Frequently Asked Questions

Office of Grant Writing & Publications 202 Jesse Hall University of Missouri Columbia, MO 65211 573 882-9500 phone 573 884-8371 fax

• What do grant writers do?
• Where can I find good writing and grammar resources?
• Where can I find language about University of Missouri-Columbia resources?
• Where can I find information about data safety & monitoring techniques?
• How do I write the Human Subjects section of a proposal?
• How do I write an application involving research animals?
• How do I write a multi-project grant application to NIH?
• How do I obtain signatures from institutional officials?
• When do I submit my protocols to ACUC and IRB?

See the "How do I... " questions and answers at:

1. What do grant writers do?

Project Management of Complex Proposals

• Facilitate collaboration
• Coordinate proposal development
• Organize tasks and timelines
• Locate match funding source
• Integrate the pieces into a cohesive document

Proposal Preparation

• Write/edit/review narrative
• Interpret guidelines and agency priorities
• Develop program components
• Format agency forms
• Build budgets and justification
• Assist with internal forms and approvals
• Create tables, organizational charts, illustrations and diagrams

Education/Training

• Grantsmanship training and tutorials
• Navigate Community of Science
• Find funding sources

For more information, go to http://research.missouri.edu/ogwp/staff.htm. A grant writer employed by your MU school or college can be contacted directly. If no one is listed for your school or college, contact the Director (Mary Licklider, (573) 884-6438, lickliderm@missouri.edu) or Associate Director (Susan Hazelwood, (573) 882-7081, hazelwoods@missouri.edu) of the Office of Grant Writing and Publications.

2. Where can I find good writing and grammar resources?

Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, by Joseph Williams, available from the publisher at: http://www.ablongman.com/catalog/academic/product/0,1144,0321288319,00.html

The Chicago Manual of Style is available online at: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html

Merriam-Webster';s Dictionary of English Usage is available from the publisher at: http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?usage.htm&6

3. Where can I find language about University of Missouri-Columbia resources?

The External Funding resources on the Proposal Help page at http://www.research.missouri.edu/funding/help.htm include MU Processes, MU Facts & Figures, MU Forms, Other Resources, and National and Regional Administration organizations.

The Internal Funding page at http://www.research.missouri.edu/forms/forms_dept.htm#intfund includes links to policies regarding PRIME (MU';s matching fund program), Research Board guidelines and application, and programs reviewed by the Research Council.

4. Where can I find information about data safety & monitoring?

NIH has published guidelines for Data Safety & Monitoring:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-084.html
http://www.grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-00-038.html

The FDA has a draft guide for establishing and operating clinical trial data monitoring committees:
http://www.fda.gov/cber/gdlns/clindatmon.htm

The National Cancer Institute has a DSM guide and example plans:
http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/conducting/dsm-guidelines/page1
http://www.cancer.gov/ClinicalTrials/conducting/dsm-example-plans

5. How do I write the Human Subject sections of a proposal?

The MU Institutional Review Boards have forms, policies, and instructions available online:

Campus IRB: http://www.research.missouri.edu/cirb/index.htm

Health Sciences IRB: http://www.research.missouri.edu/hsirb/index.htm

Research on Human Specimens: http://www-cdp.ims.nci.nih.gov/brochure.html

How to Write a Human Subjects Application (by NIAID):
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/clinical/humansubjects/default.htm

PHS 398 forms and instructions are available at this web address:
http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html

NIH Office of Extramural Research Human Subjects web site:
http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/policy/hs/index.htm

NIH policies for inclusion of women, minorities and children:
http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_amended_10_2001.htm
http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/children/children.htm

6. How do I write an application involving research animals?

The MU Office of Animal Care Quality Assurance policies and forms are available at:
https://research.missouri.edu/acqa/index.htm

NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare rules and regulations are available at:
http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/olaw/olaw.htm

How to Write an Application Involving Research Animals (by NIAID):
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/clinical/researchanimals/tutorial/index.htm

7. How do I write a multi-project grant application to NIH?

View a tutorial at: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/ncn/grants/multi/index.htm

8. How do I obtain signatures from institutional officials?

Most proposal applications need to have an “institutional endorsement;” some applications may require other additional signatures as well. The Office of Sponsored Program Administration, http://www.research.missouri.edu/ospa/index.htm, can generally provide most signatures when they do their review before mailing.

9. When do I submit my protocols to the MU ACQA or MU Institutional Review Boards (IRB)?

Be sure to check your guidelines to see if there are requirements at the time of proposal submission for having approval in hand or proof of its pending review with the ACQA (which oversees research with animals) and/or IRB (which oversees human subject research) as appropriate. While many federal agencies are going to the “just in time” practice for both human subject and animal protocol approvals, not all are.

The “just in time” requirement generally means that the investigator must have the appropriate approvals in hand before an award will be made.

The MU Animal Care Quality Assurance policies and forms are available at: https://research.missouri.edu/acqa/index.htm

Information about the Campus IRB and Health Sciences IRB is available at: http://research.missouri.edu/complia/index.htm