This guide, intended primarily for new or inexperienced researchers, provides suggestions for obtaining and maintaining external funding from grants and contracts. It emphasizes that this effort requires considerable thought, ongoing planning, sound management, and clear decisions. The book uses the National Institutes of Health application and review model. The six parts address the following broad areas: (1) resubmitting a not-funded application; (2) practical issues when receiving a funding award; (3) business aspects of managing a project; (4) continuing a project by submitting a competitive application; (5) application preparation; and (6) other considerations. Following an introductory chapter, individual chapters address the following topics: understanding reasons for not receiving funding, contending with reviewers' comments, modifying the application, understanding the award's rights and responsibilities, building effective organizational relationships, designing an organization for the project, establishing financial procedures, selecting project personnel, communicating with organizations and with the scientific community, identifying a continuation project, selecting a funding mechanism for a continuation project, deciding what to include in a project application, writing to be competitive, reading the application through the reviewers' eyes, examining related research issues, and thinking as the heart of science. (Contains 63 references.) (DB)