Grant Timelines

I don't know about you, but for me this time of year flies faster than any other. I feel like as soon as I've thrown away my jack-o-lantern, there are holiday decorations everywhere you turn. This reminded me of grant timelines (what doesn't!?!). Grant application deadlines often feel very far away, and for more novice grant-writers they may set aside a program announcement as they work on other seemingly, more pressing work. Yet, with a grant deadline on the horizon, the clock is ticking, even if you can't hear it yet.

Below are some things to consider as you create a timeline for your grant-writing.

Grant development is more than just writing a grant
Part of the reason that researchers don't always give themselves enough time to write their grants is that they don't consider all of the pieces of good grant development. For instance, taking the time to research the sponsor and the program to which you're considering applying takes significant time. Just looking through a sponsor's grant application guidelines can be time intensive as they are sometimes over a hundred pages long! Also, as I've discussed before, it's very important to give yourself time to contact and work with a Program Officer (PO) to give you the best chance for success.

A solid grant development timeline is six months
Realizing how much is involved in addition to writing your grant proposal, ORDE recommends a six month grant development timeline. Although you won't begin writing your proposal till closer to three months before, you must begin assessing the fit with a sponsor, working with a PO, and developing your project early on.

The due date should not be the day you turn it in
As you develop your timeline, do not simply look at the due date and count backwards. The problem with this strategy is that planning to turn in your grant application on the deadline is really testing fate in a number or ways. First, you're not alone if you're planning to turn it in on the due date. Sponsor and university systems are flooded with submissions on a big deadline, and things can go wrong. For instance, with NIH applications, they must clear two systems error free before they are considered accepted at the NIH. If you wait till the due date to move through these systems and receive an error that may take some time to correct, you'll really be down to the wire. Also, it's not unheard of that sponsor or university sites go down especially under heavy traffic. So, play it safe and get your proposal in at least a day ahead of the due date.

You must rely on others
Another reason why you really should not wait till the last minute is that you're not the only person involved in your grant application. Working with your grants administrator and submitting your application to the Office of Grants and Contracts (OGC) can take more time than you might anticipate. In addition to carving out additional time for these processes, you should also check in with your grants administrator as early as possible to alert them to your proposal and timeline. Also, double check the time and process required by OGC to avoid any hang ups.

Grants are getting increasingly competitive and some sponsors will reject any application that doesn't follow the rules or that isn't a good fit. Giving yourself the time to avoid these problems will be well worth it!

Resources:
ORDE Grant Development Timeline