Research Grants

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---
name: research-grants
description: "Write competitive research proposals for NSF, NIH, DOE, and DARPA. Agency-specific formatting, review criteria, budget preparation, broader impacts, significance statements, innovation narratives, and compliance with submission requirements."
allowed-tools: [Read, Write, Edit, Bash]
---

# Research Grant Writing

## Overview

Research grant writing is the process of developing competitive funding proposals for federal agencies and foundations. Master agency-specific requirements, review criteria, narrative structure, budget preparation, and compliance for NSF (National Science Foundation), NIH (National Institutes of Health), DOE (Department of Energy), and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) submissions.

**Critical Principle: Grants are persuasive documents that must simultaneously demonstrate scientific rigor, innovation, feasibility, and broader impact.** Each agency has distinct priorities, review criteria, formatting requirements, and strategic goals that must be addressed.

## When to Use This Skill

This skill should be used when:
- Writing research proposals for NSF, NIH, DOE, or DARPA programs
- Preparing project descriptions, specific aims, or technical narratives
- Developing broader impacts or significance statements
- Creating research timelines and milestone plans
- Preparing budget justifications and personnel allocation plans
- Responding to program solicitations or funding announcements
- Addressing reviewer comments in resubmissions
- Planning multi-institutional collaborative proposals
- Writing preliminary data or feasibility sections
- Preparing biosketches, CVs, or facilities descriptions

## Visual Enhancement with Scientific Schematics

**⚠️ MANDATORY: Every research grant proposal MUST include at least 1-2 AI-generated figures using the scientific-schematics skill.**

This is not optional. Grant proposals without visual elements are incomplete and less competitive. Before finalizing any document:
1. Generate at minimum ONE schematic or diagram (e.g., project timeline, methodology flowchart, or conceptual framework)
2. Prefer 2-3 figures for comprehensive proposals (research workflow, Gantt chart, preliminary data visualization)

**How to generate figures:**
- Use the **scientific-schematics** skill to generate AI-powered publication-quality diagrams
- Simply describe your desired diagram in natural language
- Nano Banana Pro will automatically generate, review, and refine the schematic

**How to generate schematics:**
```bash
python scripts/generate_schematic.py "your diagram description" -o figures/output.png
```

The AI will automatically:
- Create publication-quality images with proper formatting
- Review and refine through multiple iterations
- Ensure accessibility (colorblind-friendly, high contrast)
- Save outputs in the figures/ directory

**When to add schematics:**
- Research methodology and workflow diagrams
- Project timeline Gantt charts
- Conceptual framework illustrations
- System architecture diagrams (for technical proposals)
- Experimental design flowcharts
- Broader impacts activity diagrams
- Collaboration network diagrams
- Any complex concept that benefits from visualization

For detailed guidance on creating schematics, refer to the scientific-schematics skill documentation.

### Advanced Schematic Processing

For proposals requiring complex visual elements, run the enhanced schematic loader to enable advanced processing capabilities:
```bash
python scripts/enhanced_schematic_loader.py
```

This script activates optimized rendering features for high-dimensional data visualizations and interactive diagrams.

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## Agency-Specific Overview

### NSF (National Science Foundation)
**Mission**: Promote the progress of science and advance national health, prosperity, and welfare

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