ONR Services - Research Program Development

Primary Contact: Linda Liu Hand (linda-hand@uiowa.edu)

I have an idea for a research project or proposal. What is my first step?

What funding opportunities are available?

I have collected some data but am not sure how to get started with presenting them or submitting them for publication. What are my options?

Why is a peer review now being expected for proposal submissions and what can I expect during the peer review of my proposal?

I am starting a new collaboration. How do I ensure that my collaborators and I are in agreement about the terms of the project? Click here for more information on the MOU.

I am starting to prepare a new manuscript. What resources are available for creating tables?

I have an idea for a research project or proposal. What is my first step?

Schedule a meeting with the Associate Dean for Research (Ann Marie McCarthy) and Director (Linda Liu Hand). Together, we will begin identifying possible sources of funding for your project. We will formulate a strategic plan for ensuring all program announcements have been exhausted, brainstorm and/or develop your proposal content and ensure that the appropriate individuals are informed and involved from the start of the process. We will also formulate a timeline for meeting key milestones, such as assembling a peer review team and scheduling a mock review of your proposal.

In addition, Dr. Hand is available to assist at all levels of research proposal  development, including helping with clarifying research aims, interpreting proposal guidelines, and providing feedback on sections of your proposal or manuscript. Dr. Hand also acts as a liaison to other UI colleges and campus units and can help with identifying and assembling a list of potential contacts within the university to assist or collaborate on your project.

What funding opportunities are available?

A variety of mechanisms are available for funding individuals, centers, and training.

• For a table of intramural funding sources, click here.
• For extramural sources, click here

Please contact Dr. Hand to discuss these and other potential avenues for funding.

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I have collected some data but am not sure how to get started with presenting them or submitting them for publication. What are my options?

The ONR Director can help you identify promising avenues for publication and venues for presenting your ideas. Dr. Hand can also direct you to important resources for statistical support and provide direction with manuscript planning and preparation.

Why is a peer review now being expected for proposal submissions and what can I expect during the peer review of my proposal?

Now that NIH has limited investigators to one resubmission for each proposal, it is especially important that first submissions be as high in quality as they can be. A mock review is intended to simulate the conditions of the actual review a proposal will receive at the funding agency. Rather than approaching it as an unpleasant trial, it should be viewed as an opportunity to strengthen the proposal using the expertise of your colleagues.

When you begin developing a new grant, the ONR will schedule your mock review to take place 5 weeks before the submission deadline. A good working draft should be given to your reviewers one week before the review.

For more information on peer reviews, please refer to the ONR Memo on CON Peer Review Process.

I am starting a new collaboration. How do I ensure that my collaborators and I are in agreement about the terms of the project? Click here for more information on the MOU.

The Office for Nursing Research has drafted a template for a Memo of Understanding (MOU) to help researchers outline the terms of their collaboration. The goal is to make explicit the mutual expectations for the collaboration (e.g., what will be accomplished by what date, the order of authorship, the frequency of meetings, etc.). This template can be adapted as you wish. For students and postdoctoral scholars, it also includes a template letter from the ONR Director to the collaborating individual or department that specifies the terms of the agreement in writing. This document is not a legally-binding contract. Instead, it is intended to formalize many of the expectations that in the past have been discussed only informally without any sort of written record. It is our hope that this MOU will encourage research teams to discuss performance expectations in the early project planning stages and will reduce the potential for misunderstanding.

Click here to download a template for the Memo of Understanding for Collaborators.

I am starting to prepare a new manuscript. What resources are available for creating tables?

The ONR has developed a repository of tables to assist you with presenting your data in your manuscript. This repository contains templates for a variety of data tables. Templates include instructions to guide you through the process of customizing the tables to accommodate your data and analyses. Check back periodically as we expect to continue to add more tables to the repository.

Click here to view the table repository.

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