Grantwriting Tips
There are several articles which are a "must read" before you write your grant. They will help you to hone your grantwriting skills to compete more effectively for support. Don't neglect this. The best, most innovative, cutting-edge scientific proposal can be tossed aside by grant reviewers for reasons that have nothing to do with science if your proposal is not prepared carefully, following all instructions to the letter.
Read these first:
- Fundamentals of Grantsmanship
- "All About Grants" Tutorials from NIAID (excellent grantwriting resource from NIH)
- "NIH Mock Study Section Video" (reviews of R01, R03 and K08 applications)
- Proposal Writing: A Short Course from the Foundation Center
- How to Wow A Study Section: A Grantsmanship Lesson
- Tips for Grant Applicants (from the Fulbright Program)
- Developing & Writing Grant Proposals
- Writing, Speaking, and Communication Skills for Health Professionals, by the Health Care Communication Group, published by Yale University Press, 2001. ISBN #0-300-08861-2 (cloth). ISBN #0-300-08861-0 (paper). Available at Yale University libraries under call number R118 W75 2001. Or, stop by the Office of Grant & Contract Administration, Funding Resource Center, to look through a copy.
Just as a reminder: remember to follow the instructions, follow the instructions, follow the instructions. That includes how to order the parts of your proposal, the type size, the font, the margins, double or single-spacing, staples or clips, you name it. Proposals can and do get tossed in the trash can for deviating from the agency's instructions.
And, write your proposal summary for the lay person, someone not acquainted with your area of expertise. The proposal summary or abstract is frequently the only part of your proposal that is read by reviewers. Make it work for you so that they will want to read the rest of your proposal.
Decided to send a proposal to Foundation X? Make sure you know everything you can about Foundation X, what they've funded recently, what kinds of proposals are successful, who are the members of their scientific advisory committee or review board. Find out if someone from Yale has had a proposal funded successfully. Look at that proposal to get a good idea of what makes a successful research proposal. Ask others to critique your proposal.
