General Recommendations
Read Funding Opportunity Notices Carefully
Funding opportunities provide a list of specific requirements regarding the eligibility of the principal investigator(s), budget restrictions, maximum proposed length for the project, required documents, etc. Before starting work on a grant proposal, it is important to determine what will be needed for the submission.
Assemble an Appropriate Team
Grant proposals are best developed by teams. The team may include:
- Principal investigator or multiple principal investigators (MPI)
- Co-investigators
- Consultants
- Advisory groups
When assembling a team consider whether there is expertise to conduct the proposed study in relation to the subject area and methods.
Feedback
Obtaining feedback is critical to developing fundable grant proposals. Request feedback from the team and from impartial experts. Recognize that others may point out weaknesses or investigator(s) blind spots.
Timing
DO:
- Allot plenty of time to write, revise, obtain feedback and incorporate feedback
- Communicate clearly with the team and outside reviewers about internal institutional and submission deadlines
DO NOT:
- Schedule travel or activities so that you are unavailable in the week before a proposal deadline in the event of last-minute changes
- Request next-day feedback
- Send out materials for feedback on a Friday after 5 pm and request a response by Monday morning
Review Electronic and Hard Copy Versions of the Entire Proposal Before Submission
Look over the entire proposal on a hard copy and on the computer screen. For example, tables, graphs and figures are not always as clear on the computer screen as they appear on hard copies (or vice versa). You should make sure that your application is legible in whichever format a reviewer may be reading it.