Research Grants
Draft NIH-style budget justifications that tie every line item to specific aims, effort months, and agency format rules.
Overview
research-grants is an agent skill most often used in Validate (also Build docs, Ship launch prep for submissions) that produces structured budget justification prose linking costs to aims, effort, and agency requirements
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/k-dense-ai/scientific-agent-skills --skill research-grantsWhat is this skill?
- Template structure for personnel salaries and wages (PI, senior staff, effort in calendar months and % FTE)
- Requires justifying every line item against the research plan with clear calculations
- Covers necessity, reasonableness, cost-effectiveness, and agency-specific formats
- Worked example blocks for PI effort and year-by-year salary math
- Key principles block for reviewer-facing narrative quality
Adoption & trust: 576 installs on skills.sh; 27.6k GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You have a modular budget spreadsheet but reviewers will reject or downgrade the proposal if line items lack explicit, aim-linked justification and calculation detail.
Who is it for?
Solo PIs and small research teams preparing federal or foundation proposals who already finalized aims and need reviewer-grade justification text.
Skip if: Builders seeking automated grant opportunity search, compliance attestations, or institutional negotiated-rate tables without human finance review.
When should I use this skill?
When you need detailed budget justification prose aligned to a fixed research plan and sponsor review criteria.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get section-ready budget justification copy with personnel effort narratives, calculation walkthroughs, and principles-aligned wording you can paste into sponsor templates.
- Budget justification sections for personnel and line items
- Effort-and-calculation narratives tied to aims
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Grant budgeting is where you prove scope and cost reasonableness before funding—canonical Validate → scope even though finished justifications ship with proposals in later phases. Budget justification forces explicit scope: personnel effort, calculations, and necessity language aligned to the research plan.
Where it fits
Translate aims into defensible effort months before you freeze the modular budget.
Generate PI and senior personnel justification sections with calculation bullets for internal review.
Harmonize narrative tone and agency-format checks immediately before uploading the submission package.
How it compares
A structured documentation template skill—not a grant database integration or institutional ERP connector.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is research-grants for?
Independent researchers, grad-student-led projects, and indie labs writing sponsor proposals who must explain salaries, effort, and other direct costs in narrative form.
When should I use research-grants?
During Validate scope when you lock budget assumptions; during Build docs when drafting the justification attachment; and before submission launch when aligning text to agency-specific formats and reviewer expectations.
Is research-grants safe to install?
It is procedural writing guidance—verify numbers and policies with your institution, then check the Security Audits panel on this Prism page before installing any skill from the scientific-agent-skills repo.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Research Grants
# Budget Justification Template ## Overview A budget justification provides detailed explanation for each budget line item, demonstrating that costs are necessary, reasonable, and directly related to the proposed research. The justification should be detailed enough for reviewers to understand and assess cost reasonableness. **Key Principles**: - Justify EVERY line item in terms of the research plan - Explain calculations clearly - Show that costs are necessary for the proposed work - Demonstrate cost-effectiveness where possible - Follow agency-specific formats and requirements --- ## Personnel (Salaries and Wages) ### Senior Personnel **Principal Investigator: [Name, Title]** **Effort**: [X] calendar months ([Y]% FTE) per year **Justification**: The PI will provide overall scientific leadership, supervise all research activities, mentor graduate students and postdocs, analyze data, prepare manuscripts, and report to the funding agency. The PI will be responsible for [specific activities related to aims]. [X] months of effort is necessary given the scope of the project and the PI's other commitments ([describe other activities briefly]). **Calculation**: - Year 1: [Annual salary] × [% effort] × [inflation factor if applicable] = $[amount] - Years 2-5: [include escalation if applicable] **Example**: *Principal Investigator: Dr. Jane Smith, Associate Professor of Biology* *Effort*: 2.5 calendar months (21% FTE) per year *Justification*: Dr. Smith will provide overall project leadership including: (1) supervising all experimental work and data analysis for Aims 1-3, (2) weekly mentoring meetings with 3 graduate students and 2 postdocs, (3) coordinating with collaborators at partner institutions, (4) analyzing multi-omics datasets and interpreting results, (5) preparing manuscripts and presenting at conferences, and (6) managing budget and reporting to NIH. 2.5 months effort is necessary for a project of this scope involving multiple aims, techniques, and personnel. Dr. Smith's remaining effort supports teaching (3 months), other research projects (4 months), and administrative duties (2.5 months). *Calculation*: - Year 1: $120,000 × 0.2083 = $25,000 - Years 2-5: 3% annual increase --- **Co-Investigator: [Name, Title]** **Effort**: [X] calendar months ([Y]% FTE) per year **Justification**: Dr. [Name] will be responsible for [specific aspects of project related to their expertise]. This includes [specific activities for which aims]. Co-I effort is essential because [expertise/resources they provide that PI lacks]. **Example**: *Co-Investigator: Dr. Robert Johnson, Professor of Bioinformatics* *Effort*: 1 calendar month (8.3% FTE) per year *Justification*: Dr. Johnson will lead the computational analysis for Aim 1, including multi-omics data integration, machine learning-based subtype classification, and biomarker identification. His expertise in unsupervised clustering methods and experience with similar T2D datasets is essential for this aim. Specific responsibilities include: (1) developing analysis pipelines, (2) training graduate student in bioinformatics methods, (3) interpreting computational results, and (4) co-authoring manuscripts. *Calculation*: Year 1: $150,000 × 0.0833 = $12,500 --- ### Postdoctoral Scholars **Postdoctoral Researcher (1.0 FTE)** **Justification**: One full-time postdoctoral researcher is essential to conduct [which experiments/aims]. The postdoc will be responsible for [specific technical activities], data analysis, and mentoring graduate students. Specific duties include: [list 4-6 key responsibilities tied to specific aims]. We will recruit a candidate with expertise in [required skills/background]. **Calculation**: - Year 1: NIH NRSA stipend level Year 0-2 ($54,840) + fringe benefits (26%) = $69,099 - Years 2-3: Adjusted for postdoc experience level - Years 4-5: Senior postdoc rate **Example**: *Postdoctoral Researcher (1.0 FTE)* *Justification*: One full-time postdo