ARE THESE WORKSHOPS REALLY FOR YOU? FIND OUT WITH THIS QUICK QUIZ. Answer "Yes" or "No" to the following descriptions of the research climate at your school.	Ten Common Proposal Pifalls; or, Why Too Many Good Ideas are Rejected on First Reading
There is increasing pressure from the governing board and upper administration to increase external funding Sponsored research activity is lower than it should be because too few faculty are submitting proposals Proposals with good ideas are being turned dowwn because they aren't well written Faculty who don't write proposals say they don't see any real advantages in sponsored research Junior faculty say they are too busy with teaching and publishing to spend time writing grants Many faculty believe that grant writing is a low probability game and not a good use of time Faculty in some departments complain that there is too little grant money available in their disciplines Many faculty are unaware of opportunities to collaborate with other researchers Faculty don't seem to know how to find good funding oportunities in their discipline Faculty whose proposals have been declined say they've learned their lesson--they won't try again	POOR FIT: Proposal doesn't match the sponsor's program objectives WEAK ARGUMENT: Proposal doesn't present a compelling case that the project should be funded LOOSE ORGANIZATION: The presentation is hard to follow; document isn't clearly organized into distinct sections GYRATING JARGON: Language is too dense, filled with insider phrases and acronyms MURKY OBJECTIVES: Proposal lacks clear statements of project goals and specific objectives VAGUE WORK PLAN: Project activities and timelines are not clearly spelled out FAILURE TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS: Important application guidelines are not strictly followed REVIEW CRITERIA IGNORED: Writing does not specifically address sponsor's evaluation standards WEAK ABSTRACT: Project summary does not adequately represent the full scope and importance of the project LACK OF PROOFREADING: Proposal hastily submitted, contains inconsistencies, typos and other errors
If you answered "Yes" to one or more of these statements, then these workshops will definitely benefit your institution! And, you have an opportunity to provide a helpful, low cost growth experience that your faculty will greatly appreciate. Consider: If these workshops result in just one more successful grant, the return on investment can be impressive.