Transcript Grant Proposal Writing My top 10 Don’ts

Grant Proposal Writing
My top 10 Don’ts
Top 10 Don’ts
10
Don’t wait until
the last
minute.
Top 10 Don’ts
9.
Don’t ignore or
undervalue
the boring parts:
management
plan
education &
outreach
project
evaluation, etc.
This is boring
and it isn’t my
area of
expertise.
Who will care
anyway if I
omit it?
Top 10 Don’ts
8.
Don’t ignore any instructions in
the RFP.
Top 10 Don’ts
7.
Don’t lie. Don’t plagiarize.
Top 10 Don’ts
6.
Don’t promise
something that
you can’t deliver.
I sure hope I
can do this.
Well,
miracles do
happen!
Top 10 Don’ts
5.
Don’t try to cram
everything but
the kitchen sink
into your proposal.
Top 10 Don’ts
4.
Don’t ever say “it is
obvious” or “it is
apparent.”
Assume that
nothing is obvious
or apparent.
It is
obvious
that…..
Top 10 Don’ts
3.
Don’t have any misspelled words or
grammatical errors
Top 10 Don’ts
2.
Don’t ignore the reviewers’
comments
Top 10 Don’ts
1.
Don’t give up!
You can’t win if you don’t enter!
My top 10 Do’s
Top 10 Do’s
10.
Do develop a good
idea that
someone will
want to fund
Top 10 Do’s
9.
Do start early &
allow enough
time to write a
good proposal
Top 10 Do’s
8.
Do ask for and use
available help:
•
•
•
•
•
Program Officers
Colleagues
University resources
Reviewer comments
Prior awardees
Top 10 Do’s
7.
Do learn to accept
criticism.
Do use constructive
criticism wisely.
That idiot
doesn’t
know
anything!!!!!
Now that’s
a good idea.
I’ll try
that.
To 10 Do’s
6.
Do understand about “goals,”
“objectives,” and “activities.”
Activities
Objectives
Goals
The “to do” list
What you want
to achieve in
the sort-term
Long-term
changes or
contributions
of your project.
Chronological
order
Immediate
results from
your project
The BIG
PICTURE things
Top 10 Do’s
5.
Do understand the goals of the
funding agency.
NSF’s
goals
Your
project
Top 10 Do’s
4.
Do show your
passion.
To 10 Do’s
3.
Do sell yourself
and your
product.
2. Do make your proposal as easy and as
pleasant to read as possible for the
reviewers:
 well-organized
 1st person and direct sentences
 pleasing to the eye: lots of white space; use
diagrams, tables, and pictures but keep them
simple
 read it aloud and have others critically read it
 make your abstract as good as it can be
 Highlight the review criteria so reviewers
don’t miss them
This
Not this
To 10 Do’s
1.
Be an
optimist!