Jim Jones, Associate Professor at GRC member institution George Mason University (GMU), is the recipient of two groundbreaking federal awards totaling $80 million dollars. Support from the Department of Homeland Security and the National Institute of Standards and Technology will enable him and his team of researchers to explore and improve issues in forensic science, criminal investigations and network analysis. Jones briefly spoke about the awards and proceeded to share lessons learned during his presentation at the 2018 GRC Grants Competitiveness Conference.

Ironically, he felt it was the power of soft skills— a skillset gaining more traction in the world of hard sciences– that played a significant role in creating new research opportunities at GMU. Here are five takeaways worth exploring with your pre-award team before seeking a new funding opportunity:

1. Know the sponsor/customer. Prior interaction and relationship-building increased his teams’ ability to connect the work with the funders’ priorities.

2. Get professional help and/or leadership support for the big awards.

3. Rewrite most of what your team has written, if possible.

4. Hold critical review with time to edit.

5. Know the answer to “why?”

Some concepts are simple in theory and harder to implement when time, project scope, costs, and personalities influence the submission process. Jones and his team of researchers, at GMU, serve as great examples of the rewards linked to fusing soft skills with strategic planning, and technological discovery.