challenges

Challenges Facing Grant Writers in Today’s Environment

New and seasoned grant writers are encountering increased challenges in seeking funding for their research and organizations. Many of these challenges are beyond their control. In this blog, I will briefly outline five of the most common barriers. In subsequent blogs, I will comprehensively address each one: Increased Competition: As the demand for grant funding… read more

Leader

Boost Your External Funding via Effective Leadership

Leadership is an essential component of any successful institution. Leaders guide their teams, inspire their people, and drive their organizations towards achieving their goals.  Equally, leadership training has become increasingly significant for those who need to be successful at managing and implementing grants, for their leadership skills will have an important effect on their teams… read more

virtual

Going Virtual: A Paradigm Shift for Grants

With the rise of working from home, organizations and universities transitioning online, and even pandemics, it’s no surprise that video conferencing has become an integral part of our working lives. According to Video Conferencing Statistics, 94% of institutions claim that video conferencing has increased their productivity.Research to date demonstrates both the challenges and opportunities of… read more

confused

Why You Should Not Hire an External Grant Writer

If you do not want the implementation phase of your proposal to suffer, do not hire a grant writer. Earlier in my career I served as a grant writer on a contractual basis for various organizations as well as wrote many grants for the institutions where I was an employee. I was hired because I… read more

sharks

The Grant Competition: Swim with the Sharks

Before you apply for a grant, you must ask yourself if you are in it to win it. Since the average success rate for government grants is less than 20 percent, you have to be ready to swim with the sharks. Ask yourself how thoroughly you have studied the playing field, how well equipped you… read more

STEM education

America’s STEM Education Problem

The World Economic Forum ranks the United States 52nd in the world for math and science education quality. If that weren’t bad enough, according to the Committee on STEM Education, only 16 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in mathematics and interested in STEM careers. What are we doing wrong? According to Professor… read more

Hiding from and Audit

Surviving an Audit: How to be Ready

For grantees, an audit can mean life or death for a project. The word “audit” has the ability to put even the most well-organized administration team on edge. I have had the good fortune to be part of an organization that went to great lengths to be prepared for audits. I have also been part… read more