3 Rules For Getting A Good Score On Your R01
If you want your research to be more than theoretical, you need funding.
To get funding for your R01, you need a high score from reviewers.
To get a high score, you need to deliver exactly what reviewers are looking for.
So the question is, what are reviewers looking for?
Yes, your grant application has many moving parts, but a high-scoring R01 can all be boiled down to answering three simple questions.
Why is your research worth doing?
Why is your team the right team to do the work?
How is your project feasible?
If you answer these three questions, you are well on your way to achieving a great score on your R01.
Let’s talk about how you can address each pillar in your proposal.
Is Your Research Noteworthy?
Right away, your reviewers want you to demonstrate why your research idea needs to be done in the first place.
And that’s fair on their part. They’re considering giving you and your team, potentially, millions of dollars to conduct your research. So NIH wants to be sure it will have an impact greater than helping you further your research career.
Answering this question is your opportunity to give reviewers the lay of the land and bring them up to speed on the conversation in the literature around your topic. It gives them a big-picture view of the big juicy problem you’re trying to solve and that knowledge gap you and your research team want to fill.
When you give your reviewers context for your proposed idea, you’re starting to create a picture in their minds that helps connect the puzzle pieces of your idea, your team, and feasibility.
After clearly establishing your support for the work of other researchers in this area and recognizing the knowledge gaps, you have the depth you need to begin convincing your reviewers that there is more work to be done.
Next, they need to be convinced that you and your team are the ones to get it done.
Is Your Research Team The Right Team?
Your team of trustworthy researchers is important to reassuring reviewers that you can execute your proposed work.
This is where you start to connect the pieces. You established the work that remains to be done to fill in those gaps. Now, who is the team of scientists who will help you get there?
Along with sharing the experience and expertise of each member of your team, this is a great opportunity to display your leadership in choosing a team that makes sense for the scope and breadth of your research as well as your skills for positioning your resources for maximum impact.
Some questions to consider when fleshing out how to introduce your team to researchers are:
What is their expertise and experience?
Why did you choose them to be on your team?
Why are they in that particular role and have those responsibilities?
How is each role unique to your research?
That last question is crucial because if reviewers see an overlap of responsibilities, it impacts your budget and questions the need for those competing members. So be clear about the differences between these roles.
Once you have established excitement for your idea and your team of experts, it’s time to approach the last pillar.
Is Your Research Feasible?
There are two main ways you can approach feasibility.
The obvious one is in the approach section of your R01. You’re already explaining what you will do and how you will do it, as well as sharing the anticipated challenges and how you will handle these problems when they pop up. That’s the most standard way to justify your feasibility.
Another area where you can make a compelling case is your preliminary data. I don’t mean this just in the sense of having experience with whatever sort of techniques or analysis you are proposing to do. You also have to demonstrate feasibility regarding the scientific premise of what you are proposing to do.
This is another chance to show your leadership, innovation, and intelligence by going deeper than demonstrating you have the skills and capabilities as a team to get the work done. You get to explain the way you designed things as well as the scientific premise upon which your project is based.
If you can justify these points clearly and compellingly, your goal of achieving a fundable score is on the horizon.
Your Path To An Excellent Score On Your R01
Your R01 can feel like a lot, but knowing what reviewers are looking for, then breaking it all down into smaller pieces is a huge confidence boost on being able to finish your proposal with excellence.
If you can answer these three questions really well for your reviewers, your next proposal will put you on a path to funding and keeping the wheels moving forward on your impactful research career.
More R01 Tips
If you found this helpful, try diving into my Free Resource Library, where I have other great tools and resources to help you write a stronger R01.