Preparing Grant Proposals: Some Suggestions

Greetings again. I hope you’re doing well.

As mentioned last week, I recently attended a proposal-writing workshop. In last week’s post, I noted some items that helped make the workshop presentations effective. In the current post, I’ll share some of the speaker’s advice.

Here are some points from the workshop:

• To succeed in seeking funding, set aside ample time in your schedule. Time is needed to find funding opportunities, develop research ideas, and write and revise proposals.
• Make the proposal easy to understand. Otherwise, the peer reviewers may be confused or frustrated and so may rate the proposal unfavorably.
• If allowed, cite literature by author’s name and date, not by using numerals. The former is easier for reviewers to follow.
• If a proposal includes tables or figures, place each table or figure shortly after the text that refers to it.
• If you request a letter of support from a colleague, offer to draft the letter and then have the colleague revise it. Doing so can help ensure that the letter is provided and has suitable content.
• “Think like a reviewer.” If the proposal has weaknesses that you would identify if you were a reviewer, correct them.
• Finish drafting a major grant proposal 4 to 6 weeks before the deadline, if possible. Then have colleagues provide feedback on the draft. Revise the proposal only after receiving their feedback.

Of course, proposal-writing skills are helpful only if appropriate funding sources exist. Conveniently, AuthorAID has added to its funding page a list of useful links. If you have additional links to suggest or tips to share, please post a comment.

Until the next post—

Barbara