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

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

smart

Developing SMART Objectives

Developing specific and measurable objectives requires time, orderly thinking, and a clear understanding of the results expected from program activities. The more specific your objectives are, the easier it will be to demonstrate success. The first and most important question is why are you requesting the grant? The second key question is what are you… 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