I'm not the only one to be impressed. So far, this YouTube video has received about 7,868 hits as of October, 2011.
One of the things he says that got my attention is that your grant proposal needs to be feasible, relevant and backed up by an appropriate team of people. I have always had a powerful intuitive sense of how that works. I'm glad to see Brian articulate this concept so clearly and simply for his audience. All in all, I think he boiled down the most important secrets of success in a shrewd and insightful manner.
One of the funniest things about this video is that Brian repeats the comments he heard from another speaker on grants, Anthony M. Coelho, Jr. Ph.D. According to Brian, Dr. Coelho has been very honest when painting a picture regarding the state of mind of the average grant reviewer. In my workshops, for example, I explain that I'm writing for the hungover intern who is facing severe emotional problems.
In this YouTube, however, Brian says Dr. Coelho goes in for the kill and suggests that it is smart to assume the NIH reviewer is probably overwhelmed by late night hours, crushed by too much to read even as the reviewer is comforted by too much to drink. The line, of course, gets a big laugh. The takeaway, however, that it is important to provide your NIH reviewer with a document that is relatively easy to read and easy to understand even under trying circumstances.
I also like the way Brian suggests that it is smart to telephone the government "contact officials" in charge of each grant and ask whether or not your project is a fit. To me, this advice makes great sense in any proposal writing situation.
Moreover, Brian illustrates how he goes about his grant writing work by placing an emphasis on the idea that he is not writing about pure science. Instead, he is seeking to market pure science. As the last two grant I won for Orange Coast College suggest, you do not need to be an expert in a field of study to write a successful grant proposal. You do, however, need to know how to market to the overwhelmed grant reader. Brian illustrates his talent in this regard when he reduces his own scientific interest in the field of proteomics "...as like searching for the needle in a haystack by first removing all of the hay."
As a word of caution, however, I would like to suggest that the grant writer succeeds through abstinence and sobriety even as he/she assumes the worst of the grant reviewers. If you have a YouTube video you think I should see and review, please send me an e-mail. Better yet, give me a call at 949-643-8058 because I'd like to hear from you.
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