Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Budgetary Bulimia

Why is it that every time I finish putting my budget together I look at the final number and feel sick. I'm going to ask them for how much? Where's the nearest bathroom?
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7 comments:

  1. PhysioProfJanuary 7, 2009 at 3:02 PM

    You talking about an R01?

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  2. Prof-like SubstanceJanuary 7, 2009 at 3:08 PM

    No, Biomed does not live here. I'm applying to NSF and have to be a bit more careful of massive budgets.

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  3. OdysseyJanuary 8, 2009 at 9:40 AM

    Are you asking for more than the norm in your field? If not, don't worry about it - your Program Director (PD) understands what it takes to get the work done. If you're asking for more, then you might consider contacting the relevant PD and explaining the situation to her/him. The NSF PD's do award larger than average grants where warranted.

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  4. Prof-like SubstanceJanuary 8, 2009 at 9:56 AM

    I'm not asking for substantially more than the median for the program, but the total looks hefty on paper. Plus, it's a resubmit and no one complained about the budget previously, when it was about 100K higher than it is now. Still....

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  5. ArlennaJanuary 8, 2009 at 10:40 AM

    When I realized how much money I am in charge of, combining my start-up package with my K99/R00 total, I just about fainted. It's nearly $2 million dollars already. But I gotta get used to it, because this isn't nearly enough to run the size of program I want to have. The feeling from realizing I had spent ~60% of my startup on instruments was similar. But if I hadn't, we wouldn't be doing any work right now, so I had to do it!

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  6. OdysseyJanuary 8, 2009 at 11:03 AM

    I'm not asking for substantially more than the median for the program, but the total looks hefty on paper. Plus, it's a resubmit and no one complained about the budget previously, when it was about 100K higher than it is now. Still....

    Science is expensive, and is getting more so each year. You'll get used to it.

    One piece of advice regarding your budget: don't shortchange yourself. If you find you don't have enough to do the work after being awarded the money, you can't (usually) go back to the PD, cap in hand, and ask "Please sir, may I have some more?"

    And remember - you need enough not only to do the work you're proposing but also to generate the preliminary data necessary to renew the grant. First renewals have a reputation of being the hardest renewals for good reason. As a new investigator you're usually starting with less preliminary data than a more established investigator. That means you have more you need to accomplish with that first grant.

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  7. Prof-like SubstanceJanuary 8, 2009 at 1:31 PM

    The reduced cost of the grant is more a reflection of dropping price of some of the services and me twisting some tuition waivers out of my dean. After fitting everything in the difference isn't quite as dramatic as I had first thought, but I made sure I will have the funds to get everything done and done right.

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