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Grant Proposal – Example, Template and Guide
Table of Contents
A grant proposal is a document written to secure funding for a project, research, or initiative. This document outlines your objectives, methods, and the expected impact of your work, demonstrating to potential funders that your project is valuable and feasible. Writing a successful grant proposal requires careful planning, organization, and adherence to specific guidelines set by the funding body. This guide provides an overview of grant proposals, including an example, a template, and step-by-step instructions to help you create a compelling proposal.
Grant Proposal
A grant proposal is a formal request for funding submitted to a governmental agency, private foundation, corporation, or other organization. It presents a project idea, explains how the funds will be used, and demonstrates the project’s potential benefits to align with the funder’s priorities. A well-crafted grant proposal can help secure financial resources necessary for research projects, community programs, creative works, or business initiatives.
Key Elements of a Grant Proposal
- Project Summary : A brief overview of the proposal’s goals, methods, and expected outcomes.
- Introduction : Provides background information on the organization or individual applying, including expertise and past achievements.
- Problem Statement : Clearly outlines the problem or need the project addresses and explains its significance.
- Project Goals and Objectives : Defines what the project aims to achieve, with measurable objectives.
- Methods and Approach : Describes the steps, methodologies, or strategies that will be used to achieve the project’s goals.
- Evaluation : Explains how success will be measured and monitored.
- Budget : Provides a detailed breakdown of how funds will be allocated.
- Conclusion : Summarizes the proposal and reinforces its significance.
- Appendices : Optional, may include letters of support, resumes, or additional documents.
Example of a Grant Proposal Summary
Project Title : Enhancing STEM Education for Underrepresented High School Students
Summary : This proposal seeks funding to implement an after-school STEM program for underrepresented high school students in our district. The program will provide hands-on experiences, mentorship, and academic support, aiming to boost students’ interest in STEM fields and improve their academic performance. Through partnerships with local universities and industry professionals, we hope to create a pathway for these students to pursue STEM careers. The total budget for the project is $50,000, covering materials, instructor fees, and program logistics.
Template for a Grant Proposal
[Your Organization’s Name and Logo]
Project Title : Applicant’s Name : Date of Submission : Funder’s Name and Address :
1. Project Summary
- Provide a concise summary of the proposal, including the project’s purpose, objectives, and potential impact.
2. Introduction
- Describe your organization’s background, mission, and relevant experience. Mention past accomplishments and qualifications that make your organization or team capable of executing the project.
3. Problem Statement
- Outline the issue your project addresses. Use data and evidence to support the significance of the problem, and explain why it needs to be addressed.
4. Project Goals and Objectives
- Clearly define the goals and measurable objectives of the project. Goals are broad outcomes, while objectives are specific, actionable steps that will help achieve these goals.
5. Methods and Approach
- Detail the steps, techniques, or methodologies you will use to achieve the project’s objectives. Include a timeline, milestones, and any partnerships or collaborations with other organizations.
6. Evaluation
- Explain how you will assess the project’s effectiveness. Describe the metrics, evaluation tools, and data collection methods you’ll use to monitor progress.
- Provide a clear, itemized budget that explains how the funds will be allocated. Include personnel, materials, travel, and any other costs associated with the project.
8. Conclusion
- Summarize the proposal’s importance and your commitment to the project. Emphasize how the project aligns with the funder’s goals.
9. Appendices (optional)
- Include additional documents, such as letters of support, resumes of key personnel, or data that supports your proposal.
Writing Guide for a Grant Proposal
- Research funding agencies, foundations, and organizations that support projects like yours. Review their guidelines, funding priorities, and application requirements to ensure alignment.
- Tailor your proposal to the funder’s mission and objectives. Emphasize aspects of your project that align with their goals, such as community impact, sustainability, or innovation.
- Summarize the proposal in a few sentences, clearly stating the purpose, target population, and desired outcomes. Make the summary engaging and informative, as it’s often the first section reviewers will read.
- Describe the problem or need your project addresses. Use facts, statistics, and case studies to demonstrate the problem’s relevance and urgency.
- Define what you intend to achieve (goals) and outline specific steps or milestones (objectives) that will lead to those outcomes. Ensure that objectives are realistic, measurable, and time-bound.
- Provide a detailed explanation of how the project will be carried out, including who will be responsible for each component, the resources required, and the timeline. Include any innovative techniques or partnerships that will enhance the project’s impact.
- Describe how you will measure success. Define the indicators or metrics that will track progress and explain the methods for collecting and analyzing data to evaluate the project’s impact.
- Break down the budget by categories (e.g., personnel, materials, travel, equipment). Justify each expense, showing why it’s necessary and how it contributes to the project’s goals. Ensure the budget is reasonable and aligns with the funding amount requested.
- Reinforce the project’s significance, how it aligns with the funder’s mission, and your commitment to achieving its objectives. Highlight the potential long-term impact and scalability of the project.
- Prepare Supporting Documents for the Appendix
- Gather supplementary materials, such as letters of support from partners, resumes of project team members, and relevant past project examples, to strengthen your proposal.
Tips for Writing a Successful Grant Proposal
- Follow All Guidelines : Carefully adhere to the funder’s guidelines regarding formatting, word limits, and required documents.
- Be Concise and Clear : Use straightforward language and avoid jargon. Make your proposal easy to read and understand.
- Emphasize the Impact : Highlight how the project will benefit the community, solve a pressing problem, or advance knowledge in your field.
- Use Data to Support Claims : Back up statements with data, research, or case studies to build credibility.
- Proofread and Edit : Ensure the proposal is free from grammar and spelling errors, and double-check that all required components are included.
Writing a grant proposal requires careful planning, clear organization, and an understanding of the funder’s priorities. By crafting a compelling problem statement, setting measurable goals, and outlining a thorough plan with a justified budget, you can create a proposal that demonstrates the importance and feasibility of your project. Using the example, template, and step-by-step guide in this post, you’ll be well-prepared to submit a persuasive and successful grant proposal.
- Miner, L. E., & Miner, J. T. (2008). Proposal Planning and Writing . Greenwood Publishing.
- Geever, J. C. (2012). The Foundation Center’s Guide to Proposal Writing . The Foundation Center.
- Bauer, D. G., & Margolis, J. (2017). The “How To” Grants Manual: Successful Grantseeking Techniques for Obtaining Public and Private Grants . Rowman & Littlefield.
- Hall, M. (2012). Getting Funded: The Complete Guide to Writing Grant Proposals . Portland State University.
- Levine, M. F. (2018). Guide to Winning Federal Government Contracts . CRC Press.
About the author
Muhammad Hassan
Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer
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How to write a grant proposal: a step-by-step guide
What is a grant proposal?
Why should you write a grant proposal, format of a grant proposal, how to write a grant proposal, step 1: decide what funding opportunity to apply for, and research the grant application process, step 2: plan and research your project, preliminary research for your grant proposal, questions to ask yourself as you plan your grant proposal, developing your grant proposal, step 3: write the first draft of your grant proposal, step 4: get feedback, and revise your grant proposal accordingly, step 5: prepare to submit your grant proposal, what happens after submitting the grant proposal, final thoughts, other useful sources for writing grant proposals, frequently asked questions about writing grant proposals, related articles.
You have a vision for a future research project, and want to share that idea with the world.
To achieve your vision, you need funding from a sponsoring organization, and consequently, you need to write a grant proposal.
Although visualizing your future research through grant writing is exciting, it can also feel daunting. How do you start writing a grant proposal? How do you increase your chances of success in winning a grant?
But, writing a proposal is not as hard as you think. That’s because the grant-writing process can be broken down into actionable steps.
This guide provides a step-by-step approach to grant-writing that includes researching the application process, planning your research project, and writing the proposal. It is written from extensive research into grant-writing, and our experiences of writing proposals as graduate students, postdocs, and faculty in the sciences.
A grant proposal is a document or collection of documents that outlines the strategy for a future research project and is submitted to a sponsoring organization with the specific goal of getting funding to support the research. For example, grants for large projects with multiple researchers may be used to purchase lab equipment, provide stipends for graduate and undergraduate researchers, fund conference travel, and support the salaries of research personnel.
As a graduate student, you might apply for a PhD scholarship, or postdoctoral fellowship, and may need to write a proposal as part of your application. As a faculty member of a university, you may need to provide evidence of having submitted grant applications to obtain a permanent position or promotion.
Reasons for writing a grant proposal include:
- To obtain financial support for graduate or postdoctoral studies;
- To travel to a field site, or to travel to meet with collaborators;
- To conduct preliminary research for a larger project;
- To obtain a visiting position at another institution;
- To support undergraduate student research as a faculty member;
- To obtain funding for a large collaborative project, which may be needed to retain employment at a university.
The experience of writing a proposal can be helpful, even if you fail to obtain funding. Benefits include:
- Improvement of your research and writing skills
- Enhancement of academic employment prospects, as fellowships and grants awarded and applied for can be listed on your academic CV
- Raising your profile as an independent academic researcher because writing proposals can help you become known to leaders in your field.
All sponsoring agencies have specific requirements for the format of a grant proposal. For example, for a PhD scholarship or postdoctoral fellowship, you may be required to include a description of your project, an academic CV, and letters of support from mentors or collaborators.
For a large research project with many collaborators, the collection of documents that need to be submitted may be extensive. Examples of documents that might be required include a cover letter, a project summary, a detailed description of the proposed research, a budget, a document justifying the budget, and the CVs of all research personnel.
Before writing your proposal, be sure to note the list of required documents.
Writing a grant proposal can be broken down into three major activities: researching the project (reading background materials, note-taking, preliminary work, etc.), writing the proposal (creating an outline, writing the first draft, revisions, formatting), and administrative tasks for the project (emails, phone calls, meetings, writing CVs and other supporting documents, etc.).
Below, we provide a step-by-step guide to writing a grant proposal:
- Decide what funding opportunity to apply for, and research the grant application process
- Plan and research your project
- Write the first draft of your grant proposal
- Get feedback, and revise your grant proposal accordingly
- Prepare to submit your grant proposal
- Start early. Begin by searching for funding opportunities and determining requirements. Some sponsoring organizations prioritize fundamental research, whereas others support applied research. Be sure your project fits the mission statement of the granting organization. Look at recently funded proposals and/or sample proposals on the agency website, if available. The Research or Grants Office at your institution may be able to help with finding grant opportunities.
- Make a spreadsheet of grant opportunities, with a link to the call for proposals page, the mission and aims of the agency, and the deadline for submission. Use the information that you have compiled in your spreadsheet to decide what to apply for.
- Once you have made your decision, carefully read the instructions in the call for proposals. Make a list of all the documents you need to apply, and note the formatting requirements and page limits. Know exactly what the funding agency requires of submitted proposals.
- Reach out to support staff at your university (for example, at your Research or Grants Office), potential mentors, or collaborators. For example, internal deadlines for submitting external grants are often earlier than the submission date. Make sure to learn about your institution’s internal processes, and obtain contact information for the relevant support staff.
- Applying for a grant or fellowship involves administrative work. Start preparing your CV and begin collecting supporting documents from collaborators, such as letters of support. If the application to the sponsoring agency is electronic, schedule time to set up an account, log into the system, download necessary forms and paperwork, etc. Don’t leave all of the administrative tasks until the end.
- Map out the important deadlines on your calendar. These might include video calls with collaborators, a date for the first draft to be complete, internal submission deadlines, and the funding agency deadline.
- Schedule time on your calendar for research, writing, and administrative tasks associated with the project. It’s wise to group similar tasks and block out time for them (a process known as ” time batching ”). Break down bigger tasks into smaller ones.
Now that you know what you are applying for, you can think about matching your proposed research to the aims of the agency. The work you propose needs to be innovative, specific, realizable, timely, and worthy of the sponsoring organization’s attention.
- Develop an awareness of the important problems and open questions in your field. Attend conferences and seminar talks and follow all of your field’s major journals.
- Read widely and deeply. Journal review articles are a helpful place to start. Reading papers from related but different subfields can generate ideas. Taking detailed notes as you read will help you recall the important findings and connect disparate concepts.
- Writing a grant proposal is a creative and imaginative endeavor. Write down all of your ideas. Freewriting is a practice where you write down all that comes to mind without filtering your ideas for feasibility or stopping to edit mistakes. By continuously writing your thoughts without judgment, the practice can help overcome procrastination and writer’s block. It can also unleash your creativity, and generate new ideas and associations. Mind mapping is another technique for brainstorming and generating connections between ideas.
- Establish a regular writing practice. Schedule time just for writing, and turn off all distractions during your focused work time. You can use your writing process to refine your thoughts and ideas.
- Use a reference manager to build a library of sources for your project. You can use a reference management tool to collect papers , store and organize references , and highlight and annotate PDFs . Establish a system for organizing your ideas by tagging papers with labels and using folders to store similar references.
To facilitate intelligent thinking and shape the overall direction of your project, try answering the following questions:
- What are the questions that the project will address? Am I excited and curious about their answers?
- Why are these questions important?
- What are the goals of the project? Are they SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Timely)?
- What is novel about my project? What is the gap in current knowledge?
- What methods will I use, and how feasible is my approach?
- Can the work be done over the proposed period, and with the budget I am requesting?
- Do I have relevant experience? For example, have I completed similar work funded by previous grants or written papers on my proposed topic?
- What pilot research or prior work can I use, or do I need to complete preliminary research before writing the proposal?
- Will the outcomes of my work be consequential? Will the granting agency be interested in the results?
- What solutions to open problems in my field will this project offer? Are there broader implications of my work?
- Who will the project involve? Do I need mentors, collaborators, or students to contribute to the proposed work? If so, what roles will they have?
- Who will read the proposal? For example, experts in the field will require details of methods, statistical analyses, etc., whereas non-experts may be more concerned with the big picture.
- What do I want the reviewers to feel, and take away from reading my proposal?
- What weaknesses does my proposed research have? What objections might reviewers raise, and how can I address them?
- Can I visualize a timeline for my project?
Create an actionable plan for your research project using the answers to these questions.
- Now is the time to collect preliminary data, conduct experiments, or do a preliminary study to motivate your research, and demonstrate that your proposed project is realistic.
- Use your plan to write a detailed outline of the proposal. An outline helps you to write a proposal that has a logical format and ensures your thought process is rational. It also provides a structure to support your writing.
- Follow the granting agency’s guidelines for titles, sections, and subsections to inform your outline.
At this stage, you should have identified the aims of your project, what questions your work will answer, and how they are relevant to the sponsoring agency’s call for proposals. Be able to explain the originality, importance, and achievability of your proposed work.
Now that you have done your research, you are ready to begin writing your proposal and start filling in the details of your outline. Build on the writing routine you have already started. Here are some tips:
- Follow the guidelines of the funding organization.
- Keep the proposal reviewers in mind as you write. Your audience may be a combination of specialists in your field and non-specialists. Make sure to address the novelty of your work, its significance, and its feasibility.
- Write clearly, concisely, and avoid repetition. Use topic sentences for each paragraph to emphasize key ideas. Concluding sentences of each paragraph should develop, clarify, or summarize the support for the declaration in the topic sentence. To make your writing engaging, vary sentence length.
- Avoid jargon, where possible. Follow sentences that have complex technical information with a summary in plain language.
- Don’t review all information on the topic, but include enough background information to convince reviewers that you are knowledgeable about it. Include preliminary data to convince reviewers you can do the work. Cite all relevant work.
- Make sure not to be overly ambitious. Don’t propose to do so much that reviewers doubt your ability to complete the project. Rather, a project with clear, narrowly-defined goals may prove favorable to reviewers.
- Accurately represent the scope of your project; don’t exaggerate its impacts. Avoid bias. Be forthright about the limitations of your research.
- Ensure to address potential objections and concerns that reviewers may have with the proposed work. Show that you have carefully thought about the project by explaining your rationale.
- Use diagrams and figures effectively. Make sure they are not too small or contain too much information or details.
After writing your first draft, read it carefully to gain an overview of the logic of your argument. Answer the following questions:
- Is your proposal concise, explicit, and specific?
- Have you included all necessary assumptions, data points, and evidence in your proposal?
- Do you need to make structural changes like moving or deleting paragraphs or including additional tables or figures to strengthen your rationale?
- Have you answered most of the questions posed in Step 2 above in your proposal?
- Follow the length requirements in the proposal guidelines. Don't feel compelled to include everything you know!
- Use formatting techniques to make your proposal easy on the eye. Follow rules for font, layout, margins, citation styles , etc. Avoid walls of text. Use bolding and italicizing to emphasize points.
- Comply with all style, organization, and reference list guidelines to make it easy to reviewers to quickly understand your argument. If you don’t, it’s at best a chore for the reviewers to read because it doesn’t make the most convincing case for you and your work. At worst, your proposal may be rejected by the sponsoring agency without review.
- Using a reference management tool like Paperpile will make citation creation and formatting in your grant proposal quick, easy and accurate.
Now take time away from your proposal, for at least a week or more. Ask trusted mentors or collaborators to read it, and give them adequate time to give critical feedback.
- At this stage, you can return to any remaining administrative work while you wait for feedback on the proposal, such as finalizing your budget or updating your CV.
- Revise the proposal based on the feedback you receive.
- Don’t be discouraged by critiques of your proposal or take them personally. Receiving and incorporating feedback with humility is essential to grow as a grant writer.
Now you are almost ready to submit. This is exciting! At this stage, you need to block out time to complete all final checks.
- Allow time for proofreading and final editing. Spelling and grammar mistakes can raise questions regarding the rigor of your research and leave a poor impression of your proposal on reviewers. Ensure that a unified narrative is threaded throughout all documents in the application.
- Finalize your documents by following a checklist. Make sure all documents are in place in the application, and all formatting and organizational requirements are met.
- Follow all internal and external procedures. Have login information for granting agency and institution portals to hand. Double-check any internal procedures required by your institution (applications for large grants often have a deadline for sign-off by your institution’s Research or Grants Office that is earlier than the funding agency deadline).
- To avoid technical issues with electronic portals, submit your proposal as early as you can.
- Breathe a sigh of relief when all the work is done, and take time to celebrate submitting the proposal! This is already a big achievement.
Now you wait! If the news is positive, congratulations!
But if your proposal is rejected, take heart in the fact that the process of writing it has been useful for your professional growth, and for developing your ideas.
Bear in mind that because grants are often highly competitive, acceptance rates for proposals are usually low. It is very typical to not be successful on the first try and to have to apply for the same grant multiple times.
Here are some tips to increase your chances of success on your next attempt:
- Remember that grant writing is often not a linear process. It is typical to have to use the reviews to revise and resubmit your proposal.
- Carefully read the reviews and incorporate the feedback into the next iteration of your proposal. Use the feedback to improve and refine your ideas.
- Don’t ignore the comments received from reviewers—be sure to address their objections in your next proposal. You may decide to include a section with a response to the reviewers, to show the sponsoring agency that you have carefully considered their comments.
- If you did not receive reviewer feedback, you can usually request it.
You learn about your field and grow intellectually from writing a proposal. The process of researching, writing, and revising a proposal refines your ideas and may create new directions for future projects. Professional opportunities exist for researchers who are willing to persevere with submitting grant applications.
➡️ Secrets to writing a winning grant
➡️ How to gain a competitive edge in grant writing
➡️ Ten simple rules for writing a postdoctoral fellowship
A grant proposal should include all the documents listed as required by the sponsoring organization. Check what documents the granting agency needs before you start writing the proposal.
Granting agencies have strict formatting requirements, with strict page limits and/or word counts. Check the maximum length required by the granting agency. It is okay for the proposal to be shorter than the maximum length.
Expect to spend many hours, even weeks, researching and writing a grant proposal. Consequently, it is important to start early! Block time in your calendar for research, writing, and administration tasks. Allow extra time at the end of the grant-writing process to edit, proofread, and meet presentation guidelines.
The most important part of a grant proposal is the description of the project. Make sure that the research you propose in your project narrative is new, important, and viable, and that it meets the goals of the sponsoring organization.
A grant proposal typically consists of a set of documents. Funding agencies have specific requirements for the formatting and organization of each document. Make sure to follow their guidelines exactly.
Grant Proposals (or Give me the money!)
What this handout is about.
This handout will help you write and revise grant proposals for research funding in all academic disciplines (sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the arts). It’s targeted primarily to graduate students and faculty, although it will also be helpful to undergraduate students who are seeking funding for research (e.g. for a senior thesis).
The grant writing process
A grant proposal or application is a document or set of documents that is submitted to an organization with the explicit intent of securing funding for a research project. Grant writing varies widely across the disciplines, and research intended for epistemological purposes (philosophy or the arts) rests on very different assumptions than research intended for practical applications (medicine or social policy research). Nonetheless, this handout attempts to provide a general introduction to grant writing across the disciplines.
Before you begin writing your proposal, you need to know what kind of research you will be doing and why. You may have a topic or experiment in mind, but taking the time to define what your ultimate purpose is can be essential to convincing others to fund that project. Although some scholars in the humanities and arts may not have thought about their projects in terms of research design, hypotheses, research questions, or results, reviewers and funding agencies expect you to frame your project in these terms. You may also find that thinking about your project in these terms reveals new aspects of it to you.
Writing successful grant applications is a long process that begins with an idea. Although many people think of grant writing as a linear process (from idea to proposal to award), it is a circular process. Many people start by defining their research question or questions. What knowledge or information will be gained as a direct result of your project? Why is undertaking your research important in a broader sense? You will need to explicitly communicate this purpose to the committee reviewing your application. This is easier when you know what you plan to achieve before you begin the writing process.
Diagram 1 below provides an overview of the grant writing process and may help you plan your proposal development.
Applicants must write grant proposals, submit them, receive notice of acceptance or rejection, and then revise their proposals. Unsuccessful grant applicants must revise and resubmit their proposals during the next funding cycle. Successful grant applications and the resulting research lead to ideas for further research and new grant proposals.
Cultivating an ongoing, positive relationship with funding agencies may lead to additional grants down the road. Thus, make sure you file progress reports and final reports in a timely and professional manner. Although some successful grant applicants may fear that funding agencies will reject future proposals because they’ve already received “enough” funding, the truth is that money follows money. Individuals or projects awarded grants in the past are more competitive and thus more likely to receive funding in the future.
Some general tips
- Begin early.
- Apply early and often.
- Don’t forget to include a cover letter with your application.
- Answer all questions. (Pre-empt all unstated questions.)
- If rejected, revise your proposal and apply again.
- Give them what they want. Follow the application guidelines exactly.
- Be explicit and specific.
- Be realistic in designing the project.
- Make explicit the connections between your research questions and objectives, your objectives and methods, your methods and results, and your results and dissemination plan.
- Follow the application guidelines exactly. (We have repeated this tip because it is very, very important.)
Before you start writing
Identify your needs and focus.
First, identify your needs. Answering the following questions may help you:
- Are you undertaking preliminary or pilot research in order to develop a full-blown research agenda?
- Are you seeking funding for dissertation research? Pre-dissertation research? Postdoctoral research? Archival research? Experimental research? Fieldwork?
- Are you seeking a stipend so that you can write a dissertation or book? Polish a manuscript?
- Do you want a fellowship in residence at an institution that will offer some programmatic support or other resources to enhance your project?
- Do you want funding for a large research project that will last for several years and involve multiple staff members?
Next, think about the focus of your research/project. Answering the following questions may help you narrow it down:
- What is the topic? Why is this topic important?
- What are the research questions that you’re trying to answer? What relevance do your research questions have?
- What are your hypotheses?
- What are your research methods?
- Why is your research/project important? What is its significance?
- Do you plan on using quantitative methods? Qualitative methods? Both?
- Will you be undertaking experimental research? Clinical research?
Once you have identified your needs and focus, you can begin looking for prospective grants and funding agencies.
Finding prospective grants and funding agencies
Whether your proposal receives funding will rely in large part on whether your purpose and goals closely match the priorities of granting agencies. Locating possible grantors is a time consuming task, but in the long run it will yield the greatest benefits. Even if you have the most appealing research proposal in the world, if you don’t send it to the right institutions, then you’re unlikely to receive funding.
There are many sources of information about granting agencies and grant programs. Most universities and many schools within universities have Offices of Research, whose primary purpose is to support faculty and students in grant-seeking endeavors. These offices usually have libraries or resource centers to help people find prospective grants.
At UNC, the Research at Carolina office coordinates research support.
The Funding Information Portal offers a collection of databases and proposal development guidance.
The UNC School of Medicine and School of Public Health each have their own Office of Research.
Writing your proposal
The majority of grant programs recruit academic reviewers with knowledge of the disciplines and/or program areas of the grant. Thus, when writing your grant proposals, assume that you are addressing a colleague who is knowledgeable in the general area, but who does not necessarily know the details about your research questions.
Remember that most readers are lazy and will not respond well to a poorly organized, poorly written, or confusing proposal. Be sure to give readers what they want. Follow all the guidelines for the particular grant you are applying for. This may require you to reframe your project in a different light or language. Reframing your project to fit a specific grant’s requirements is a legitimate and necessary part of the process unless it will fundamentally change your project’s goals or outcomes.
Final decisions about which proposals are funded often come down to whether the proposal convinces the reviewer that the research project is well planned and feasible and whether the investigators are well qualified to execute it. Throughout the proposal, be as explicit as possible. Predict the questions that the reviewer may have and answer them. Przeworski and Salomon (1995) note that reviewers read with three questions in mind:
- What are we going to learn as a result of the proposed project that we do not know now? (goals, aims, and outcomes)
- Why is it worth knowing? (significance)
- How will we know that the conclusions are valid? (criteria for success) (2)
Be sure to answer these questions in your proposal. Keep in mind that reviewers may not read every word of your proposal. Your reviewer may only read the abstract, the sections on research design and methodology, the vitae, and the budget. Make these sections as clear and straightforward as possible.
The way you write your grant will tell the reviewers a lot about you (Reif-Lehrer 82). From reading your proposal, the reviewers will form an idea of who you are as a scholar, a researcher, and a person. They will decide whether you are creative, logical, analytical, up-to-date in the relevant literature of the field, and, most importantly, capable of executing the proposed project. Allow your discipline and its conventions to determine the general style of your writing, but allow your own voice and personality to come through. Be sure to clarify your project’s theoretical orientation.
Develop a general proposal and budget
Because most proposal writers seek funding from several different agencies or granting programs, it is a good idea to begin by developing a general grant proposal and budget. This general proposal is sometimes called a “white paper.” Your general proposal should explain your project to a general academic audience. Before you submit proposals to different grant programs, you will tailor a specific proposal to their guidelines and priorities.
Organizing your proposal
Although each funding agency will have its own (usually very specific) requirements, there are several elements of a proposal that are fairly standard, and they often come in the following order:
- Introduction (statement of the problem, purpose of research or goals, and significance of research)
Literature review
- Project narrative (methods, procedures, objectives, outcomes or deliverables, evaluation, and dissemination)
- Budget and budget justification
Format the proposal so that it is easy to read. Use headings to break the proposal up into sections. If it is long, include a table of contents with page numbers.
The title page usually includes a brief yet explicit title for the research project, the names of the principal investigator(s), the institutional affiliation of the applicants (the department and university), name and address of the granting agency, project dates, amount of funding requested, and signatures of university personnel authorizing the proposal (when necessary). Most funding agencies have specific requirements for the title page; make sure to follow them.
The abstract provides readers with their first impression of your project. To remind themselves of your proposal, readers may glance at your abstract when making their final recommendations, so it may also serve as their last impression of your project. The abstract should explain the key elements of your research project in the future tense. Most abstracts state: (1) the general purpose, (2) specific goals, (3) research design, (4) methods, and (5) significance (contribution and rationale). Be as explicit as possible in your abstract. Use statements such as, “The objective of this study is to …”
Introduction
The introduction should cover the key elements of your proposal, including a statement of the problem, the purpose of research, research goals or objectives, and significance of the research. The statement of problem should provide a background and rationale for the project and establish the need and relevance of the research. How is your project different from previous research on the same topic? Will you be using new methodologies or covering new theoretical territory? The research goals or objectives should identify the anticipated outcomes of the research and should match up to the needs identified in the statement of problem. List only the principle goal(s) or objective(s) of your research and save sub-objectives for the project narrative.
Many proposals require a literature review. Reviewers want to know whether you’ve done the necessary preliminary research to undertake your project. Literature reviews should be selective and critical, not exhaustive. Reviewers want to see your evaluation of pertinent works. For more information, see our handout on literature reviews .
Project narrative
The project narrative provides the meat of your proposal and may require several subsections. The project narrative should supply all the details of the project, including a detailed statement of problem, research objectives or goals, hypotheses, methods, procedures, outcomes or deliverables, and evaluation and dissemination of the research.
For the project narrative, pre-empt and/or answer all of the reviewers’ questions. Don’t leave them wondering about anything. For example, if you propose to conduct unstructured interviews with open-ended questions, be sure you’ve explained why this methodology is best suited to the specific research questions in your proposal. Or, if you’re using item response theory rather than classical test theory to verify the validity of your survey instrument, explain the advantages of this innovative methodology. Or, if you need to travel to Valdez, Alaska to access historical archives at the Valdez Museum, make it clear what documents you hope to find and why they are relevant to your historical novel on the ’98ers in the Alaskan Gold Rush.
Clearly and explicitly state the connections between your research objectives, research questions, hypotheses, methodologies, and outcomes. As the requirements for a strong project narrative vary widely by discipline, consult a discipline-specific guide to grant writing for some additional advice.
Explain staffing requirements in detail and make sure that staffing makes sense. Be very explicit about the skill sets of the personnel already in place (you will probably include their Curriculum Vitae as part of the proposal). Explain the necessary skill sets and functions of personnel you will recruit. To minimize expenses, phase out personnel who are not relevant to later phases of a project.
The budget spells out project costs and usually consists of a spreadsheet or table with the budget detailed as line items and a budget narrative (also known as a budget justification) that explains the various expenses. Even when proposal guidelines do not specifically mention a narrative, be sure to include a one or two page explanation of the budget. To see a sample budget, turn to Example #1 at the end of this handout.
Consider including an exhaustive budget for your project, even if it exceeds the normal grant size of a particular funding organization. Simply make it clear that you are seeking additional funding from other sources. This technique will make it easier for you to combine awards down the road should you have the good fortune of receiving multiple grants.
Make sure that all budget items meet the funding agency’s requirements. For example, all U.S. government agencies have strict requirements for airline travel. Be sure the cost of the airline travel in your budget meets their requirements. If a line item falls outside an agency’s requirements (e.g. some organizations will not cover equipment purchases or other capital expenses), explain in the budget justification that other grant sources will pay for the item.
Many universities require that indirect costs (overhead) be added to grants that they administer. Check with the appropriate offices to find out what the standard (or required) rates are for overhead. Pass a draft budget by the university officer in charge of grant administration for assistance with indirect costs and costs not directly associated with research (e.g. facilities use charges).
Furthermore, make sure you factor in the estimated taxes applicable for your case. Depending on the categories of expenses and your particular circumstances (whether you are a foreign national, for example), estimated tax rates may differ. You can consult respective departmental staff or university services, as well as professional tax assistants. For information on taxes on scholarships and fellowships, see https://cashier.unc.edu/student-tax-information/scholarships-fellowships/ .
Explain the timeframe for the research project in some detail. When will you begin and complete each step? It may be helpful to reviewers if you present a visual version of your timeline. For less complicated research, a table summarizing the timeline for the project will help reviewers understand and evaluate the planning and feasibility. See Example #2 at the end of this handout.
For multi-year research proposals with numerous procedures and a large staff, a time line diagram can help clarify the feasibility and planning of the study. See Example #3 at the end of this handout.
Revising your proposal
Strong grant proposals take a long time to develop. Start the process early and leave time to get feedback from several readers on different drafts. Seek out a variety of readers, both specialists in your research area and non-specialist colleagues. You may also want to request assistance from knowledgeable readers on specific areas of your proposal. For example, you may want to schedule a meeting with a statistician to help revise your methodology section. Don’t hesitate to seek out specialized assistance from the relevant research offices on your campus. At UNC, the Odum Institute provides a variety of services to graduate students and faculty in the social sciences.
In your revision and editing, ask your readers to give careful consideration to whether you’ve made explicit the connections between your research objectives and methodology. Here are some example questions:
- Have you presented a compelling case?
- Have you made your hypotheses explicit?
- Does your project seem feasible? Is it overly ambitious? Does it have other weaknesses?
- Have you stated the means that grantors can use to evaluate the success of your project after you’ve executed it?
If a granting agency lists particular criteria used for rating and evaluating proposals, be sure to share these with your own reviewers.
Example #1. Sample Budget
Jet travel $6,100 This estimate is based on the commercial high season rate for jet economy travel on Sabena Belgian Airlines. No U.S. carriers fly to Kigali, Rwanda. Sabena has student fare tickets available which will be significantly less expensive (approximately $2,000).
Maintenance allowance $22,788 Based on the Fulbright-Hays Maintenance Allowances published in the grant application guide.
Research assistant/translator $4,800 The research assistant/translator will be a native (and primary) speaker of Kinya-rwanda with at least a four-year university degree. They will accompany the primary investigator during life history interviews to provide assistance in comprehension. In addition, they will provide commentary, explanations, and observations to facilitate the primary investigator’s participant observation. During the first phase of the project in Kigali, the research assistant will work forty hours a week and occasional overtime as needed. During phases two and three in rural Rwanda, the assistant will stay with the investigator overnight in the field when necessary. The salary of $400 per month is based on the average pay rate for individuals with similar qualifications working for international NGO’s in Rwanda.
Transportation within country, phase one $1,200 The primary investigator and research assistant will need regular transportation within Kigali by bus and taxi. The average taxi fare in Kigali is $6-8 and bus fare is $.15. This figure is based on an average of $10 per day in transportation costs during the first project phase.
Transportation within country, phases two and three $12,000 Project personnel will also require regular transportation between rural field sites. If it is not possible to remain overnight, daily trips will be necessary. The average rental rate for a 4×4 vehicle in Rwanda is $130 per day. This estimate is based on an average of $50 per day in transportation costs for the second and third project phases. These costs could be reduced if an arrangement could be made with either a government ministry or international aid agency for transportation assistance.
Email $720 The rate for email service from RwandaTel (the only service provider in Rwanda) is $60 per month. Email access is vital for receiving news reports on Rwanda and the region as well as for staying in contact with dissertation committee members and advisors in the United States.
Audiocassette tapes $400 Audiocassette tapes will be necessary for recording life history interviews, musical performances, community events, story telling, and other pertinent data.
Photographic & slide film $100 Photographic and slide film will be necessary to document visual data such as landscape, environment, marriages, funerals, community events, etc.
Laptop computer $2,895 A laptop computer will be necessary for recording observations, thoughts, and analysis during research project. Price listed is a special offer to UNC students through the Carolina Computing Initiative.
NUD*IST 4.0 software $373.00 NUD*IST, “Nonnumerical, Unstructured Data, Indexing, Searching, and Theorizing,” is necessary for cataloging, indexing, and managing field notes both during and following the field research phase. The program will assist in cataloging themes that emerge during the life history interviews.
Administrative fee $100 Fee set by Fulbright-Hays for the sponsoring institution.
Example #2: Project Timeline in Table Format
Example #3: project timeline in chart format.
Some closing advice
Some of us may feel ashamed or embarrassed about asking for money or promoting ourselves. Often, these feelings have more to do with our own insecurities than with problems in the tone or style of our writing. If you’re having trouble because of these types of hang-ups, the most important thing to keep in mind is that it never hurts to ask. If you never ask for the money, they’ll never give you the money. Besides, the worst thing they can do is say no.
UNC resources for proposal writing
Research at Carolina http://research.unc.edu
The Odum Institute for Research in the Social Sciences https://odum.unc.edu/
UNC Medical School Office of Research https://www.med.unc.edu/oor
UNC School of Public Health Office of Research http://www.sph.unc.edu/research/
Works consulted
We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.
Holloway, Brian R. 2003. Proposal Writing Across the Disciplines. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Levine, S. Joseph. “Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal.” http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/ .
Locke, Lawrence F., Waneen Wyrick Spirduso, and Stephen J. Silverman. 2014. Proposals That Work . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Przeworski, Adam, and Frank Salomon. 2012. “Some Candid Suggestions on the Art of Writing Proposals.” Social Science Research Council. https://s3.amazonaws.com/ssrc-cdn2/art-of-writing-proposals-dsd-e-56b50ef814f12.pdf .
Reif-Lehrer, Liane. 1989. Writing a Successful Grant Application . Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Wiggins, Beverly. 2002. “Funding and Proposal Writing for Social Science Faculty and Graduate Student Research.” Chapel Hill: Howard W. Odum Institute for Research in Social Science. 2 Feb. 2004. http://www2.irss.unc.edu/irss/shortcourses/wigginshandouts/granthandout.pdf.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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How to Write a Grant Proposal for Research
Writing and submitting a grant proposal is not a task enjoyed by most people. However, if you’re a researcher, writing a grant proposal is something that you will probably need to undertake many times. And that is why, questions like how to write a grant proposal for research are commonly asked in the field of academia.
Research grant proposals are critical for showcasing your work and convincing funders to back your research project. While obtaining grants brings prestige to the researcher and the institution, in some fields such as medicine, academic success depends on the number of grants and amount of funding received 1 . So, how can you write a persuasive research grant proposal that will impress funders and enable you to grow your career?
Table of Contents
The importance of planning in research grant proposal writing, how to write a research grant proposal: detailed steps, frequently asked questions (faqs).
As with most major projects, the key to writing a successful research grant proposal is planning. This includes an effective plan for not only writing the grant but also a strong plan for the research itself. Planning is extremely important for writing a successful research grant proposal because your final submission needs to be a complete and consistent story of your proposed work. Imagine trying to draft a novel linearly from start to finish without knowing the ending beforehand. Writing a successful research grant proposal requires that you attend to every detail, which means you need a plan.
Remember, you are telling a story through your written grant application . Therefore, every part of the grant proposal must work together, with nothing extra to distract the reader. This requires detailed planning.
The core of a research grant proposal is the research plan. A poorly planned study will not impress the funders. In addition to clearly showing the reader what your proposed study will look like, you will also want to emphasize the positive impact the study results will have on the field and on society at large. Planning time will also need to be spent in identifying a suitable funding source and ensuring that their mission aligns with your research. The story you tell when writing your research grant proposal needs to be a story that interests them.
- Identify an idea: It all starts with an idea. What are you trying to find out with your study? A good place to start is by identifying your research question 2,3 . Can you explicitly state the impact of the results and who might benefit? What makes your study different or novel? How will you conduct your research? In addition, make sure you identify your needs. What are you asking the funders for? Money for equipment, supplies, staffing? Will your research continue long term or will it consist of a single experiment? All of this will be important when you start searching for a suitable funder.
- Find a matching funding source: Once you have your research plan, it’s time to look for suitable funders. Spend the time to identify all available grants that may be a fit for your study. Look beyond the obvious and the popular 5 . There may be more potential funders out there than you think.
- Research the funder and topic: Once you have identified a suitable funder, spend a lot of time on their website. Read about their mission and history, and find out what they have been funding recently. Examine the Call for Proposals very carefully. Consider calling the program officer for the grant of interest 4 . They will answer any questions you have and may provide feedback on your topic or review your proposal draft.
- Write the technical section: This will be the most difficult step for many researchers in the process of writing a research grant proposal. While you may have a handle on the nuts and bolts of the study, communicating it clearly and concisely to those reviewing your proposal is more difficult. Like with any writing, don’t make it difficult for the readers to understand. Remember, you are trying to sell this idea to them.
Remember to be confident and definitive when discussing the need for this study. It’s always a good idea to read and study successful samples of grant proposals from the organization to get an idea of what they want to see.
- Review the call for proposals again : Go through the instructions very carefully. Make sure all the formatting is correct and all the required details are included in each section. You don’t want to give the reviewers any easy excuses for rejecting your submission.
- Submit your proposal: Make sure you follow the submission instructions exactly. Submit your proposal early so you can avoid the stress of having technical difficulties the day the research grant proposal is due.
- Learn from rejections and repeat: Keep in mind that most grant proposals are not funded, and even the most successful researchers get rejected . However, you can learn a lot from examples of unsuccessful proposals. Examine the feedback provided by the readers and use it the next time you write a research grant proposal.
- Zlowodzki M., Jönsson A., Kregor P.J., Bhandari M. How to write a grant proposal. Indian J Orthop . 2007, 41, 23-6. doi: 10.4103/0019-5413.30521.
- The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Grant proposals (or give me the money!). https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/grant-proposals-or-give-me-the-money/ [Accessed August 10, 2022].
- Elsevier Author Services. Writing a successful grant application – step by step. https://scientific-publishing.webshop.elsevier.com/research-process/writing-successful-grant-application-step-by-step/ [Accessed August 10, 2022].
- Santoro, H. The daunting but vital world of grant writing. Monitor on Psychology, 2021, 52. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2021/11/career-grant-writing . [Accessed August 10, 2022].
Write a convincing research proposal with Paperpal’s AI writing assistant
A research grant proposal is a comprehensive document that outlines your project or program, explains its significance, and requests funding. It typically includes sections such as an executive summary, introduction, project description, budget, and evaluation plan. On the other hand, a grant letter is a shorter document that serves as an initial contact with a potential funder. It is typically a letter of inquiry or a letter of intent that provides a brief overview of your project, highlights its relevance, and expresses your interest in seeking funding. A grant letter is often used to gauge the funder’s interest before submitting a full grant proposal.
The length of a grant proposal can vary depending on the specific guidelines provided by the funding organization. It is important to carefully review the application instructions or guidelines to determine the preferred length. In general, grant proposals can range from a few pages to several dozen pages. However, most funders specify a preferred page limit. Commonly, grant proposals may be around 10 to 20 pages, excluding supporting documents such as budgets, appendices, or letters of support. It’s essential to follow the funder’s guidelines regarding page limits and formatting requirements.
To make your grant proposal stand out, consider the following tips: a. Thoroughly research the funder: Understand the goals, priorities, and preferences of the funding organization. Tailor your proposal to align with their mission and objectives. b. Clearly articulate the problem or need: Clearly describe the issue your project aims to address and explain its significance. Provide compelling evidence and data to support your claims. c. Develop a well-structured and logical proposal: Organize your proposal into sections that flow logically, including an engaging executive summary, a detailed project plan, a realistic budget, and a comprehensive evaluation strategy. d. Highlight your project’s innovation and impact: Emphasize the unique aspects of your project or program. Demonstrate how it fills a gap in existing services or approaches. Clearly articulate the potential positive outcomes and impact your project will have. e. Provide evidence of your capabilities: Showcase your organization’s track record, expertise, and experience in successfully implementing similar projects. Highlight the qualifications of your team members and partnerships that strengthen your proposal. f. Write with clarity and conciseness: Use clear, concise, and persuasive language. Avoid jargon and technical terms that may confuse the reader. Ensure your proposal is well-organized and free from errors.
Yes, seeking feedback on your grant proposal before submission is highly recommended. Feedback from colleagues, mentors, or individuals with experience in grant writing can provide valuable insights and help improve the quality of your proposal. They can offer suggestions on clarity, organization, persuasiveness, and adherence to the funder’s guidelines. Constructive criticism can help you identify areas that may need further development or revision.
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Educational resources and simple solutions for your research journey
How to Write a Research Grant Proposal
One of the major aspects of thriving in academia is learning how to write a research grant proposal to get you the funding you need. However, the overall process might still seem intimidating as, like many other researcher skills, this is not something that is explicitly taught to young academicians and needs to be acquired along the way. In the past few years, there has been a steady rise in the number of scientists consciously looking to improve the process of writing a research grant proposal . If you are nodding yes as you read this and want help writing a grant proposal , then you will love the key pointers we have put together to simplify the process of seeking grants for your research projects and making your research funding proposal more persuasive.
Table of Contents
1. Get detailed information about the funding agency
Before writing a research grant proposa l, do your homework thoroughly about the funding agency to which you are applying. This involves understanding their goals/vision, reviewing their guidelines for the format of the proposal, and learning about the members on the review committee. Knowing all this early on makes it easier to stay focused on points that should be highlighted in your research funding proposal .
For example, many funding agencies are keen on promoting holistic solutions for scientific problems and aim to bring the global scientific community closer. Research funding opportunities advertised by such agencies are usually designed to fulfil these goals, and hence, their committees favor applications that match these specific targets. Thus, in such cases, you must consider writing a research grant proposal with this focus, perhaps by including multi-disciplinary and collaborative approaches.
Research funding proposals that are aligned with the vision of the agency have a greater chance of being accepted. Additionally, studying research grant proposal formats or any available examples from previous applications submitted to the same funding agency will give you an insight into what they look for when reviewing applications and help you in formulating your research grant proposal better.
2. Ensure clarity and consistency in the content
Like in a scientific publication, the abstract is the most important part of your research grant proposal and may strongly influence the early decision-making process. Hence, it is essential to present compelling content here and to demonstrate the clear potential impact of your research.
The next important section of a research funding proposal is the description of the research design, which will give your reviewers an idea of whether the proposal will deliver the promised impact. When writing a research funding proposal , it is essential to include all the important details about the proposed study and ensure that there is no logical discrepancy between the hypothesis and the proposed methodology.
Your research grant proposal will be much stronger if you include the results of any preliminary studies that may have been performed. This can give the reviewers demonstrated evidence supporting the feasibility of your project. If needed, seek feedback on the content from your seniors/peers before the final submission of your research grant proposal .
Lastly, ensure that the content is free from plagiarism and technical errors. Your research grant proposal will have higher chances of approval if the English is correctly used. If English is your second language and you are not confident about your writing skills, you can also have your research grant proposal reviewed by a colleague proficient in the language.
3. Address possible limitations of the study
One point people tend to ignore when thinking about how to write a research grant proposal are the limitations. It is essential to acknowledge any limitations of the study while writing your research grant proposal , and to describe a detailed approach toward tackling them. Since reviewers in the selection committee are experts in their own fields, they will be keen to know about any potential roadblocks in the execution of the study.
Furthermore, demonstrated ability to resolve these roadblocks would surely help in swaying their decision in your favor when reviewing your research grant proposal .
4. Provide all relevant information about allocation of resources
One of the major factors considered by funding agencies while accepting grants for research projects is the efficiency with which the funds will be utilized. Providing a detailed plan of budget utilization is extremely important to strengthen your research funding proposal . This plan should specify how the funds will be allocated and shared among members of the project team depending on the nature of their responsibilities.
In this era of cutthroat competition , it is likely that your research grant proposal may not be accepted right away. Although this can be disheartening, you can use the feedback and suggestions from reviewers to improve your content for the next research funding proposal . Academic grant writing is not that difficult, and with consistent practice and effort, it is possible to get better at the art of writing research grant proposals that work for you.
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Mar 25, 2024 · Writing a grant proposal requires careful planning, research, and attention to detail. By following this step-by-step guide, you can craft a compelling proposal that effectively communicates your project’s value and aligns with the funder’s goals.
Mar 26, 2024 · Writing a successful grant proposal requires careful planning, organization, and adherence to specific guidelines set by the funding body. This guide provides an overview of grant proposals, including an example, a template, and step-by-step instructions to help you create a compelling proposal.
Aug 10, 2023 · To develop a convincing proposal for project funding, the project must fit into the philosophy and mission of the grant-seeking organization or agency, align with the grantor agency grant program goals and objectives, and have a well-documented and clearly expressed need that will be addressed.
Writing a grant proposal can be broken down into three major activities: researching the project (reading background materials, note-taking, preliminary work, etc.), writing the proposal (creating an outline, writing the first draft, revisions, formatting), and administrative tasks for the project (emails, phone calls, meetings, writing CVs and ...
This handout will help you write and revise grant proposals for research funding in all academic disciplines (sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the arts). It’s targeted primarily to graduate students and faculty, although it will also be helpful to undergraduate students who are seeking funding for research (e.g. for a senior thesis).
Purpose of A Proposal • To show you have a worthwhile research project to undertake • To demonstrate that YOU have the competence to complete it • To discuss all relevant aspects of the research process • To enable others to evaluate whether enough information exists to want to support the proposed study – As a supervisor (e.g. a thesis)
May 1, 2024 · In order to undertake research, investigators require resources for which they apply for funding. The objective of this article is to describe how research grant proposals should be written so that chances of successful grant application and research funding can be maximised.
May 15, 2023 · Writing a research proposal for funding is a crucial skill for researchers seeking to secure financial support for their projects. A well-drafted proposal can convince funding agencies...
Aug 16, 2022 · Research grant proposals are critical for showcasing your work and convincing funders to back your research project. Check out this article on how can you write a persuasive research grant proposal.
May 3, 2022 · One major aspect of thriving in academia is learning how to write a research grant proposal to get you the funding you need. Read this article to know how to use feedback and suggestions from reviewers to improve your content for the next research funding proposal.