Table 5 Levine index

• \( \mathrm{Levine}\ \mathrm{Index} = \frac{\left(\mathrm{Percent}\ \mathrm{o}\mathrm{f}\ \mathrm{Grant}\mathrm{s}\ \mathrm{Awarded}\right)\times \left(\mathrm{Total}\ \mathrm{Grant}\ \mathrm{Amount}\ \mathrm{in}\ \mathrm{Dollars}\right)}{\left(\mathrm{Total}\ \mathrm{Hours}\ \mathrm{t}\mathrm{o}\ \mathrm{Complete}\ \mathrm{Application}\right)} \)

• \( \mathrm{Modified}\ \mathrm{L}\mathrm{evine}\ \mathrm{I}\mathrm{ndex}\ \left(\mathrm{M}\mathrm{L}\mathrm{I}\right) = \frac{\left(\mathrm{Percent}\ \mathrm{of}\ \mathrm{Grant}\mathrm{s}\ \mathrm{Awarded}\right)\times \left(\mathrm{Total}\ \mathrm{Grant}\ \mathrm{Amount}\ \mathrm{in}\ \mathrm{Dollars}\right)}{\left(\mathrm{Total}\ \mathrm{Number}\ \mathrm{of}\ \mathrm{Application}\ \mathrm{Pages} \times 10\right)} \)

• A $100,000 grant with 8 applicants per year for two awards (or a percent awarded of 0.25) that has a 20 page application would have an MLI = 125

• Alternatively, a $10,000 grant with 10 applicants for one award (or a percent awarded of .10) and a 15 page application would have an MLI = 7

• A “good” MLI will depend on how much a researcher’s time is worth—for a junior researcher, an MLI of >50 might be fine, while a very senior researcher may only find it worthwhile to apply for grants with an MLI >500. Regardless, the MLI should only be one of several criteria used to evaluate whether a specific grant is the right fit for a given applicant.