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 2022 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.
Fall 2021 (via Zoom)
Friday, Oct. 15: Cohort application materials due
Tuesday, Oct. 19: Notify cohort applicants of selection status
Thursday, Oct. 21: Seminar: CAREER Overview and Strategy Tips | 12 – 1 p.m. | Register on Zoom
- Suzanne Shontz, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science/CAREER and PECASE winner
Short cohort meeting following the seminar
Thursday, Oct. 28: Seminar: Insider Perspectives Program Officer Panel | 12 – 1 p.m. | Register on Zoom
- Ted Bergman, Mechanical Engineering
- Joane Nagel, Sociology
- Paulyn Cartwright, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology/CAREER winner
- Carol Burdsal, Director, Research Development
Thursday, Nov. 4: Seminar: Incorporating Educational Activities into Grant Proposals | 12 – 1:30 p.m. | Register on Zoom
- Ward Lyles, CTE Ambassador/CAREER winner
- Alison Olcott, Center for Undergraduate Research
- Teresa MacDonald, KU Natural History Museum
- Celka Straughn, Spencer Museum of Art
Thursday, Nov. 11: Seminar: Basic Grant Writing | 12 – 1 p.m. | Register on Zoom
- Carol Burdsal, Director of Research Development
December Break: Cohort continues proposal drafting and participation in optional partner exchanges.
Tentative Spring 2022 (in-person vs. Zoom TBD)
Jan. 31: Initial full proposal draft due.
Cohort continues drafting/refining project description.
Week of Jan. 31: Seminar: Simply Engaging: Crafting Clear, Concise Prose
- Lisa McLendon, Coordinator, Bremner Editing Center
Week of Feb. 7: Self-edited summary page due.
Week of Feb. 14: Seminar: Previous CAREER Winners Panel
Summary page edits due for return to cohort. Cohort reviews feedback and readies summary pages for read-and-critique roundtables.
Week of Feb. 21: Cohort meeting
First summary read-and-critique roundtable: Participants read their polished summary pages aloud for cohort comments and feedback. Cohort begins preparing presentations for full-proposal roundtables.
Week of Feb. 28: Cohort meeting
Second summary read-and-critique roundtable (if not completed in previous session)
Week of March 7: Cohort meeting
Full-proposal presentation and roundtable #1: Cohort members present pre-recorded research and educational plans to the group, get constructive feedback. (Play recorded 10-minute presentation followed by 15 minutes of live discussion, 2-3 presenters per session).
Week of March 21: Cohort meeting
Full-proposal Roundtable #2
Week of March 28: Cohort meeting
Full-proposal Roundtable #3
Week of April 4: Cohort meeting
Full-proposal Roundtable #4
Week of April 11: Seminar: Incorporating Proposal Feedback
- Carol Burdsal, Director, Research Development
Partner full proposal exchange: Full-proposal drafts due for exchange.
Week of April 18: Cohort meeting
Partner critiques due
Week of April 25: Mock panel exercise
- Doug Bornemann, Assistant Director, Research Development
- Carol Burdsal, Director, Research Development
Week of May 2: Workshop Wrap-up
May-July: PEER Review
Submit proposals to external subject-matter experts for feedback. Revise and polish for final submission.
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 online application formno later than Friday, Oct. 15, 2021. The application should include 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.
Seminar #1
Seminar #2
Seminar #3
Seminar #4
Seminar #5
National Institutes of Health Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award for Early Stage Investigators
Are you a young biomedical investigator at the University of Kansas looking to establish an independent research laboratory? A special funding opportunity from the National Institutes of Health could help you achieve your goal, and KU’s MIRA Writing Workshop is designed to increase your chances of securing an award.
Brought to you by the KU Office of Research, the workshop will provide strategies and tips for writing competitive proposals for the Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award for Early Stage Investigators, a grant program sponsored by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
MIRA Writing Workshop details
Participants will learn from a current NIH MIRA program officer, a past KU MIRA winner, and a MIRA reviewer. 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 the workshop cohort. Seminars are sessions open to anyone interested in applying for a MIRA; they cover all aspects of the MIRA process. The workshop is an intensive, peer-centered set of meetings intended to help participants refine and polish all aspects of their MIRA proposals. Participants in the cohort will get detailed review and specific feedback according to a strict timeline.
April 16: Seminar | Simply Engaging: Crafting Clear, Concise Prose
- Lisa McLendon, Bremner Editing Center
April 30: Proposal roundtable
May 7: Proposal roundtable
May 14: Proposal roundtable
May 21: Proposal roundtable
May 28: Proposal roundtable
Summer 2021
Unless otherwise noted, all meetings will be conducted via Zoom.
June 4: Proposal roundtable
June 11: Cohort meeting
June 18: Seminar | Incorporating Proposal Feedback
- Carol Burdsal, Director of Research Development
June 25: Cohort meeting
July 2: The Letter of Support
July 9: The NIH Biosketch
July 16: Cohort meeting
July 23: Deliver 6-page research strategy to cohort partner for edits/comments
July 30: Partners return edited 6-page documents
Aug. 6: Deliver research strategy documents to PEER Review
Aug. 13: Workshop wrap-up
Oct. 4: MIRA due date