Grant proposal writing

By: Sintayehu H. (PhD)

 Outline
• Introduction
• Five keys for proposal writing
• Routing procedure
• Strategies for organizing your proposal
• Organizing
• Editing your proposal
• Creating the Budget
 Writing Grant Proposal
• Grants are not charity – they are investments
• Plan well in advance – it’s not a quick process
• Research the sponsor and its mission; acquire a copy of a
successful proposal if you can
• Read the guidelines at least twice
• Different sponsors have different approaches
• Are you allowed to seek advice from a program officer while
writing a grant?
• Ask for comments on an unfunded application; resubmission
can work
 Five keys to proposal writing
1. Programmatic relevance is critical
Does your project/idea fit into the sponsor’s mission? If not, no
matter how awesome it is, they will not fund it.

2. Come up with a great idea or project

High-risk ideas rarely get funded.
Newly established and confirmed ideas do get funded.

3. Show a clear public benefit

Don’t assume they will figure it out – tell them.
 Cont’d
4 . Be specific
Details will convince them that you are capable of achieving
the project’s goals.

5. Focus on persuasive writing

A great project isn’t enough – you must convince the sponsor that
your project is the one they should fund.
 Routing procedure
Grant proposals must be routed at least five working days
before the sponsor’s deadline

You need to route your proposal when:

• You are submitting a full proposal to an external sponsor, or

• The application requires the signature of an Institutional Official or

Authorized Representative, or

• You are submitting a preliminary application and the sponsor

requires a budget at this stage.
How to start a routing form?
 Routing procedure…
What should be included
with the routing form?

• A link to the program announcement or a PDF of the application

guidelines

• A budget (with budget justification, if required)

• The narrative (which can still be in draft form at this stage)

• Make use of the Comments section!

Strategies for organizing your proposal
Start with your big idea, then outline:
– Context, Conceptual Framework
– Questions
– Background (Preliminary Data)
– Objectives
– Hypotheses to test
– Methods/Procedures
– Broader Impacts
– Timeline of activities
– Budget
Context, Conceptual framework:
Big Idea
Question to Address: Q1 Q2

Hypotheses:
H1 H2 H3 H4

Methods: M1 M2 M3 M4 M5
H1 H1 H2 H1 H5
H2 H3 H3
BI, Timeline, Budget H4
 Organizing
• Headings & subheadings follow outline
• Check to see that:
– You can follow the thread for each question
posed, through all the sections
– You have the personnel/expertise/studies covering
all the points
– Everything proposed has a budget line
 Creating the Budget
• Follow guidelines closely
• Be sure you can justify every item in your budget – why is it
necessary to fulfilling the project?
• Be ready to back up the cost/quote for the specific item – don’t pad
it, they will know.
• The dreaded F&A (facilities & administrative costs) indirect costs
and overhead
• Is cost-sharing required? Think about how much funding the project
will need beyond what this sponsor provides.
 Editing your proposal
• Use spellcheck and grammar check!
• Check for consistency across ALL parts of the proposal, including
the Budget.
– If you skipped the outline before, do it now!
– For each activity proposed, reviewers should be able to trace a
direct line:
Questions Objectives Hypothesis Activity Methods Timeline
Budget
• The process is iterative
– E.g., If activities are proposed that aren’t supported in the
Budget, it’s back to the drawing board for either the proposed
activities or the Budget.
 Editing…
• Finish a complete draft in time for friendly
review by 2 types of peers
– Someone who knows the topic well (but will not
try to scoop you!)
– Someone in that general field, but not specialized
in your topic
– You will likely get both types of reviewers and you
need to convince both types
• Discuss with reviewers the criticisms that you
didn’t understand
 Grant Reviewers
• Grant Reviewers look for the following grant applications:

• VISION – bold and innovative ideas

• COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT – often in planning stages, and later in

dissemination

• IMPACT – on the field but also can be on economic development (tourism

grants)

• SERVICE – breadth or reach of the project and the audiences served

Thank You!