Making Contact

In her commentary ("Survival In Today's Tight Funding Climate Depends On Following Agencies' Rules," The Scientist, April 29, 1996, page 11), Susan Fitzpatrick says that "the only point on which [her] advice differs from that provided in [my] article [L. Reif-Lehrer, "Following Instructions Is Critical To Success Of A Grant Application," The Scientist, March 4, 1996, page 15] is on 'networking' with program officers."

This refers to a quote from Janet Rasey, head of the Research Funding Service at University of Washington in Seattle and veteran of two terms on National Institutes of Health study sections. Rasey was referring to the importance of discussing one's research proposal with the program officers of the potential funding agency (specifically NIH) to determine whether the agency is interested in the project. She said in the article, "If there isn't sufficient enthusiasm at this level, there's no point in taking...