I tend to have one of two reactions to reading a proposal: Sometimes, the opening paragraph grabs my attention and what follows pulls me in and sustains my interest. The authors tell me at the beginning where we are headed … Continue reading Don’t write like a scientist
Internal reviews during the development of a proposal are disruptive to the team and expensive. So you really want to make sure this effort increases the team’s chance of winning by more than it costs. If you are to convene … Continue reading Four tips for running effective reviews
I’m late to picking up the catch phrase: “the horrors persist, but so do I” in response to the daily question: “how are you doing?” But this year has pushed me to move beyond the stock option of “just fine” … Continue reading How I persist
“Don’t forget to have fun.” Have you heard this at the end of a kick-off meeting for a big writing project? Somehow this always sounded wrong to me. I blame it on my formative years in Germany and a career … Continue reading Is fun important?
If you remember one rule about getting your research funded, remember not to go it alone. Almost all modern research is done in collaboration, but when it comes to writing grants many aspiring Principal Investigators feel they are on their … Continue reading Don’t Go Alone
While winning concepts usually require creative ideas and innovative approaches, the presentation of the concept relies heavily on it’s often maligned cousin, consistency. You may be familiar with the famous misquote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Consistency is the hobgoblin of … Continue reading Nothing foolish about consistency
“We can add some pretty pictures if we have room at the end.” I have heard this more times than I care to remember. It usually comes in response to me asking about a team’s plan for what illustrations to … Continue reading Make room for pictures
“Can my proposal be shorter than the page limit?” I get that question more often than I would have ever guessed. Quite a few proposal writers take any page limit as a suggested length. As a result, they worry that … Continue reading You are not in high school anymore
Putting the most important information first seems like an obvious strategy, when you know your reader is pressed for time. Of course you want them to get your key point before their attention wanders. So why do so many proposal … Continue reading Forget inverted pyramids
When writing proposals, you are less likely to win if you assume your proposal is about you. You are the one who is asking for funding and your record of accomplishments and expertise are going to determine whether you get … Continue reading It’s not about you
Rolf Danner 