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Proposals that Sell

Proposals that Sell. Understand What Y ou N eed to Write. Know Your A udience. Line Up Editors. Plan Your W riting. Make Your P roposal E asy to Read. Hook People!. Get to the Point. Introduction/Overview. Provides a framework for the reviewer Emphasizes important points up front

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Proposals that Sell

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  1. Proposals that Sell

  2. Understand What You Need to Write

  3. Know Your Audience

  4. Line Up Editors

  5. Plan Your Writing

  6. Make Your Proposal Easy to Read

  7. Hook People!

  8. Get to the Point

  9. Introduction/Overview • Provides a framework for the reviewer • Emphasizes important points up front • Communicates your excitement!

  10. Introductory Writing Tips Summary and introduction are key • May be all reviewers read • Must excite and grab the attention Reviewers will assume errors in language and usage will translate into errors in the science Don’t be overly ambitious in what you propose, but convey credibility and capacity to perform.

  11. Introductory Dos and Don’ts • DO write an exciting and compelling summary and introduction • DON’T send a proposal with typos and errors • DON’T be overly ambitious in what you propose

  12. DO write for an intelligent audience but not for an expert; • DON’T use a complicated, technical style

  13. The Right Ingredients Use more active voice Use power verbs and adverbs Use words of certainty Put main ideas at the start Avoid too much technical talk

  14. Line up Editors • Look for colleagues • Talk to them early • Ask colleagues to review your detailed outline • Look for people who will be brutally honest

  15. Backgrounding Funding AgencyQuestions to Ask • What is their culture like? • What procedures do they use to review proposals and make funding decisions? • What are their review criteria? • How are they organized? • Who are the personnel and what is their background? • What have they funded in the past? • What is their budget?

  16. Backgrounding the Funding Agency:Questions to Ask • What are its mission and goals? • What are its investment priorities, strategic plan? • What time horizon are they aiming for? • How do they get their funding? • What procedures do they use to notify the community of funding opportunities? • Who influences their planning and goals? • What language do they use?

  17. Preliminary Data • Understand the expectations of the agency and program • How much preliminary data is expected? • Higher risk research will require more preliminary data • Less experienced researchers will generally need more preliminary data • Preliminary data should strengthen reviewers’ perception of your chance of success

  18. Following agency guidelines • Read solicitation and/or proposal guide carefully for formatting requirements and follow scrupulously • Font and font size • Page limits • Biosketch formats • Citation format • Avoids disqualification of your proposal • Avoids irritating reviewers

  19. Must Convince Reviewers… • Your proposed research should be funded • It’s important and supports the agency mission and program goals • It’s exciting • It has a good chance of succeeding • You are the person who should conduct the proposed research • You are knowledgeable and well-qualified • You have the support and resources required

  20. Proposal Sections: Examples • Project Summary • Project Description/Research Narrative • Goals/Objectives/Specific Aims • Introduction/Overview • Background and Significance • Approach/Methodology • Research Plan • Preliminary Data • Broader Impacts (NSF) • Literature Cited • Budget • Budget Justification • Biosketches • Funded Projects • Equipment and Facilities

  21. Summary • May be the only thing the reviewer reads • Must “grab” the reviewer • Should communicate concisely: • Intellectual framework of proposed project • The goals and signficance of the proposed project • Who will be conducting the project and, briefly, their qualifications • Project outcomes • Must communicate excitement • Check for additional requirements • E.g., intellectual merit and broader impacts in NSF proposals • Project name, category, etc.

  22. Goals/Specific Aims • State specific, measurable goals of your project • Tie to program/agency mission and goals • If hypothesis-based research, state your hypothesis • Discuss expected outcomes

  23. Background/Literature Review • Spend some time researching this • This section should tie closely to your proposed research • What are the holes in current knowledge that your work will fill? • How does your research extend and advance knowledge in the field? • Do not be dismissive of previous research • Be thorough in citing important work but be concise

  24. Significance • Explain explicitly why proposed research is important • Tie to agency and program goals • Relate to review criteria • Make this easy to find

  25. Preliminary Data/Previous Work • Be aware of expectations regarding amount of preliminary data • Varies by agency • Varies by program • Varies by discipline • Higher risk projects may require more preliminary data • Discussion of preliminary data must connect clearly to proposed project

  26. Approach/Research Plan/Methodology • Be very clear about how you will accomplish your stated goals and objectives • Include details • What, specifically, will you do when you get the money? • Schedules and milestones may be helpful • This is especially important if you are a relatively new researcher • Address any potential dead ends, roadblocks, show-stoppers and how you will deal with them • Avoid ambiguous terminology – be very specific!

  27. Connect narrative text to budget • Budget categories are defined by the funding agency • Be sure activities discussed in narrative are reflected in budget • Connect narrative text to the budget to ensure appropriate balance and proportion, • If a budget justification section is requested, use it to complement and deepen the narrative detail

  28. Beware of Boiler Plate • Thinking of proposal narrative as “boiler plate” will result in a mediocre, disjoint proposal • Begin each proposal as a new effort, not a copy & paste • Be very cautious integrating text inserts • Strong proposals clearly reflect a coherent, sustained, and integrated argument grounded on good ideas

  29. Outcomes or deliverables • Develop short, hard-hitting lists off-set by bullets or other typographical formats • Relate outcomes to goals and objectives • Outcomes should be specific and measurable • Timelines and schedules with milestones can orient reviewers and provide a quick overview of how program components fit together

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