Shared wisdom in grant writing

 

Several of our most successful grant writers and grant administrators on campus shared their “top ten” suggestions for things to do or not to do in seeking external funding.

We’ve collected these helpful and tested ideas to share them with you.

 

Things to do:

• Develop a relationship with the funding agency. Gain understanding of the culture and priorities of the agency. Talk by phone with the funding agency program manager before submitting a proposal to see if it’s a good fit for the program. If not, ask the manager to suggest a more appropriate program to fund your project. Have a brief (one-page) outline of your proposal ready to share by email.
• If possible, visit the funding agency and program manager in person. They are there to help you and welcome opportunities to discuss your ideas!
• Collaborate with a more experienced grant writer to gain insights and increase chance of success. Use this as an opportunity for mentoring.
• If possible or appropriate, assemble an interdisciplinary team to develop a proposal. Team members can be from other campuses as well. Be willing to take risks and go beyond your comfort zone! Allow time for team members to get to know each other and to develop a shared language to talk about a research problem or idea. Assign tasks, maintain a strict schedule for meetings and completing tasks.
• Sign up to be a proposal reviewer for the agency to gain a deeper understanding of the process and criteria for successful funding.
• Sign up to get updates from the funding agency about award announcements and schedules.
• Identify a clear and novel problem and/ or hypothesis.
• Remember the power of the idea—set the hook, then sell and package your idea!
• Front-load the problem—state the goal and significance in the first paragraph, and then reprise these in the summary at the end of the proposal. Include both broad goals and specific objectives. Describe the intellectual merit of the proposal and broader potential impacts.
• Write a clear, succinct, specific, and well organized proposal. Use section headings and “roadmaps” to help the reader.
• Pay close attention to the RFP! Read it several times carefully and address each required component. Begin with a good outline.
• Follow the agency’s rules for formatting, length, content, budget explanation, etc.
• Make use of pilot data, preliminary results or evidence in the proposal to help establish a proof of concept and convince the agency to fund the work.
• Provide enough depth for expert reviewers but also accessible language and content for general reviewers on the Panel to form a judgement.
• Have a clear plan for the research, including facilities required, costs of analyses, time-frame for the work, permissions needed, etc. Cooperative agreements should be clearly documented.
• Ask some colleagues to read your project abstract and proposal before submitting, to ensure you’ve made a clear, strong argument for why your project should be funded, and to catch any errors or awkward writing. Make use of the “UMAPIT” program that provides one to two peer reviewers on campus who will give substantive feedback and suggestions. Have your proposal ready at least 3 weeks before the agency deadline to provide time for this feedback and revisions.
• List potential or suggested reviewers for your proposal for the agency.

 

Things not to do:

• Don’t let fear cause you to avoid picking up the phone and talking with the funding agency program manager about your ideas.
• Don’t present your proposed study as just “adding one more brick to the wall” of a research problem.
• Don’t use excessive jargon, or obscure language, technical information or formulas.
• Don’t give “societal benefits” or “educational outreach” lip service in your proposal. Be specific and concrete. These are increasingly crucial components.
• Don’t ignore the agency’s rules on formatting the proposal and required information.
• Don’t submit your proposal to the agency without having some peers review it informally first.
• Don’t complain or share negative comments in the proposal about prior lack of success with funding or conflicts with agencies or researchers. Be as positive as possible in tone.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to share your proposal with colleagues for feedback.
• Don’t wait until the last minute to inform your department chair, dean, and ORSP about your intention to submit a proposal. Pay attention to the guidelines and lead-time required by ORSP to ensure they have time to assist you. Talk with the grant administrator well in advance of the deadline. More time is needed if there are subcontracts.
• Don’t wait to submit on the deadline, but submit prior to the deadline if possible to avoid unforeseen technical or other glitches.
• Don’t expect success the first time! Keep trying! Use reviewers’ comments and feedback from colleagues to revise and resubmit. Review the scoring rubric found on the agency’s website. You can recycle previous proposals as well.