How many grants should I be writing?

At a recent ORDE talk on the grant development process, a researcher asked whether it made more sense for Early Career Investigators to go through the grant development process illustrated below, following the ORDE 6-month timeline, or to just send out as many proposals possible to see what sticks.

It certainly is tempting to try to up your chances of funding by sending your project to every agency that might be interested. But, there are two consequences in this approach that are not always obvious. The first consequence is the opportunity cost. Although it takes longer to develop a comprehensive and responsive grant, it still takes a significant amount of time to "throw a grant together." You still have to understand the formatting requirements and respond to the program announcement. Agencies oftentimes have very different requirements when it comes to biosketches, project descriptions, budgets, and supplemental documents. So reformatting the same information again and again takes a lot of time, for little (if any) return.

The other danger of simply repackaging a project for different agencies without tailoring it to their needs, goals, and interests is that you risk building a reputation for yourself that is sloppy. If PO's see an application thrown together and submitted by someone they've never been in contact with, they know that the PI did not put a lot of thought into the grant. Also, given the relatively small worlds of research, your reviewers are often your colleagues and having them review poorly crafted grants can cast you in a bad light.

The truth is that there is no easy money in the sponsored research world. Shaking the tree as hard as you can will just wear you out - both from the amount of work you'll put in, and the frustration of hearing "no" again and again if  your grant is even reviewed.

Your best strategy is to really build your skill and credibility with the few sponsors who are a good fit for you and your research. This is done by understanding the sponsor, working with the PO, customizing your work for the sponsor, and revising and resubmitting to the same sponsor when there is a good fit. This approach does not eliminate the hard work that goes into successful grant writing, nor does it eliminate the frustration felt when you get a "no." What it does offer you is a fighting chance at getting your grant reviewed, building a positive reputation for yourself amongst your colleagues, and it significantly improves your chances for a "yes."

Resources
Proposal Development Timeline
Proposal Development Resources