How to Write the “Specific Aims” Section of a Grant Application (Duru 2020)
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The document provides guidance on writing the 'Specific Aims' section of a grant application, emphasizing its importance and recommending a structured format. It suggests starting with an engaging introduction, followed by a description of the proposed solution and clear, concise aims that outline the experimental approach. The document also highlights the need for clear articulation of hypotheses, outcomes, and the potential impact of the proposed research.
How to Write the “Specific Aims” Section of a Grant Application (Duru 2020)
- 1. How to write the "Specific Aims" section of a grant application O. Kenrik Duru, MD, MSHS UCLA CTSI R Workshop December 17, 2020
- 2. Specific Aims • This is arguably the most important section of your application • Write early and circulate • Length: 1 page. Format can vary but suggest: – Intro paragraph – capture attention (HOOK/GAP/Critical Need) – 2nd paragraph - logical next step = proposed solution – Aims – Final Summary Paragraph • Style: Non-technical. – Write this section for ALL study section members - they’ll all read it. • This section must include everything that is important and exciting about your project – but without a lot of detail.
- 3. 1st paragraph: Capture Attention Hook/GAP/Critical Need (Setup the Logical Next Step=Your Proposed Solution) • First 1-2 sentences = HOOK. – What this proposal is about/why important – Reference NIH/IOM reports – Emphasize impact (how many millions affected etc.) • What is known (~3-5 sentences) CONCISE – Just enough to educate reviewer • GAP in knowledge that your research will fill • Final sentence: CRITICAL NEED for your study – Need for hypothesis-driven knowledge/technique/treatment you will develop – Should set up logical next step=your proposed solution to advance the field
- 4. Hook/GAP/Critical Need There is strong consensus . . that routine pre-op testing for cataract surgery is inappropriate.1-4 . . .the American Academy of Ophthalmology even named reducing routine pre-op testing for cataract surgery as their #1 issue . . . . .5 (HOOK) Yet despite these widely endorsed evidence-based recommendations, most seniors undergoing cataract surgery still receive unnecessary blood testing . . . .6 (GAP) 7 . . . widespread reduction. . would save billions of dollars, reduce exposure to unnecessary and potentially harmful tests, and allow millions of seniors to spend more time enjoying life rather than wasting their time receiving inappropriate health care. (CRITICAL NEED)
- 5. Your team’s path towards this project • can mention prelim studies (not too much detail) • Show that your team has the expertise to fill that critical gap you identified in first paragraph • Include: – Hypothesis and Rationale – Proposal objectives – Team’s qualifications (if possible) 2nd paragraph: Logical Next Step=Proposed Solution/Segue into Aims
- 6. 2nd Para: Logical Next Step=Proposed Solution/ Segue into Aims We hypothesize that an .. . . intervention . . will dramatically reduce pre-op testing for cataract surgery . . . . (LOGICAL NEXT STEP=Proposed Solution) We propose to test this hypothesis by conducting a pragmatic randomized trial, implementing our intervention at . . . (Segue into aims)
- 7. Aims • Keep the number of aims reasonable (3-5). • Each aim should consist of one sentence: be concise and concrete; clarity is the goal. • Each aim should • Describe the experimental approach • Be clear how it tests hypotheses • Have a realistic time frame • Have a definitive outcome • Not be absolutely dependent on the success of another aim
- 8. Our Specific Aims are: 1. Integrate a 2-pronged behavioral economics intervention into the UCLA Health EHR. The intervention will include two types of behavioral nudges to promote the desired reduction in low value care: – Nudge #1: (3 lines of text) – Nudge #2: (3 lines of text) 2. Randomize cataract surgery patients over a one-year period to one of 4 types of pre-operative visits (. . . ) and measure and compare the efficacy of each intervention using a 2x2 factorial design. Outcomes will be measured 12-months after the intervention start including: • Primary outcome = (describe w detail) • Secondary patient, physician, and system-level outcomes • Patients: (list a few) • Physicians (list a few) • System: (list a few)
- 9. Final “Paragraph”: Few sentences to get reviewer excited to read your proposal If Aims are an hourglass (wide = general/big pic, narrow = details), this is the “broad base” that supports your proposal • Innovation: what this adds that is NEW • Outcomes (if you have not stated in Aims) • Impact/PAYOFF. How this is going to help those that you mentioned in the first paragraph
- 10. Final Para (get excited) Reducing patient exposure to unnecessary care is central to improving patient outcomes and value. . . Because of the close partnership between our UCLA Informatics co-Investigators and the EHR vendor (Epic), the low-cost intervention that we propose to implement and test would be easily available to all Epic-based health systems, with potential to dramatically reduce inappropriate pre-op testing across the nation. EHRs are in their infancy, and we as a scientific community are only beginning to learn how to use them as tools to promote desired care processes.8 This proposed pragmatic trial would break new ground in our understanding of how behavioral economics approaches can be used to tamp down on care that does not promote better patient outcomes.
- 11. Refer to Specific Aims throughout Approach Section • Restate aims and include hypotheses • Conceptual Model figure very important – Illustrate Aims on the figure • Consistent terminology is essential!! – Measures, analysis, timeline . . .