Introduction

Writing your first grant proposal can feel like throwing yourself in a shark tank; it is highly competitive, and you need a well written, scientifically sound with a founded budget proposal on an innovative idea to survive.

Content

There are many different organisations and foundations where you can apply for grants and each of them have their own goals and vision, rules and application formats, but there are some common elements that will be discussed.

In general, you will always need to provide:

Abstract or summary:

Present the most important elements of each subchapter as short and as clear as possible. Always put in the problem statement, the aim of your proposal, the research questions and methodology, how to verify the success, why your project is important and why you or your consortium can do this.

Background and problem statement:

Particularly for academic proposals, a literature review on the topic can be very helpful. It states what is known and where the gap in knowledge is. It should show there is a need that must be filled. It should show the value of the proposal. in addition it should also clarify why the project will make an impact in stead of just answering a research question.

Project description or objectives and methodology:

Here you should describe the workplan of the project, answer questions as:

- what are the goals / what is the hypothesis?

- what are the research questions?

- what methods will be used to answer the research questions?

- what will the outcomes of the project be (SMART - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely)?

- why are you sure the project will aid the problem statement?

- are there any risk minimizing measures and if so, which ones (sometimes this is a separate subchapter)?

- what is the timeline of the project? A Gantt chart can be very useful and helpful, also for the reviewers.

Budget:

Here you need to clarify what budget you are asking for and why. You need to give an explanation or justification/specification of the materials, equipment and personell and why they are valid, reasonable and required.

Curriculum vitae:

whether it a personal grant or based on a consortium, it does need to show that the knowledge and experience is there to complete the project in a succesful way.

Other:

In addition to this, some grant application require letters of support or a cover letter.

Besides this, it is important to plan ahead and take plenty of time to write your proposal. Read through the call for proposals and make sure it is applicable for your project and it can help to add in specific topics found in the call to emphasize your proposal fits well. The writing must be very clear and in plain language, and be specific. Also use numbering as it provides a clear overview of a sommation and it can be used for easy cross-references. Make sure to always cite literature correctly and completely. Read through your proposal and ask someone else to do that too and also from the perspective of a reviewer. And do not fear rejection! All senior researchers have rejected proposals; even if your proposal is the best there is, it can be rejected due to other reasons. Always ask for feedback if it is not provided, read it through and learn from it.