Table Of ContentHow to Write a
Grant Application
How to Write a Grant Application Allan Hackshaw
© 2011 Allan Hackshaw. ISBN: 978-1-405-19755-7
How to Write
a Grant
Application
Allan Hackshaw
Deputy Director
Cancer Research UK & UCL Cancer Trials Centre
University College London
London, UK
This edition fi rst published 2011, © 2011 by Allan Hackshaw
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hackshaw, Allan K.
How to write a grant application / Allan Hackshaw.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4051-9755-7 (alk. paper)
1. Proposal writing in medicine. 2. Medicine—Research grants. 3.
Proposal writing for grants. I. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Research Support as Topic. 2. Biomedical Research. 3.
Writing—standards. W 20.5]
R853.P75H33 2011
610.79—dc22
2010036482
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDF 9781444329667; Wiley Online Library 9781444329650;
ePub 9781444329674
Set in 9.5/12pt Minion by MPS Limited, a Macmillan Company, Chennai, India
1 2011
Contents
Foreword, ix
Preface, xi
Acknowledgements, xiii
About the author, xv
Chapter 1: Overview, 1
1.1 Types of grants, 2
1.2 Types of funding organisations, 3
1.3 Choosing an appropriate funding body, 5
1.4 Contents of the grant application, 6
1.5 Including several studies in one application (project grants), 6
1.6 Translational research sub-studies, 8
1.7 The application process, 8
1.8 Estimating timelines and a planned work schedule, 10
1.9 Intellectual property, 12
1.10 Text, grammar and format, 13
Chapter 2: People involved in the study, 15
2.1 Who should be part of the Study Team? 15
2.2 Other investigators, collaborators and consultants, 19
2.3 The host institution and Sponsor, 20
2.4 Commercial companies, 21
2.5 Oversight committees, 21
Chapter 3: Justifi cation for the study, 24
3.1 Finding background information, 24
3.2 Previous evidence and similar research
(why the study is needed now), 26
v
vi Contents
3.3 Biological plausibility, 28
3.4 Safety of new interventions in clinical trials, 29
3.5 Feasibility, 29
3.6 What will the study contribute? 31
3.7 Summary of the justifi cation for a proposed study, 32
Chapter 4: Describing the study design, 35
4.1 Abstract, 35
4.2 Appendices, 40
4.3 Study objectives and outcome measures, 40
4.4 Types of studies, 44
4.5 Observational studies in humans, 44
4.6 Clinical trials in humans, 49
4.7 Laboratory experiments, 57
4.8 Describing sample size, 60
4.9 Describing the main statistical analyses, 64
4.10 Systematic reviews, 69
Chapter 5: Associated documents
with the grant application, 72
5.1 Study protocol, 72
5.2 Participant Information Sheet, 73
5.3 Curricula vitae of the Chief Investigator and all co-applicants, 75
5.4 Letters of support from co-applicants, centre investigators,
collaborators, or other advisors, 76
5.5 Letters of support from commercial companies, 76
5.6 Other documents specifi c to the fi eld of research, 77
Chapter 6: Financial costs, 78
6.1 Overview of items to include in the fi nancial costs, 78
6.2 Indirect costs or overheads (full economic costs), 82
6.3 Per patient (or per subject) payments, 83
6.4 Staff costs, 84
6.5 Access to core funds and resources, 86
Contents vii
6.6 Consideration of costs not to be met by the funding body, 87
6.7 Grant applications associated with calls for proposals, 88
6.8 Observational studies in humans, 88
6.9 Clinical trials in humans, 93
6.10 Laboratory experiments, 97
6.11 Systematic reviews, 98
Chapter 7: Funding body review process, 100
7.1 Submitting the application, 100
7.2 Processing the application within the funding body, 102
7.3 Initial reviews (external reviewers), 102
7.4 Funding committee meeting, 105
7.5 Funding committee evaluation, 106
7.6 Feedback to applicants after the meeting, 111
7.7 Responding to the funding committee feedback, 112
Chapter 8: Annual reports and applying
for a grant extension, 115
8.1 Annual reports, 115
8.2 Applying for a grant extension, 117
Bibliography, 120
Index, 123
Foreword
Writing a grant is often a painstaking process. However, if one is fortunate
it can be aided by an experienced mentor who has learnt over many years
how to navigate through the complex process of taking a scientifi c hypoth-
esis from an idea to a formal proposal that leads to a fi nancially viable set of
experiments or studies. For most aspiring academic clinicians or scientists,
career development depends on publishing their scientifi c work. Obtaining
grant funding even in a buoyant economy is never easy. As fi nancial pressure
on government, industries and charities increases, the chance of successful
funding diminishes.
In How to write a Grant Application the author brings together many
years experience of obtaining grants for clinical and scientifi c projects. Allan
Hackshaw provides an invaluable resource to guide the reader through each
step in the preparation, writing and management of a grant.
Regulations concerning the conduct of clinical trials in humans are com-
plex and have created a new terminology that needs to be understood and
incorporated into grant applications. The book describes the important
components that need to be considered in formulating a grant application
that will lead to a study that is scientifi cally sound, realistic and feasible.
Each section of the book will help the reader formulate a logical and clear
application covering the scientifi c, fi nancial and administrative components
needed to run a modern series of experiments or a clinical study. By reading
this book the applicant should be able to avoid the common pitfalls involved
in writing a grant so that more time can be spent crafting a mature scientifi c
application that is internationally competitive.
Professor Jonathan A Ledermann
Director, Cancer Research and UCL Cancer Trials Centre,
University College London
ix
Preface
All researchers are familiar with how most projects, and the people who
work on them, are funded. A large majority of projects need to be funded
from specifi c study grants that must be applied for in a competitive fash-
ion, including training fellowships and doctoral studentships. Many applica-
tions are not successful due to a variety of problems, some of which could
have been avoided in the submitted application or by having a better under-
standing of the review process and what is usually expected by the funding
committee and their external reviewers. Funding organisations want value
for money, and because there are many researchers applying for a limited
pool of funds, applicants need to develop and write a strong and well- written
application, so that it is likely to be ranked above most of the others, and
therefore successfully funded.
This book aims to provide a clear account of how to develop a grant appli-
cation that hopefully will have a better chance of success. It will cover the
key aspects of writing a grant application, namely describing the justifi ca-
tion, feasibility and value of the proposed study; the design, and being clear
about objectives, hypotheses and outcomes; estimating fi nancial costs; and
a description of a typical funding committee review process. The book also
distinguishes between the different types of studies (observational studies,
clinical trials and laboratory experiments).
Allan Hackshaw
Deputy Director,
Cancer Research UK & UCL Cancer Trials Centre
xi
Acknowledgements
I would like to express many thanks to those who commented on draft
chapters: Kerry Chester, Cheryl Mason Rosalind Raine and Jane Wooders.
I am most grateful to Jan Mackie for her careful and thorough editing. Final
thanks go to Harald Bauer.
xiii
About the author
Allan Hackshaw has been working in academic clinical research since
1991, with experience in a variety of areas including smoking and health,
antenatal and cancer screening, and treatments for several disorders includ-
ing cancer and migraine. He has been co-investigator on many successful
grant applications to public sector bodies, charities or commercial organi-
sations; with a total funding amount of over £24.7 million associated with
observational studies, clinical trials and systematic reviews. Just as impor-
tantly, he has also been involved in unsuccessful applications and learnt key
lessons from the experience. He has acted as an external reviewer for grant
funding bodies, and been a member of one of the main funding commit-
tees at Cancer Research UK (Clinical Trials Advisory Awards Committee,
CTAAC) since 2007.
xv
