The Specific Aims (for NIH) or Objectives (NSF) are the key to what you are proposing. You want them to be not only clearly understandable to your reviewer (right?), but also captivating and interesting. It seems like a straight-forward writing goal, but unfortunately, I’ve seen many people wander off into confusing, overly-detailed, or just plain boring aims.
So, what makes an Aim / Objective really WORK?
In this video, I take two separate, high scoring NIH proposals in different fields, and examine the primary Aims. I break them down for you into 3 major parts, and what you want to communicate in each of these parts (very concisely!).
Watch this if you want to ensure the Aims you write are connecting with your reviewers.
If you want more clarity on getting funded in our currently crazy environment, I’ve got a free online training that will teach you how to get your reviewers excited and ready to fund your project. Sign up here.
2 replies to "How To Write a Specific Aim – 3 Parts to a simple and clear aim that your reviewers will “get”"
dear dr giddings and team–your live event isn’t accessible yet–and it’s 7 minutes after. unfortunately we can’t all sit at our computers and wait
I sincerely apologize. I thought I was broadcasting, but due to a newbie type mistake, I wasn’t. I restarted about 15 minutes in, I realize some people will not have had time to wait that long.