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I must have written a million letters of support for various research grants. I was taken aback though when someone asked me how to write such a letter. I was thinking that it should mention

1. what a great grant idea this is.
2. how you plan to help (what specific things you promise to do) and
3. how you are well qualified to do all of these things.

You should also thank the investigator for the opportunity to work on the grant. Sometimes I summarize what I've already done (e.g., power calculations).

Is that what other people do when they write letters of support? Is there something that I missed in this list?

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Stephen Simon
Independent Statistical Consultant
P. Mean Consulting
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I think you have covered the main points!  But if I have a history of collaboration with the group, I will add something about that, perhaps saying something about the nature and duration of the collaboration, and/or how productive and professionally satisfying I found it to be.

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Deborah Dawson
Director of Biostatistics, College of Dentistry
University of Iowa
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About all that I would add would be, in place of thanking them, showing interest in what there doing
and particularly for a junior investigator (if I can!!) how I view this grant as the first step (or second step, etc.)
in a research career.  These days of hart to get grants, it's not hard to do that.  But it helps to have worked with them
or given advice to them before.

But these are really good suggestions you've gotten.

It might help to know that I limit it to what will fit on one side of a page.

Ray

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Raymond Hoffmann
Professor
Medical College of Wisconsin
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-14-2012 19:02
From: Deborah Dawson
Subject: What belongs in a letter of support for a research grant?

I think you have covered the main points!  But if I have a history of collaboration with the group, I will add something about that, perhaps saying something about the nature and duration of the collaboration, and/or how productive and professionally satisfying I found it to be.

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Deborah Dawson
Director of Biostatistics, College of Dentistry
University of Iowa
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From the perspective of people reviewing a grant proposal, the purpose of a letter of support is to demonstrate that the collaborator writing the letter is committed to undertaking the work ascribed to him/her in the proposal, and  will be able to do that within the timeline proposed and with the budgeted resources.  (Or, if the budgeted resources are not sufficient, to indicate how the shortfall will be met from other sources.)  

Restating your qualifications to do the work briefly would not hurt--but if the proposal already includes your biosketch, then that shouldn't really be necessary.  While it is nice to add comments about enthusiasm for the work or confidence in the investigator(s), the core purpose is to buttress the applicant's case that the work proposed can actually be carried out.  

So, it is important in the letter to confirm your understanding of what work you will do, what you will be paid for that, and any other resources budgeted, and attest that that is sufficient to get the job done.  If you are being retained for work that is entirely routine and it is obvious that the budget covers it, then you can skip this--but only if it will be obvious to any reviewer.  The last thing any grantor wants is to get a project going, sink funds into it, and then find out half-way through the work that it can't be done because a sub-contractor couldn't complete a critical piece of the project due to lack of time/money/whatever.

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Clyde Schechter
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-15-2012 02:39
From: Raymond Hoffmann
Subject: What belongs in a letter of support for a research grant?

About all that I would add would be, in place of thanking them, showing interest in what there doing
and particularly for a junior investigator (if I can!!) how I view this grant as the first step (or second step, etc.)
in a research career.  These days of hart to get grants, it's not hard to do that.  But it helps to have worked with them
or given advice to them before.

But these are really good suggestions you've gotten.

It might help to know that I limit it to what will fit on one side of a page.

Ray

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Raymond Hoffmann
Professor
Medical College of Wisconsin
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I would second Clyde's comments.  In addition, I have served on review panels for NSF in which letters of support have been removed by the Program Directors because they were essentially short, favorable proposal reviews. The letter demonstrates your ability and willingness to perform the described work.  It should not go too far down the road of touting the merits of the proposed work.

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Stephen Cox
Director
Research and Testing Laboratory
&
Adjunct Professor
Texas Tech University
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-17-2012 10:17
From: Clyde Schechter
Subject: What belongs in a letter of support for a research grant?

From the perspective of people reviewing a grant proposal, the purpose of a letter of support is to demonstrate that the collaborator writing the letter is committed to undertaking the work ascribed to him/her in the proposal, and  will be able to do that within the timeline proposed and with the budgeted resources.  (Or, if the budgeted resources are not sufficient, to indicate how the shortfall will be met from other sources.)  

Restating your qualifications to do the work briefly would not hurt--but if the proposal already includes your biosketch, then that shouldn't really be necessary.  While it is nice to add comments about enthusiasm for the work or confidence in the investigator(s), the core purpose is to buttress the applicant's case that the work proposed can actually be carried out.  

So, it is important in the letter to confirm your understanding of what work you will do, what you will be paid for that, and any other resources budgeted, and attest that that is sufficient to get the job done.  If you are being retained for work that is entirely routine and it is obvious that the budget covers it, then you can skip this--but only if it will be obvious to any reviewer.  The last thing any grantor wants is to get a project going, sink funds into it, and then find out half-way through the work that it can't be done because a sub-contractor couldn't complete a critical piece of the project due to lack of time/money/whatever.

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Clyde Schechter
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