Proposal writing process and best practices

¶ … journal Writer (Lemmon, 2007), the author begins by saying that there is a degree of "fear and apprehension" associated with the idea of writing a "grant proposal" - but that anxiety can be overcome by simply sitting down and thoughtfully doing the research first, Lemmon suggests. The author also says working with a mentor the first time through is very helpful; "they can evaluate your writing and provide an added level of confidence," she adds.

Meanwhile, the beginning of the proposal project should entail doing a good deal of research into the "who," "when," "what," "where" and "why" of the organization the grant will be used by. And don't forget the "how" - that is, how the money or resources that are being solicited will actually be used. Basically, Lemmon writes that the simplest form of a proposal consists of a cover letter, the narrative form of the actual proposal, and attachments as needed (such as a budget, charts, graphs, etc.). Also, there is a great need for simplicity and clarity in the basic proposal format - and Lemmon recommends not being intimidated by the warnings that only "certain words and phrases" are appropriate for a general, simple proposal. "Don't sweat it," she explains; "That's a scare tactic. Write a compelling proposal laced with emotion."

When breaking the proposal down into sections, use bold-faced "subheads" similar to those found in a magazine article. Reading through the proposal (for the person considering it) will be smoother when the eye can see new content is coming up with each new subhead. The writing is simpler too, when only one section is being considered at a time, rather than the whole project.

Typical sections of a simple proposal usually include: the organizations' background (history); the mission of the organization; a statement of the need or the "problem" (as Lemmon puts it; the population or group that will be better served by receiving the grant; the money that is actually being asked for; the partnerships and linkages that will help serve the population / organization; and the "sustainability and evaluation" of the organization requesting the grant. Often the granting foundation or agency has a set series of requirements that the proposal of course must adhere to. For example, the granting group might want to know, "What groups will benefit..." Or "How will you handle the ongoing evaluation?" once the money is in place and is being put to use.

In the world of granting money, "There is no wiggle room," Lemmon writes. Follow the granting guidelines "to the letter" or phone first and ask for special approval to approach the proposal a different way. A good bit of advice is to try private and corporate foundations before tackling government grant proposals - because "...generally there are fewer hurdles."

Meanwhile, on the subject of government granting agencies, an article in the journal Written Communication (Ding, 2008) reports on a yearlong study of novice grant writers and how they interacted with the National Institutes of Health. In specific, this article is far more in depth than the article in Writers; it investigates the use of "cognitive apprenticeship" for novice grant writers in the classroom and "social apprenticeship" in laboratories, programs, departments and universities. The bottom line is that while is it helpful for future grant writers to gain knowledge of models, to get a grasp of "scaffolding, coaching, and collaboration" in the classroom environment, there is no substitute for being out in the society, in formal settings, to collaborate with "experts, colleagues, and peers" in learning the ropes of grant proposal writing and getting projects funded.

Attending workshops, conferences, and signing up for training sessions are all necessary when going for large dollar grants from institutions like the National Institutes of Health and other government granting agencies. "Learning and doing are inseparable," Ding writes; without the classroom knowledge, the social collaboration and "real world experiences" of meeting key people and attending high-powered training sessions, the grant writer seeking funds from big government sources is going to fail most of the time. And quite apart from the actual research and writing of the proposal, Ding continues, "collaboration" and "peer review" practices with colleagues and seasoned professionals is vital in order to achieve success.

Stephen L. Wasby is professor of political science emeritus at the University of Albany, State University of New York (SUNY); when Wasby worked with the National Science Foundation a few years ago, one of his tasks was reviewing proposals. In a PS: Political Science and Politics article (Wasby 2001) the professor writes "...in a high proportion of cases the exciting ideas were embedded in horrendously constructed proposals." Wasby understood from this experience that more training was needed for graduate students who were required to submit a proposal, then a dissertation (we're talking here about a proposal that is not related directly to a submission asking for money from a foundation) for their graduate degrees.