FY24 Proposal Development Workshops
Proposal Development Workshops (PDWs) are 30-minute webinars (followed by 30 minute small group discussions) on key milestones along the funding journey. Presenters provide best practice and ASU-specific insight across all facets of proposal development. Starting with understanding the funding landscape, going through finding a solicitation, developing a proposal, and preparing a budget, each webinar is a quick look at best practice. These webinars are appropriate to all stages of researcher from any discipline for any sponsor. PDW’s are held approximately every other week at 10am AZ through the academic year. Sponsored by KE Research Development.
Fall 2023 & Spring 2024 Workshop Slate
Full list: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/events/pdw
Download the flyer (with registration links): /sites/default/files/FY24%20Proposal%20Development%20Workshop%20Series%20Links.pdf
Research Landscape and Strategy (PDW #1)
In this session, Research Development will detail how faculty can develop a strategic approach to pursuing research funding. Attendees will gain an understanding of: (1) strategic intelligence and how it can assist them in understanding their sponsor, program, and competition and (2) proposal review, which offers insight into how to navigate the proposal review process strategically. With a refined understanding of these concepts, faculty will be able to craft a research strategy that puts them one step ahead of their competition!
Workshop Date: August 17, 2023
Presenters: Catherine Chen, Strategic Intelligence Analyst, & team
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW1
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-research-landscape-and-strategy-pdw-1
Finding Funding Opportunities (PDW #2)
Do you have a great idea, but need funding to make your idea a reality? Look no further than our finding funding opportunities workshop. We will explore different resources that are available to research open opportunities for funding by both federal and philanthropic granting agency. Funding searches can be conducted in a variety of way, so we will talk about some tips and tricks to help maximize your time searching for funding. During this workshop, we will take a live tour of both Foundation Directory Online as well as the Pivot Funding Search Tool. Both can help make what may seem like a daunting task of shifting through potential funders and endless open opportunities much more manageable.
Workshop Date: August 31, 2023
Presenters: Melinda Marino & JulieAnna Carson & Traci Quinn
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW2
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-finding-funding-opportunities-pdw-2
Learning Lessons: First-Generation Researchers (PDW #3)
New places, mean new rules and expectations. Often there are unspoken rules that seem obvious to most of our colleagues but not to everyone, and this can make some of us feel out of place, isolated and frustrated. In addition to not knowing what the unspoken rules are, paperwork and administration at ASU can be overwhelming. This session is for those who have felt or may feel as described above, or for anyone interested in learning how to better navigate the research environment. We appreciate that sometimes you need to know where to find resources for career development or for learning how to get your first grant, or just to hear from someone who made it in academia. We bring together ASU leaders who are intimately involved in day-to-day faculty support for research-related activities and are research active faculty themselves, to provide tips and tricks (links and recommendations) for navigating the research ecosystem (inclusive of STEM, social sciences, and humanities) for those who are new or novices (at any career level) in the research ecosystem. From securing students and research space to a timeline for tenure, attendees will leave with greater confidence in beginning their journey.
Workshop Date: September 14, 2023
Presenters: Vanessa Fonseca-Chavez, Vernon Morris, & Elizabeth Wentz
Point of Contact: Faye Farmer
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW3
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-learning-lessons-first-generation-researchers-pdw-3
Effective Messaging Before Writing a Proposal (PDW #4)
Learn how to pitch your research or scholarship idea to a funder’s program officer, a potential collaborator, or just focusing an abstract or executive summary for your proposal. Participants will walk through three tools for creating and presenting proposal messages: the Heilmeier Catechism, the Proposal Quad Chart, and Logic Models. They will learn how to convert these tools into a brief pitch you can use as a template for future conversations. Guest speakers will provide tips on presenting your proposal ideas to various funding agencies with help on pivoting your ideas to match the needs of the funder.
Workshop Date: September 28, 2023
Presenters: Quyen Wickham & Moriah Locklear
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW4
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-effective-messaging-writing-proposal-pdw-4
Book Proposal Development (PDW #5)
Are you an aspiring author with groundbreaking research that deserves to be published and recognized? Unlock the secrets to crafting a compelling book proposal! Learn the essential components of a proposal. Discover how to effectively communicate the significance of your research and its contribution to your field, making your proposal stand out to publishers. Let us help you refine your writing samples so that you demonstrate your expertise and credibility as a leading voice in your field. We’ll get you started on your writing journey, paving the way for your research to leave a lasting impact!
Workshop Date: October 12, 2023
Presenter: Elizabeth Sheets
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW5
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-book-proposal-development-pdw-5
Creating a Responsive Grant Proposal (PDW #6)
A program you’ve been waiting for has just released a call for proposals and the due date is in three months–now what? Don’t let a blank page deter you from getting organized and ready to craft your response! With the sponsor’s call for proposals, you already have the answers to many of the questions you are being asked to address. Do you want to write faster, with sharper focus, and increase your chances of being funded? If so, then join as we 1) discuss a proposal construction technique that will help you better understand what the sponsor wants, 2) learn how to increase responsiveness in your written submission,3) make it easier for reviewers to navigate and assess your proposal, and 4) reduce the chances of proposal rejection due to non-compliance.
Workshop Date: October 26, 2023
Presenters: Kaushik Balakrishnan & Megan Blease
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW6
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-creating-responsive-grant-proposal-pdw-6
Persuasive Proposal Writing (PDW #7)
Staring at a blank page can be overwhelming and intimidating. Reading text that is dry and not engaging is worse! There are a host of small tweaks to our writing that can change dry text to more persuasive text. There are also some major structural text changes you can make so that the reader is instantly engaged and encouraged to read on, specifically, the concepts of “benefit statements” and “win themes”. This webinar will introduce you to both the easy and the more complicated approaches to persuasive text. Attend this webinar if you are interested in learning more about how to frame your proposal narrative, if you’ve never written a proposal before, or are interested in revising your existing proposal text to make it more persuasive.
Workshop Date: November 7, 2023
Point of Contact: Eva Allen
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW7
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-persuasive-proposal-writing-pdw-7
Editing Your Proposal (PDW #8)
You’ve finished writing your proposal, but before you submit, there is one more crucial step – editing. Don’t let editorial errors distract your reviewers from the quality of your proposed idea. Attend this workshop to learn some simple tools, beyond a cursory spell check, that will help you submit a well-polished proposal. In this presentation, you will learn common editing mistakes and simple ways to avoid or correct them. You will learn practical steps to edit your work from the document level down to the word and grammar level. You will learn how to use tools like Styles in Microsoft Word and readability statistics to edit your work quickly and easily. Give your reviewers a document that is pleasant to look at and enjoyable to read by employing the editing techniques taught in this presentation.
Workshop Date: November 14, 2023
Point of Contact: Daniel Froid & Terry Christenson
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW8
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-editing-your-proposal-pdw-8
Proposal Layout and Graphics (PDW #9)
Are you intimidated by graphics? Do you lack creative flair? Let’s learn the importance of leveraging graphics for impactful proposals. To keep the audience engaged and strengthen research, it is essential to adhere to data visualization best practices. This will help determine the best way to present data visually. Data visualization should be useful, visually appealing, and never misleading. Applying some basic principles of design which are balance, contrast, hierarchy, and color will result in a cohesive visually appealing proposal. Attend this webinar if you’re interested in learning more about how to successfully execute a proposal with layout technique and clean-cut innovative graphics.
Workshop Date: February 6, 2024
Point of Contact: Vincent Alrich
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW9
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-proposal-layout-and-graphics-pdw-9
Budgeting for Proposals (PDW #10)
Submitting a budget mismatched to your proposed project may be disastrous and significantly impact your award probability. This session provides strategies for creating a budget that aligns with your project whether with a single or multiple investigators. Session participants will learn who to turn to for assistance, the common federal budget categories, factoring hidden costs, creating a budget planning timeline, how to write a budget justification, and how a milestones table can create a solid budget and increase your award probability.
Workshop Date: February 20, 2024
Point of Contact: Mikayla Madjidi & Howard Bergman
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW10
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-budgeting-proposals-pdw-10
Collaboration for Beginners (PDW #11)
Teaming and collaboration are fundamental to success for faculty. The pursuit of federal sponsored awards via proposals is no different. Collaboration in these cases reflects existing relationships and often includes the addition of partnerships. Proposals have accelerated timelines, requirements for participation, and other specific demands which may force relationships. Creating credible collaborations is essential in securing an award. Join this presentation to learn best practices around structural and personal features of successful collaboration as a team member and a leader of a team.
Workshop Date: April 4, 2024
Point of Contact: Faye Farmer
Speakers: Christina Ngo, Jacob Moore, Rafael Martinez Orozco, Deirdre Pfeiffer, Aaron Guest
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW11
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-collaboration-beginners-pdw-11
You Need Supplementary Documents More Than They Need You (PDW #12)
Attend this webinar to unlock the secrets of effective supplementary or ancillary documents. These document should not be considered laborious, unscored “must haves”. Instead, think of them as extensions of your research plan. This session will walk through the data management plan as an exemplar of an “enhanced” supplementary document. By leveraging the many resources at ASU, all of the extra documents can be bolstered to tell a more compelling (and competitive) story for your funding. You’ll understand that these hidden gems can be clear differentiators.
Workshop Date: April 9, 2024
Presenters: Kathryn Claypool & Matthew Harp,
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW12
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-you-need-supplementary-documents-more-they-need-you-pdw-12
Crafting Evaluation Plans (PDW #13)
How do you know what you are doing is successful? You measure it! Integrating evaluation across proposals increases the strength of your plan and provides the sponsor assurances that you know what you are doing. While program evaluation activities are very specific, this session can introduce you to fundamentals of evaluation plans. Examples of best practices and sponsor specific requirements will be reviewed. Participants will feel empowered to identify ways to evaluate their proposed efforts.
Workshop Date: April 23, 2024
Presenters: Wendy Barnard & Ayesha Boyce
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW13
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-crafting-evaluation-plans-pdw-13
Working with the ASU Foundation (PDW #14)
Begin to demystify philanthropic funding by understanding the who, what, where, how, and why of their funding process and expectations. Representatives from the ASU Foundation will provide clear and effective best practices for navigating the process of identifying and working with philanthropic sponsors. Participants will learn effective strategies to approach private philanthropic organizations, how to effectively navigate interpersonal relationships, and improve understanding of, and assimilate, ASU policy for application to private foundations. At the end of the session, participants will be able to identify prospective private philanthropic organizations in alignment with their funding needs, discuss the role of interpersonal relationships in private philanthropic grantmaking, and understand the role of the ASU Foundation in outreach to private philanthropic organizations.
Workshop Date: April 30, 2024
Presenter: Andrew Nelson
Research Academy: https://researchacademy.asu.edu/FY24_PDW14
Funding.asu.edu: https://funding.asu.edu/articles/fy24-working-asu-foundation-pdw-14