Newly minted scientists embarking on their first externally funded projects should have at hand Paul Chapin's book, a useful aid in understanding the federal government's highly detailed yet sometimes ambiguous instructions for research grant applications.

Chapin served as director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Linguistics Program and was an NSF program officer for twenty-five years. For those unfamiliar with the jargon, program officers are the ones who manage the review process, make final recommendations on which proposals receive funding, and act as the agency's contact for the researchers who apply for grants.

The book's biggest strength is that the author draws on his experience in order to give insightful "insider's tips" along with more obvious points of proposal writing (e.g., correct your typos). For example, the application allows researchers to provide a List of Suggested Reviewers, but does not state any limits. Not only does Chapin strongly recommend exercising this option, he suggests limiting the list to two to four names, with no more than six, all for significant reasons explained in his book.

However, the chapter on writing the proposal comprises only one-quarter of the book. Chapin presents the proposal's entire context, from conceiving the idea and identifying funding sources to complying with related laws and regulations and reporting the results after the funding ends. In addition, he describes the mission, organizational structure and funding interests of the three largest funding agencies for basic research: NSF, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Defense. Although he focuses on NSF's review process, his post-submission advice still is useful for all types of researchers since NSF funds in a wide array of disciplines.

Chapin manages to fit everything into 146 easy-to-understand pages, despite the lack of checklists, flowcharts or examples. Readers who prefer these elements might consider Thomas Blackburn's Getting Science Grants: Effective Strategies for Funding Success (Jossey-Bass, 2003), which is comparable in scope but not always in depth.

However, readers should note that Chapin focuses on agency funding and does not advise on identifying or applying to private sources like foundations, although the author mentions a few resources (including the Foundation Center). Also, aside from mentioning special initiatives to support researchers in less-frequently funded states and institutions, he does not discuss alternative resources when a Sponsored Projects Office or similar service does not exist to help them with preparing the budget and administering the grant once it is awarded.

Still, readers can find guidance in his most frequent and fundamental advice: if all other resources fail, consult and communicate frequently with the agency's program officer; those in larger institutions should do the same with their Sponsored Projects Office.

For citations to additional materials on this topic refer to the Literature of the Nonprofit Sector Online, using the subject headings "Science" or "Individual grantseeking" in the keyword search field.