How to Write a Winning How to Write a Winning Grant ProposalGrant Proposal

C. Dianne MartinAssociate Vice President

Graduate Studies and Academic Affairs

Seminar Series:Academic Success and Professional Development

Getting Started - ATTITUDE!Getting Started - ATTITUDE!Getting Started - ATTITUDE!Getting Started - ATTITUDE!

• A good proposal has “attitude”• Don’t assume the reader will grasp

the significance of your idea• Give context, explain fully,

convince the reader you know what you are doing.

• Marketing yourself and your idea

• A good proposal has “attitude”• Don’t assume the reader will grasp

the significance of your idea• Give context, explain fully,

convince the reader you know what you are doing.

• Marketing yourself and your idea

Type of ProposalType of Proposal

Target Organization

IndividualTeamGroup

Program Project

Research or Education

Next, What do You Want?Next, What do You Want?

Defining the ProjectDefining the Project

• Choose a problem/idea you wish to pursue• Survey the literature• Contact established investigators in the

area• Prepare a brief concept paper• Discuss your idea with others• Get started on the project

Your Proposal Should Answer Your Proposal Should Answer These QuestionsThese Questions

• What are you going to do?• Why is this important?• What is your unique contribution?• Is it feasible?• Why are you the best person to do it?• What are others doing in this area?• How will you do it?• How will you evaluate your results?• How will you disseminate your results?

Proposal Writing HintsProposal Writing Hints• Present your ideas clearly and succinctly• Present the main thrust of the project at the beginning - don’t

bury your lead!• Use a concise writing style• Show relevance with specific examples• Organize to permit skimming - use headings• Add a timeline with specific deliverables• Include a bibliography of related work• Have someone else read it before submitting

Remember that you are selling an idea to the REVIEWERS and the FUNDER

Attributes of a GOOD ProposalAttributes of a GOOD Proposal• Innovative• Comprehensive - understands all issues• Experience - has expertise to do it• Preparation - clear you know funding

requirements and related work• Cooperation - done “with” not “to” target

group• Beneficiaries - who will gain?• Commitment and Continuation• Evaluation and Dissemination of Impact

• Innovative• Comprehensive - understands all issues• Experience - has expertise to do it• Preparation - clear you know funding

requirements and related work• Cooperation - done “with” not “to” target

group• Beneficiaries - who will gain?• Commitment and Continuation• Evaluation and Dissemination of Impact

Know the RequirementsKnow the Requirements(read the program announcement!)(read the program announcement!)

•Format• Due date• Funding timeframe/ limits• Statement of problem• Research goals• Research methods• Team members/ expertise• Deliverables• Budget

Grant Opportunities and Support• Internal grants (College & University)

• Individual grants

• Federal and National grants

• Foundation awards

• Fellowships/ scholarships

• Industry contracts

• Societies

• Foundations

Types of ProposalsTypes of Proposals

Letter of proposal: usually expanded Statement of Work

Preliminary proposal: used by agency to decide if proposer should develop it further

Expanded proposal: contains all of the necessary information to be used in the review process

Revised proposal: modified subject to comments by reviewers

Guidelines for ProposalsGuidelines for Proposals

• Vary by institution and agency

• Outline proposal format

• Set conditions on requests

• Set conditions on use of funds

• Set conditions on review process and negotiations

• FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES TO THE LETTER ! (even font size)

Good PGood Proposals

• Capture the reviewer's attention

• Aim for clarity

• Establish the context

• Identify the payoff

• Use a fresh approach, but don't stray from accepted methodologies

• Give yourself plenty of time! Peer reviews before submission are important!

Proposal ComponentsProposal Components

• Executive Summary and/or Introduction

• Problem/Needs Statement and Objectives

• Research Methods

• Evaluation Procedures

• Other Funding Sources (Current/Future)

• Budget

IntroductionIntroduction

• Organization history

• Statement of purpose and goals

• Current activities

• Constituency

• Funding sources

• Evaluations

• Quotes or letters of support

• Relevant publications summary

Problem StatementProblem Statement

•State the problem simply & concisely

• Relate it to your purpose and goals

• Provide evidence of importance

• Provide justification that you can solve the problem

• Make certain that the scope of the problem is focused

• State it in the terms of your constituents

MethodologyMethodology

Methods need to support the objectives!

• Who: team selection and sampling

• How: what will occur over the life of the project

• When: task order and timing

• Why: defend your chosen methods and provide assurance that these methods will lead to anticipated outcomes

EvaluationEvaluationTypes:• Product - has the research achieved its

objectives?• Process - was the research consistent with

the plan?

Questions: • who will do the evaluation?• method of data collection• method of data analysis• method of reporting evaluative information

Know the Evaluation Criteria !!!Know the Evaluation Criteria !!!

ZU RIF

Budget: What Do You Need?Budget: What Do You Need? (know what is allowed) (know what is allowed)

• Equipment

• Salary

• Facilities

• Services

• Travel

• Expenses

• Other

BudgetBudget• Be specific - do NOT use ball-park

figures!

• Be precise - make sure your accounting is in order

• Be complete - make sure there are no hidden costs

• Be honest - don't make up matching costs

• Be convincing - argue why a line item is needed

Advice on BudgetsAdvice on Budgets• Request realistic items / amounts• Justify anything that is unusual• Include only necessary items • Remain within grant guidelines• Indicate time and cost sharing if

required

Excessive budgets irritate reviewers!

Advice on TimelinesAdvice on TimelinesAdvice on TimelinesAdvice on Timelines

• Provide one!

• Be realistic

• Within time frame of the funding

• Include research methods used

• Show progress along the way

• Show rollout of deliverables

• Provide one!

• Be realistic

• Within time frame of the funding

• Include research methods used

• Show progress along the way

• Show rollout of deliverables

Supporting DocumentationSupporting Documentation

• Letters of support

• Compliance documentation

• Vitas of principle researchers

• Related publications

• Equipment quotations

General TipsGeneral Tips• Network with people in your field

• Call the program officer or funding representative

• Propose results

• Don't assume the justification is obvious

• Don't assume all reviewers will agree with your position

• Read and reference all relevant literature

• Get letters of support from collaborators

• Identify how the funding will be spent

• Identify why you have the expertise to do this research

• Identify what exactly is your plan

• Identify what methodologies you will use

Common Problems of Common Problems of Non-Winning ProposalsNon-Winning Proposals

•Key points are buried, no highlights, no impact

•No innovative topic or approach

•Difficult to read, full of jargon, too long, too technical

•Misspellings, grammatical errors, wrong client name, and inconsistent formats

•Failure to differentiate your work from others. e.g., no reference to relevant literature

If Your Proposal is DeclinedIf Your Proposal is Declined REMEMBERREMEMBER• You are in good company• Awards are often highly competitive• Budgetary limitations exert influence• Funding agency priorities exert influence

Read the reviews and TRY AGAIN!

Volunteer to be a ReviewerVolunteer to be a Reviewer

You will: • Read good and bad proposals• See the review process in action• Write better proposals next time• Get a good view of what is being funded• Give back to the community

Sources of InformationSources of Information• US National Science Foundation

http://www.nsf.gov

• Grantsandfunding.comhttp://www.grantsandfunding.com/libraries/grantseeking/wings/GFindex.html

• Online Proposal Writing Handbookhttp://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~writing/handbook-proposals.html

• Writing a Good Grant Proposal (Simon Peyton Jones and Alan Bundy, Microsoft Research)http://research.microsoft.com/~simonpj/papers/Proposal.html

• Grantwriting 101 Workshop by Wayne Carlson, The Ohio State University http://design.osu.edu/carlson/grantwriting.html

• US National Science Foundationhttp://www.nsf.gov

• Grantsandfunding.comhttp://www.grantsandfunding.com/libraries/grantseeking/wings/GFindex.html

• Online Proposal Writing Handbookhttp://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/~writing/handbook-proposals.html

• Writing a Good Grant Proposal (Simon Peyton Jones and Alan Bundy, Microsoft Research)http://research.microsoft.com/~simonpj/papers/Proposal.html

• Grantwriting 101 Workshop by Wayne Carlson, The Ohio State University http://design.osu.edu/carlson/grantwriting.html

Grant Writing as a CourtshipGrant Writing as a Courtship Grant Writing as a CourtshipGrant Writing as a Courtship

• Get to know the funding organizations• Find the “best match”• Talk to the funding officer if possible to

establish a personal relationship• If you visit in person, be nice to the

receptionist or secretary!• Reduces the chance of a bitter

rejection or a bad divorce!

• Get to know the funding organizations• Find the “best match”• Talk to the funding officer if possible to

establish a personal relationship• If you visit in person, be nice to the

receptionist or secretary!• Reduces the chance of a bitter

rejection or a bad divorce!