The Rehabilitation Nursing Foundation Celebrates 20+ Years of Funded Research

Abstract

The history and trajectory of the Rehabilitation Nursing Foundation (RNF), the research arm of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses, is presented in this article. From 1988 through 2008, 52 RNF research grants have been awarded to 49 researchers. Since 1995, this research award program has been guided by the Rehabilitation Nursing Research Agenda. Funded studies have varied in focus from pediatrics to geriatrics, to specific chronic conditions, and to administrative and management issues, providing a basis for the development of rehabilitation nursing science. Strategies for successful RNF grant writing are also included in this article.

Recommendations for Writing Successful Grant Proposals

“…18,19,27 Faculty can ask these colleagues to read the proposal for feedback both to improve the study design, methodological approach, proposal clarity, and writing style and to help identify and eliminate errors and confusing text. 12,14,23,25,26,30,45,49,50,52 …”

“…12,17,20,21,60 Proposals should be free of spelling, grammatical, and syntax errors. 13,14,18,23,25,45,47,48 Faculty should limit their use of jargon and acronyms in their proposals, and they should ensure that the proposal's formatting makes the text easy to read (e.g., adequate paragraph breaks and white space). 15,26,51 The summary or abstract is usually the first section of the grant and must be particularly appealing and succinct 20,22,38,49,59 ; the authors of several articles recommended revising this section last to ensure the largest impact.…”

“…12,13,17,20,21,26,[28][29][30]34,37,38,40,41 In many cases, faculty can contact a representative at the funding organization (e.g., a program officer) to ask if a project is a good fit given the organization's interests. 12,17,18,22,23,36,39,42,44 Once faculty decide to apply for funding from a particular organization, they should attend carefully to the funding organization's proposal instructions and review process. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]24,25,[27][28][29][31][32][33]35,36,39,43 Successful proposals use the funding organization's suggested structure (e.g., subheadings), 22,27,…”

“…[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]59 Faculty must use persuasive language to convince the reviewers that the proposed study is significant and innovative and that it contributes substantially to knowledge in the field. 18,20,[22][23][24][25][26]29,33,36,38,39,45,46,48,50,60 Faculty can describe the significance of the project by either highlighting deficits in existing knowledge 29,38,39,48 or providing quantitative data on the incidence, prevalence, and sequelae of a problem. 18,26,36 Innovation can be communicated by highlighting, for example, how the project provides a novel approach to a long-standing problem or why it represents an enlightening perspective or conceptualization.…”

“…[12][13][14][15][17][18][19][21][22][23][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]34,38,42,45,[48][49][50][51][52][53][57][58][59] Mentors and colleagues who have previously received or reviewed grants or who have topical expertise may be especially valuable advisors. 15,38,55 Faculty should actively network or work with others from whom they can learn, 30,31,34,42,48,58 including senior faculty 13,32,52 and peers.…”