rigorous selection. In this context, a solid research plan is necessary, but not sufficient.
Successful CAREER awards integrate research and education plans and demonstrate excellence in both: They’re expected to present a career-development plan, not merely a research proposal. While no amount of grantsmanship can rescue a weak concept, clear and compelling presentation can propel an innovative and well-balanced plan across the funding line. In this workshop, we will provide strategies and tips for writing competitive CAREER proposals from CAREER Award winners and former NSF program officers, highlight potential educational-plan partners at KU, and explore the use of advanced writing techniques and partner review for enhancing proposal clarity and persuasiveness.
Workshop format
The workshop consists of two parts: seminars and the workshop cohort. Seminars are sessions open to anyone interested in applying for a CAREER grant; they cover all aspects of the CAREER process. The workshop cohort is an intensive, peer-centered set of meetings intended to help participants refine and polish all aspects of their CAREER proposals. Participants in the cohort will get detailed review and specific feedback according to a strict timeline; as such, the cohort is limited to 10 participants.
| Date | Event | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, Sept. 30 | Cohort due date: Cohort application materials, time slot availability form, CV, and 1-page CAREER summary to Doug at dbornemann@ku.edu. | NA |
| Oct. 11, 12-1 p.m. | Cohort meeting: Cohort Interviews/Meet & Greet | In person |
| Oct. 25, 12-1 p.m. | Seminar: CAREER Overview & Strategy Tips
| Register on Zoom |
| Cohort: Applicants notified of selection status | ||
| Nov. 1, 12-1 p.m. | Seminar: Insider Perspectives – Program Officer Panel
| Register on Zoom |
| Nov. 15, 12-1 | Seminar: Incorporating Educational Activities into Grant Proposals
| Spencer Museum of Art, Reception Room |
| Nov. 22, 12-1 p.m. | Seminar: Basic Grant Writing
| Register on Zoom |
| Winter break | Cohort: continue drafting proposals | ||
| Week of Jan. 27 | Seminar: Simply Engaging: Crafting Clear, Concise Prose (Lisa McLendon, Bremner Editing Center) | Zoom or in person |
| Cohort: Begin revising summary pages based on seminar tips. | ||
| Week of Feb. 3 | Cohort due date: Self-edited summary pages due to Doug. Doug and Lisa edit the revised summary pages. | n/a |
| Week of Feb. 10 | Cohort: Summary-page edits returned. Cohort reviews/ incorporates feedback and readies summary pages for Read-and-Critique Roundtables. | n/a |
| Week of Feb. 17 | Cohort meeting: Summary Read-and-Critique Roundtable #1. Participants read their polished summary pages aloud for Cohort comments and feedback. Cohort begins preparing presentations for Full-Proposal Roundtables. | In person |
| Week of Feb. 24 | Cohort meeting: Summary Read-and-Critique Roundtable #2 (If necessary). Participants read their polished summary pages aloud for Cohort comments and feedback. Cohort continues preparing presentations for Full-Proposal Roundtables. | In person |
| Week of March 3 | Seminar: Previous CAREER Winners Panel Discussion. | Zoom |
| Cohort due date: Each cohort member submits a proposal figure for graphic-design group critique and review. | ||
| Week of March 10 | Optional figure workshop | |
| Spring break | ||
| Week of March 24 | Optional figure workshop | |
| Week of March 31 | Cohort meeting: Full-Proposal Presentation and Roundtable #1: Cohort members present research and educational plans to the group, get constructive feedback. (10-minute presentation followed by 10-15 minutes of live discussion, 2-3 presenters per session). | In person |
| Cohort: Continue preparing narrative drafts in April. | ||
| Week of April 7 | Cohort meeting: Full-Proposal Presentation and Roundtable #2. | In person |
| Week of April 14 | Cohort Meeting: Full-Proposal Presentation and Roundtable #3: | In person |
| Week of April 21 | Cohort meeting: Full-Proposal Presentation and Roundtable #4 (if necessary) | In person |
| Week of April 28 | Seminar: Incorporating Proposal Feedback (Carol Burdsal). | Zoom |
| Cohort due date: Full-proposal drafts due to Doug for Partner Full-Proposal Exchange. Doug and Lisa will distribute to a cohort partner. | ||
| Week of May 5 | Cohort: Exchange partners work on edits/comments | n/a |
| Week of May 12 | Cohort due date: Partner critiques are due to Doug for distribution back to authors. | n/a |
| Week of May 14 | Workshop Wrap-up: Workshop review—Discussion of what worked and what didn’t. | In person |
| May-July | Cohort: Optional Doug/Lisa/Carol proposal edit and PEER Review: Submit proposals to external subject-matter expert for specialist feedback using KOR PEER. Revise and polish for final submission. | n/a |
| July: Submit Proposals to NSF! |
NSF CAREER-eligible applicants employed by the University of Kansas can request a spot in the workshop cohort by completing the timeslot availability form and emailing a CV and 1-page CAREER summary to Doug Bornemann at dbornemann@ku.edu no later than Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. The application should include a current CV/biosketch and a summary page for the applicant’s CAREER project prepared in Microsoft Word according to the content and formatting requirements specified in the most current NSF CAREER solicitation and NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).
This one-page summary should contain a project overview and a description of the project’s intellectual merits and broader impacts, as detailed in the PAPPG. If more than 10 applications are received, the submitted summary pages may influence applicant selection. These summary pages will receive detailed feedback during the workshop.
Attendance
By accepting a cohort position, you are committing to completing the drafting, editing, and reviewing elements of the workshop in a timely fashion. These activities will require significant effort beyond the scheduled meeting times. While missing a meeting or two can be accommodated, you’ll still be expected to comply with the proposal drafting, editorial, and evaluation due dates. If you doubt you can commit the time required for cohort participation but would still like to participate, consider attending the seminars. Seminars are open to everyone and require no application or outside time commitment.
National Institutes of Health Writing Workshop
Are you a biomedical investigator at the University of Kansas looking to expand or enhance your research funding portfolio with the National Institutes of Health? Have you considered pursuing NIH funding but struggled to identify which opportunity is right for your research? Increase your chances of success by participating in KU's NIH Writing Workshop.
Brought to you by the KU Office of Research and the Bremner Editing Center in the KU School of Journalism, the workshop will provide strategies and tips for writing competitive proposals from experienced NIH-funded investigators and explore the use of advanced writing techniques and partner review for enhancing proposal clarity and persuasiveness.
NIH Writing Workshop details
Participants will learn from past KU NIH winners who will present strategies that focus for each part of the application to ensure competitiveness. The workshop also will include presentations from experts that focus on basic grant writing skills. Guided discussions and exercises — including partner review for enhancing proposal clarity and persuasiveness — will help participants draft the most compelling proposals.
Workshop format
The workshop consists of two parts: seminars and workshop cohort meetings. Seminars are open to the entire KU community. The workshop cohort is open to investigators interested in applying for any NIH funding mechanism (MIRA/R35, R01, R03, R21, etc.) and features intensive, peer-centered meetings intended to help participants refine and polish all aspects of their NIH proposals. Cohort participants will get detailed review and specific feedback according to a strict timeline. The cohort will be limited to 10-15 applicants who must be KU faculty.
Week of Feb. 5: NIH Introductory Seminar | Learn Strategies to Be More Competitive at the NIH
Week of Feb. 12: Grant Writing Seminar | Simply Engaging (Lisa McLendon, Bremner Editing Center, KU School of Journalism)
Week of Feb. 19: First page (MIRA)/specific aims (other mechanisms) due
Week of March 4: Carol and Doug return reviews Friday, March 8
Week of March 11: Spring break
Week of March 18: Participants incorporate edits
Wednesday, March 20: Panel Discussion: The Secrets of our Success (Candan Tamerler, Lisa Friis, Heather Desaire, and Anthony Fehr)
10 a.m.
Week of March 25: Cohort meetings: First page (MIRA)/specific aims (other mechanisms) page read and critique
Week of April 1: Cohort meetings: First page (MIRA)/specific aims (other mechanisms) page read and critique
Week of April 8: Cohort meetings: First page (MIRA)/specific aims (other mechanisms) page read and critique
Wednesday, April 17: Workshop Webinar | Competitive Subsidiary Documents (Alix Norris, Tn Consulting)
10 a.m.
Week of April 22: No meetings | Participants review each other's proposals for partner exchange assignment
Week of April 29: No meetings | Participants review each other's proposals
Week of May 6: No meetings | Finals week
Week of May 13: No meetings | Carol and Doug provide guidance on assignment #3
Week of May 20: Cohort meetings | Proposal roundtable
Week of May 27: Cohort meetings | Proposal roundtable
Week of June 3: Cohort meetings | Proposal roundtable
Week of June 10: Cohort meetings | Proposal roundtable
Week of June 17: Cohort meetings | Proposal roundtable
Week of June 24: No meetings
Week of July 1: No meetings
Week of July 8: No meetings
Week of July 17: No meetings
Week of July 22: No meetings
Week of July 29: Final cohort meeting | Workshop wrap-up and PEER program discussion
The cohort will be limited to 10-15 applicants who must be KU faculty. To apply, please send a copy of your CV or NIH biosketch — along with a message specifying the NIH grant mechanism to which you wish to apply — to Carol Burdsal at carol.burdsal@ku.edu.
Applications are due Jan. 22, 2024.