You have a good idea and some hot data. You started a company. You managed to get some seed money. More research funds are always helpful. You don’t want to cede any additional control of your company. How about small business support from the National Institutes of Health…

Now that you have completed your specific aims, significance and innovation, and the bulk of your research strategy and have sent those files for numerous rounds of pre-peer review by your trusted colleagues and mentors, it is time to focus on some smaller, yet still very important details.

In the previous post, we described how to write an effective significance and innovation section, focused on defining the problem and providing a high-level overview of your proposed solution. In this post, we’ll outline the approach, wherein you’ll expand upon the solution and illustrate exactly how you plan to conduct the research.

The significance and innovation section is a recent (within the last 10 years) addition to the NIH and most other foundation grant applications. It is a place for you to showcase WHY the work should be done – WHY there is a significant need for your study, and HOW the work is different from everyone else’s approach. What makes it groundbreaking, original research, work that will advance our scientific knowledge?

So you’re thinking of writing a grant to fund your lab or fund your start up...Where do you start?

First, if you already have a target award in mind (for example: SBIR, NIH K-01, K-08, R-01, NSF, or American Heart Association), great! If not, you will need to research the appropriate funding opportunities, including those offered by governmental organizations or private foundations.