Some Thoughts on Science and the Arts
Why add the A to STEM for STEAM education?
It is anecdotal, but I seem to recall artistic hobbies among my scientific colleagues. This article from Scientific American confirms my personal observations. This is not a new idea. Students in an honors college project actually researched the hobbies of prominent scientists (Root-Bernstein and others 2008).
The following two quotes from the Scientific American piece are worth repeating.
A Timeline for Grant Writing:
Humor and Truth from the Research Lab
As a grant writer, did you ever want to know what it is like to write a federal research grant?
Well, this flowchart from a biochemist really shows that crazy process with humor and truth. I lived this as a faculty member and laboratory researcher.
This timeline and task list is a great educational tool for the larger grant writing community. Proposal section names are different for science grants, but the basic ideas in each section are the same for non-science grants. As funny and seemingly absurd as it is, the chart reveals planning involved because of the required detail and organizational skills it takes to prepare these multi-year laboratory research proposals.
All the points on the timeline discussing experiments, gathering data, and publications speak to evidence-based grant writing. There is no other kind of grant writing in the scientific community. Gone are the days where a researcher could propose an idea with little supporting evidence. Frankly, I am not sure those days truly ever existed.
Grant Readiness: Repetition is Necessary!
Why does this topic keep coming up in the world of grant consulting?
Many non-profit organizations and individuals are either new or naïve when it comes to grants. Grant readiness is one of those topics that can’t be discussed enough. It doesn’t matter how many times it is discussed or the many ways it is presented. So, here’s yet another version of what makes a non-profit grant ready in the hope that one more person or organization will get it.
Take This Self-Quiz: