(Page 37): RATIONALE AND SIGNIFICANCE SECTION

Although this section comes quite a bit later in the application, we are asking you to write it now. We are doing so, because it is part of the foundation the master plan on Instructions from the Application Kit: Concisely present the rationale behind the proposed research. The objectives specific relationship to the potential long-range improvement in and sustainability of U.S. agriculture or to one or more of the research purposes should be drawn clearly. These purposes are described under Applicable Regulations in the NRI Request for Applications. Any novel ideas or contributions that the proposed project offers should also be discussed in this section. which the rest of your application will be based. Because it is a later section, start a new page, so that it is completely separate from the overview part of your Introduction section. Rationale Paragraph. The first paragraph of the Rationale and Significance section should be titled, Rationale, in bold Italics. The rationale statement is usually one of the least well-written sections of a grant application, primarily because most applicants dont understand what a true rationale is. Briefly, it is the reason that you want to undertake the research the underlying basis for it. This is one of the most important points that you have to get across to your reviewers, and it is a golden opportunity to convey to them the enthusiasm that you have for the project. It must be a reason that is appealing to the USDA, i.e., one that is agriculturally important. The rationale is not a justification of why you have selected a specific disease or model for investigation. Nor can it be that the problem you have selected is an interesting one that is worthy of study. Rather, it must tell the reviewers what will become possible after the research has been completed that is not possible now. To get started, think for a minute about why you want to pursue this research. What are you trying to accomplish that is agriculturally relevant? When you have the answer, write a bullet or bullets that deliver that message. Remember that the rationale why you want to do the research must link back to solving the problem that you delineated at the end of the first paragraph of your Introduction section. Here is an example of two bullets that are precursors of the rationale for an application on bovine respiratory disease complex. understanding how the chain functions is expected to lead to knowledge of how the receptor complex acts to mobilize pulmonary host defenses expected to lead to new strategies for preventing/controlling bovine respiratory disease complex

Now, in the space provided below, write your comparable bullet or bullets.