first step

Your First Step: Understanding the Request for Proposal

Before you start writing, you absolutely must thoroughly read and understand the Request for Proposal (RFP). My very first experience with the RFP was so intimidating that I almost did not want to proceed with the submission. However, when I realized that much of it contained boilerplate information about the agency and their legal requirements,… read more

abstract

The Abstract: First Impression that Seals Your Fate

The abstract is the most important part of your proposal because it is the first impression you make on the donor. This introduction will seal the fate of your request – for better or worse. You should devote a substantial amount of time and effort to writing this section. You need to keep in mind… read more

NSF

The Most Important Part of Your NSF Proposal: The Summary Page

In last week’s blog I discussed the Specific Aims page for proposals that will be submitted to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This week’s focus will be on the Summary Page for National Science Foundation (NSF) proposals. Each NSF Summary Page, which cannot be over one page in length (or 4,600 characters with spaces),… read more

research

The Most Important Part of Your Application: The Specific Aims Page

The most important part of a medical research application is the Specific Aims page. The reviewers have to understand, appreciate, and be convinced of your idea by the time they finish reading this one page. It is where you provide the summary of your entire project in persuasive terms that convince the reviewer that you… read more

questions

6 Most Asked Questions about Grants

Preparing a grant proposal can be a stressful and complicated process. Thus, anyone involved in the production – whether a novice or sophisticated grant writer – has questions. These range from where to begin to how the new regulations will affect success, to how the review process works and what to do after a rejection…. read more

plan

Write Your Proposal like a Business Plan

Knowing how to write a business plan can help your grant proposal stand out and increase your chances of acquiring funding. A business plan is a written document that describes in detail how a new business is going to achieve its goals. Similarly, a grant proposal describes in detail how a project’s goal and objectives… read more

elements

10 Common Elements of Winning Proposals

Ten universal aspects that make winning proposals are: 1. clearly defined needs and describing how those needs were identified This section of your proposal is probably the most important. It is your convincing argument on why you should be funded. Research, preliminary data, surveys, and planning grants help you identify the problem you want to… 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

narcissus

The Narcissistic Grant Proposal

One of the most common statements about grant writing I hear is: “I didn’t get funded and can’t understand why.” Rejection happens for a multitude of reasons, one of which is writing narcissistic proposals. In other words, the proposal is all about you and why your project should be funded. Your application becomes a monologue,… read more