This seminar is for Career Development Award (CDA) candidates and their mentors. It emphasizes the ‘partnering’ between candidate and mentor that is necessary for one of these proposals to be successful. The kinds of CDAs that are highlighted include the National Institutes of Health’s mentored K Awards, and NIH’s Ruth L. Kirschstein F32 National Research Service Award for individual post-doctoral fellows. Positioning for success in advance of writing the proposal, tips and strategies that help to assure a successful application, and principles / fundamentals applicable to any agency’s CDA are taught.