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

storytelling

How to Win Grants with Great Storytelling

An excellent proposal writer needs to be an excellent storyteller. My role model for storytelling was my father. I could listen to his stories over and over again without tiring. He would spin memorable tales with vivid characters, both antagonists and protagonists. Without any doubt, I attribute my success in proposal writing to what I… read more

NSF

Why Did My Research Proposal Fail?

The success rate for research proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF) is in the teens. So why do more than 80% of submissions fail? The reasons vary from poor writing, to not following directions, to a lack of examples. The major cause, however, is that many submissions are not research projects at all. For those that are,… read more

faq

Top 10 Grant FAQs

I get questions about the proposal writing process and grants almost every day. What to do, what to submit and to whom, and how to proceed are typical examples of what I am asked. The answers range from complicated to quite simple. My responses also depend upon the knowledge and experience of the person posing… read more

lure

Writing a Compelling Need Statement

The success of your proposal depends on persuasively presenting the need for your project. This is done in your need statement, which must be concise, coherent, and supported by evidence. If you make a robust case, the reviewers will want to read the rest of your proposal with enthusiasm. If the argument is weak, however,… read more

ready

8 Signs You`re Ready to Submit Your Proposal

My years of experience have made it easy to spot the signs of grant writers who are ready to submit, as well as grant writers who are better off waiting. Anxious grant writers frequently contact me for proposal content reviews, and the situation presented to me most often is the following scenario. My tenure depends… read more

resubmission

Prepare for Rejection

Above All, Don’t Get Discouraged You are not alone. Even seasoned researchers have only a 50 percent chance of winning a grant. If you are new to grant writing, the success rate is much lower. Statistically, new grant writers submit between 2.2 – 3 proposals before being funded. In some cases, the award rate might… read more

Beef Wellington

Writing a Grant is Like Preparing Beef Wellington

A great meal can be as complex to prepare as Beef Wellington, or as simple as roasted chicken. The same is true of writing a winning grant proposal. The grant writer, like the chef, must focus on ingredients, preparation, and presentation. For an epicurean presentation of Beef Wellington, a master chef with experience should be… read more