Storytelling in Your Grant

In his book Marketing for Scientists, Mark J. Kuchner suggests that the two things that make a story a story are a sequence of events and reflective pauses by the author. Think about the last great book you read, how was it sequenced and where/how did the author reflect on what was happening? And, how did that draw you in to what you were reading?

Now, how do these suggestions play out in your grant? Sequencing is essential. In the ORDE seminar, Creating a Compelling Case for Your Grant, NIH PI and Peer Reviewer, Dr. Amy Brooks-Kayal said that when she is reviewing a grant, she wants the author to give her the information she needs right before she needs it to make sense of things.

Deborah Koch agrees, in her book, How to Say It: Grantwriting, saying that it is important to anticipate your reader's questions and answer them as you go. She warns that if your reader has too many questions swimming in their head for too long, they will be distracted from your message.

The author reflection that Kuchner describes is a little more difficult to pin down, but gets at the essence of what makes writing compelling. As you know, showing the larger impact and implications of your work is essential to securing funding for your project. However, you can't show that impact explicitly by just running through the methods and technical details of your project. You, as the author and PI, need to break at the right points to reflect on what this all means and for who. Tell your reader the costs, whether financial, human, or intellectual, of not doing this work.  Explain how your project is a game changer and describe the benefits.

Taking this time out and incorporating reflection into your grant at the right times will demonstrate to the non-expert reviewer how important your work is, but will also invite the expert reviewer to reflect with you on the opportunities that are within reach if your project is funded.

In realizing these opportunities, the reviewers themselves will come to see their potential role in funding your project and will place themselves in your story. And, of course, what story is more captivating than one you can become a part of!