Writing Grants
Main navigation
The SERCC provides several types of grant-writing resources. Use these accordions to navigate to those of interest.
- NIH Research Grant (R) Application Template
- Specific Aims and Research Strategy (last updated: 12/05/24; downloads as Word file)
- Strategies for Addressing Scientific Premise and Rigor (last updated: 10/29/21; opens as PDF)
- Progress Report for Competitive Renewal Applications (last updated: 3/29/23; downloads as Word file)
- NIH Career Development Grant (K) Application Template
- Specific Aims and Research Strategy (last updated: 12/05/24; downloads as Word file)
- NIH Fellowship (F) Application Template
- Specific Aims and Research Strategy (last updated: 1/18/21; downloads as Word file)
- Applicant's Background and Goals for Fellowship Training (last updated: 12/22/20; downloads as Word file)
- NIH Biosketch Templates
- For non-fellowship applications (plus example; last updated: 5/30/23; downloads as Word file)
- For fellowship applications (includes Section D. Scholastic Performance; plus example; last updated: 5/30/23; downloads as Word file)
- Resources For UI Investigators needing an ORCID ID or eRA Commons Profile
- ORCID ID
- UI Libraries ORCID@UI
- UI Libraries ORCID@UI: CCOM Instructions
- NIH eRA Commons
- To obtain an eRA Commons password and User ID, please email the Division of Sponsored Programs (DSP).
- ORCID ID
- NIH Diversity Supplements
- Candidate Eligibility Statement (downloads as Word file)
- NSF CAREER Proposal Template
- Project Summary and Project Description (last updated 5/20/24; downloads as Word file)
- NSF Biosketch
- How to generate an NSF Biosketch with SciENcv (link to DSP tutorial)
- Other
- Template for Timelines and/or Milestones (last updated: 3/11/22; downloads as Word file)
- Template for Facilities and Other Resources (last updated: 9/5/22; downloads as Word file)
- Template for Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP) (last updated: 1/26/24; downloads as Word file)
- Grant Planning Forum presentation template (downloads as PowerPoint file)
Specific Aims page lexicon (opens as PDF)
- UI Core Facilities (descriptions to be used in writing grants; last updated: 09/08/24; downloads as Word file)
- Example: Facilities and Other Resources page (last updated 10/27/20; opens as PDF)
- Facilities and Other Resources Page for center grant proposals (last updated: 09/08/24; downloads as Word file)
- Example: Facilities and Other Resources page for center grant proposal (last updated 10/27/20; opens as PDF)
- Related Article: UI earns record $867M in external funding during FY2022 - Office of the Vice President of Research (7/13/22)
- Related Report: Data Digest - Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (last updated: 09/01/23)
- Boilerplate text for use in "Mentoring Approach and Candidate Mentoring Plan" statement or Letter of Support for an individual fellowship application (on opportunities for training in written communication; downloads as Word file)
Developed in collaboration with the University of Iowa Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP)
- What's in an Aims Page? (PDF | Recording*)
- Achieving Clarity in Scientific Writing (PDF | Recording*)
- Addressing Rigor and Reproducibility in the Research Strategy (Significance & Approach) (PDF | Recording*)
- Considerations for the Research Training Plan (PDF | Recording*)
- Writing an NIH Biosketch and Obtaining Letters of Recommendation, SERCC Staff, Presentation (PDF | Recording*)
Other
- Writing for Success, SERCC Staff (PDF available on request: Contact us)
-
Thinking Like a Reviewer: Strategies to Improve Grant Success, Deborah J. Frank, Seminar (PDF | Recording*)
-
Rigor and Reproducibility in NIH Grants, Panel Discussion (Recording*)
-
Advice on Rigor and Reproducibility, Deborah J. Frank (PDF)
-
Rigor and Reproducibility in NIH Grants, SERCC Staff, Presentation (PDF | Recording*)
-
Grants, Grantsmanship, and Peer Review – NIH Career (K) and Research (R) Grants, SERCC Staff, Presentation (PDF)
-
Writing an NIH Biosketch and Obtaining Letters of Recommendation, SERCC Staff, Presentation (PDF)
* If you are outside the University of Iowa, please Contact us to access videos.
- Recommended Timeline for Grant Proposals (includes autofill dates; downloads as Excel file)
Sources for Example Proposals
- UI Research Development Office (RDO) Proposal Library (HawkID required)
- Graduate Student Proposals
- Includes examples of funded proposals for NIH NRSA, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, and others
- From the Grant Writing Resources folder, click on Sample Proposals and Supporting Documents and then Graduate Student Proposals
- Career Development (K) awards
- The following K awards can be found in the indicated subfolders
- K01 – NHLBI subfolder, funded | NIA subfolder, funded
- K08 – NIDCR subfolder, funded
- K22 – NCI subfolder, funded | NIAID subfolder, funded
- K99 – NHLBI subfolder, funded | NIAID subfolder, funded | NIAMS subfolder, not funded
- From the Grant Writing Resources folder, click on Sample Proposals and Supporting Documents and then NIH Proposals; navigate to the institute to identify one of the examples listed above.
- Note: K awards differ from fellowships in that they are geared toward individuals who are further along in their training (e.g., postdocs and fellows), but they are similar in that they emphasize training as well as research.
- The following K awards can be found in the indicated subfolders
- Graduate Student Proposals
- UI Graduate Student Professional Development Resources: Sample Fellowship Applications (HawkID required)
- NIAID website (scroll down the page to get to the training grants).
- OpenGrants: Grants by Program.
- NSF Fellowship Examples (advice and examples collated by Alex Lang)
- NIH RePORTER
- Search for fellowship proposals that were recently awarded to trainees at the University of Iowa.
- Once you identify some funded applications, you could reach out and explain that you are looking for examples and ask if they would be willing to share the proposal with you.
Offices and Centers that Provide Support for Scientific Writing
- Scientific Editing and Research Communication Core (SERCC)
- UI Graduate College Grad Success Center: Fellowship and Grant Support
- The Writing Center (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
- Hansen Center for Communication (College of Engineering)
- Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR)
- Researcher Handbook
- New UI Faculty/Staff Researcher Survey
- Research Development Office (RDO)
- Resource Library – sample grants and boiler-plate text (HawkID required)
- External Grant Review
- Human Subjects Office (HSO)
- Institutional Review Boards (IRB)
- Central & External IRBs (Single IRB of Record)
- Human Subjects Research Determinations
- Education and Training
- Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
- The University of Iowa Libraries:
- Division of Sponsored Programs
- UI Research Foundation
- Graduate College
- Fellowship and Grant Support (general information)
- Fellowship Incentive Program (FIP)
- NIH
Note: NIH to replace funding opportunity announcement (FOA) with notice of funding opportunity (NOFO)
- Simplified Peer Review Framework (effective for applications due on or after 1/25/2025)
- Resources and Programs for NIH Grant Applicants
- Grant Compliance Questions
- Definition of Human Subjects Research
- Extramural Nexus newsletter
- Rigorous Resources for Rigorous Research (Update on rigor and reproducibility, July 2, 2018)
- Review Criteria at a Glance
- Review Criteria SOP (standard operating procedure)
- Also see SF424 page R-84
- RePORTER: Matchmaker Tool
- Samples: Applications, Attachments, and other Documents
- NIH Videos:
- World Health Organization
- Example Reviewer Form for R01 Applications (last updated 10/11/22; downloads as Word document)
- Example Reviewer Form for K99/R00 Applications (last updated 10/11/22; downloads as Word document)
- "Data Visualization: A view of every Points of View column" (Presenting data effectively/good graphics), Nature Methods
- "The Best-kept Secrets to Winning Grants," Nature News Feature 2017
- "A better letter," Nature 2016
- Grant Writers' Seminars & Workshops workbooks, Stephen W. Russell & David C. Morrison
- AtKisson Training Group (ATG): Research Development, Grant Writing, Leadership
- Written Communication: Video Series, Northwestern University, CLIMB Program (Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Biosciences)