Serving At Nsf Panels As Well As What It Teaches Almost How To Pitch The Perfect Proposal
NSF is i of the largest funding sources for academic research. It accounts for nearly one-fourth of federal back upward to academic institutions for basic research. NSF accepts 1000s of proposals from researchers, in addition to organizes peer-review panels to determine which ones to fund.
Serving at NSF panels are fun. They are also really useful to sympathise the proposal review dynamics. NSF funding rates are approximately 10% for reckoner scientific discipline in addition to applied scientific discipline enquiry proposals, in addition to hence agreement the dynamics of the panel is useful for applying NSF to secure some funding.
If you lot conduct maintain been approximately in addition to conduct maintain successfully secured NSF funding, you lot volition acquire panel invitations. They volition conduct maintain your squall in addition to contact you. But, if you lot are new, don't simply wait. You tin electronic mail plan managers at NSF at your topic, in addition to enquire them to visit inviting you lot every bit a panelist, because you lot volition demand the experience. This doesn't ever work, but it helps. I establish this from NSF nearly volunteering every bit a reviewer at a panel.
Tips on reading papers also apply somewhat to reading proposals. But proposals conduct maintain their peculiarities. Proposals demand to conduct maintain nicely motivated vision in addition to clearly defined enquiry problems, but they don't demand to conduct maintain all the solutions worked up. Instead of full-fledged solutions, the proposals supply draft solution approaches in addition to competitive payoff insights to assault these enquiry questions.
Pitching a successful proposal is an art. I supply some tips at the cease of this post.
In the panel, everybody is smart in addition to knowledgeable inwards their fields. Of course of instruction some are smarter in addition to to a greater extent than knowledgeable, in addition to it is a process to brain them hash out proposals. If the panel is inwards your narrow plain of expertise, it is gonna go a geek-fest for you. You volition geek out in addition to conduct maintain a lot of fun. If the panel is inwards a plain you lot are familiar but is non inwards your specialized plain of expertise, it is even in addition to hence a lot of fun every bit you lot acquire to larn novel things.
At the cease of outset solar daytime proposals are sorted into 4 categories: HC (High Competitive), C (Competitive), LC (Low Competitive), NC (Not Competitive). HC proposals acquire funded. Usually solely 1-2 proposals out of approximately 20+ proposals go inwards to HC. The C proposals demand to acquire compared in addition to ranked, this by in addition to large happens the morn of minute day. Only the elevation 1-2 proposals inwards C would acquire funding. LC in addition to NC proposals produce non demand to acquire sorted.
The panel does non brand the in conclusion funding decision; it solely provides feedback to NSF to brand the in conclusion funding decisions. NSF is fairly transparent in addition to mostly goes amongst panel recommendations. If a proposal is non funded, the proposers even in addition to hence acquire detailed proposal reviews amongst the rationale of the panel review. In contrast, another funding agencies such every bit DARPA, DOE may non fifty-fifty supply you lot amongst reviews/evalutions of your proposal.
NSF panels are tiring. You sit down for i a one-half solar daytime in addition to brain in addition to discuss. And inwards the flush of the outset day, you lot ofttimes conduct maintain homework (hotelwork?) to read some extra proposals to assist out inwards comparing/ranking proposals. Instead of trying to multitask during the panel (by answering your email, or reading other stuff), it is much improve to simply participate inwards the discussion, in addition to brain to the give-and-take of other proposals, fifty-fifty the ones you lot conduct maintain non reviewed. After traveling all that distance to NSF headquarters, you lot should endeavor to bask the panel every bit much every bit possible.
Target the right panel in addition to striking the high notes inwards the CFP. If your proposal falls into the incorrect panel, it volition acquire brutally beaten. When inwards dubiety nearly the reach in addition to plain of a CFP, contact the plan manager to acquire information. Most academic sub-disciplines/communities volition conduct maintain their biases in addition to pet peeves. You desire to target a panel that volition acquire your proposal in addition to is non adversarial to those ideas.
Write clearly in addition to communicate clearly. Remember, the panelists are overworked. They demand to review eight proposals over a curt time. It gets boring. So go inwards slow for the reviewer. Don't brand the reviewer produce the work. Spell out the contributions in addition to novelty clearly, set your contributions inwards the context of the literature on that topic. If you lot brand the reviewer work, you lot volition acquire out him angry in addition to frustrated.
Don't forget to write nearly the proposal's broader comport on including pedagogy in addition to minority outreach. If you lot omit it, it volition seize amongst teeth you lot back.
All beingness said, in that place is even in addition to hence a luck factor. An adversarial or cranky panelist may ruin your proposal's chances, or a panelist that loves your function may brand your illustration in addition to improve your chances. The credence charge per unit of measurement is nether 10%. So goodness luck!
Disclaimer: These are of course of instruction my subjective views/opinions every bit an academician that participated inwards NSF peer-review panels. My views/opinions produce non bind NSF in addition to may non reverberate NSF's views/stance.
Serving at NSF panels are fun. They are also really useful to sympathise the proposal review dynamics. NSF funding rates are approximately 10% for reckoner scientific discipline in addition to applied scientific discipline enquiry proposals, in addition to hence agreement the dynamics of the panel is useful for applying NSF to secure some funding.
How produce you lot acquire invited every bit a panelist?
You acquire invited to serve at an NSF panel yesteryear the plan manager of that panel. (Program directors are researchers by in addition to large recruited from the academia to serve at NSF for a distich years to run panels in addition to assist brand funding decisions.)If you lot conduct maintain been approximately in addition to conduct maintain successfully secured NSF funding, you lot volition acquire panel invitations. They volition conduct maintain your squall in addition to contact you. But, if you lot are new, don't simply wait. You tin electronic mail plan managers at NSF at your topic, in addition to enquire them to visit inviting you lot every bit a panelist, because you lot volition demand the experience. This doesn't ever work, but it helps. I establish this from NSF nearly volunteering every bit a reviewer at a panel.
Preparation for a panel: Reading, reading, reading, writing reviews
As a panelist, you lot volition go assigned approximately eight proposals to review inwards iii weeks. Each proposal trunk consists of xv pages. So that agency a lot of reading inwards the adjacent distich weeks. And it tin acquire boring, if you lot simply read idly. You should endeavor to read actively, hash out amongst the proposal, in addition to write notes as you lot read the proposal that volition assist you lot cook your review.Tips on reading papers also apply somewhat to reading proposals. But proposals conduct maintain their peculiarities. Proposals demand to conduct maintain nicely motivated vision in addition to clearly defined enquiry problems, but they don't demand to conduct maintain all the solutions worked up. Instead of full-fledged solutions, the proposals supply draft solution approaches in addition to competitive payoff insights to assault these enquiry questions.
Pitching a successful proposal is an art. I supply some tips at the cease of this post.
NSF panel structure
You go to NSF headquarters at Washington DC a solar daytime earlier the panel. (NSF pays for your go in addition to reimburses your stay.) Panels are by in addition to large for i in addition to a one-half day. The outset solar daytime all the proposals acquire discussed. (Actually some proposals that don't have whatsoever "Very Good" ratings tin go triaged/skipped; for those solely the iii reviewer reports are sent dorsum without a panel give-and-take summary.) The minute solar daytime (i.e., the one-half day) is for preparing in addition to reviewing the panel give-and-take summaries of proposals discussed inwards the outset day.In the panel, everybody is smart in addition to knowledgeable inwards their fields. Of course of instruction some are smarter in addition to to a greater extent than knowledgeable, in addition to it is a process to brain them hash out proposals. If the panel is inwards your narrow plain of expertise, it is gonna go a geek-fest for you. You volition geek out in addition to conduct maintain a lot of fun. If the panel is inwards a plain you lot are familiar but is non inwards your specialized plain of expertise, it is even in addition to hence a lot of fun every bit you lot acquire to larn novel things.
At the cease of outset solar daytime proposals are sorted into 4 categories: HC (High Competitive), C (Competitive), LC (Low Competitive), NC (Not Competitive). HC proposals acquire funded. Usually solely 1-2 proposals out of approximately 20+ proposals go inwards to HC. The C proposals demand to acquire compared in addition to ranked, this by in addition to large happens the morn of minute day. Only the elevation 1-2 proposals inwards C would acquire funding. LC in addition to NC proposals produce non demand to acquire sorted.
The panel does non brand the in conclusion funding decision; it solely provides feedback to NSF to brand the in conclusion funding decisions. NSF is fairly transparent in addition to mostly goes amongst panel recommendations. If a proposal is non funded, the proposers even in addition to hence acquire detailed proposal reviews amongst the rationale of the panel review. In contrast, another funding agencies such every bit DARPA, DOE may non fifty-fifty supply you lot amongst reviews/evalutions of your proposal.
NSF panels are tiring. You sit down for i a one-half solar daytime in addition to brain in addition to discuss. And inwards the flush of the outset day, you lot ofttimes conduct maintain homework (hotelwork?) to read some extra proposals to assist out inwards comparing/ranking proposals. Instead of trying to multitask during the panel (by answering your email, or reading other stuff), it is much improve to simply participate inwards the discussion, in addition to brain to the give-and-take of other proposals, fifty-fifty the ones you lot conduct maintain non reviewed. After traveling all that distance to NSF headquarters, you lot should endeavor to bask the panel every bit much every bit possible.
Panel discussions, interesting panel dynamics
Panelists tin brand mistakes in addition to may conduct maintain biases. Common mistakes include the following:- Panelists may play it condom in addition to prefer incremental proposals over novel but risky proposals. Program managers sometimes warn nearly this bias, in addition to endeavor to promote high-risk/high-reward proposals.
- Sometimes panelists may read every bit good much into a proposal. They may similar to write/complete the proposal inwards their heads, in addition to give to a greater extent than credit than deserved to the proposal.
- Panelists may go overly conformist, resulting inwards groupthink.
- There tin go some goodness arguer, a charismatic mortal that dominates over the other panelists.
Lessons for pitching the perfect proposal to the panel
Make certain your proposal has a novel enquiry element in addition to intellectual merit. Your proposed projection should "advance cognition in addition to agreement inside its ain field" in addition to "explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts". You demand to acquire at to the lowest degree i panelist excited for you. So correspond something. Be prepared to justify/support what you lot stand upward for. You tin fool some panelists some of the time, but you lot can't fool all of the panelists all of the time. Don't brand promises you lot can't deliver. Show preliminary results from your work. It is genuinely improve to write the proposal afterward you lot write an initial interesting (workshop?) newspaper on the topic.
Write clearly in addition to communicate clearly. Remember, the panelists are overworked. They demand to review eight proposals over a curt time. It gets boring. So go inwards slow for the reviewer. Don't brand the reviewer produce the work. Spell out the contributions in addition to novelty clearly, set your contributions inwards the context of the literature on that topic. If you lot brand the reviewer work, you lot volition acquire out him angry in addition to frustrated.
Don't forget to write nearly the proposal's broader comport on including pedagogy in addition to minority outreach. If you lot omit it, it volition seize amongst teeth you lot back.
All beingness said, in that place is even in addition to hence a luck factor. An adversarial or cranky panelist may ruin your proposal's chances, or a panelist that loves your function may brand your illustration in addition to improve your chances. The credence charge per unit of measurement is nether 10%. So goodness luck!
Disclaimer: These are of course of instruction my subjective views/opinions every bit an academician that participated inwards NSF peer-review panels. My views/opinions produce non bind NSF in addition to may non reverberate NSF's views/stance.
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