Don't N/A Yourself Out of a Grant

Agency guidelines for grant proposals often feel tedious. In fact, if they don't feel tedious, you better go back and read the guidelines again to make sure you're not missing the tedious requirements. However, I've noticed in proposals I review how often PIs respond N/A or "not applicable" to different guideline prompts.

Now, in some situations, the prompt or question does not apply to you and thus an N/A response is appropriate, but be cautious when you're responding to a guideline and saying it is not applicable to you. First, make sure that what you're responding to really isn't applicable to you. If the prompt asks what grant proposals you have pending, you can pretty quickly determine if it's N/A. But, if the question is asking about future grant submission plans, you probably don't want to respond with N/A, because you should be continuing to apply for grants. Showing the agency your future grant plans gives them confidence that your work will continue, that it's going somewhere.

Even if you think that your response to a prompt is N/A, maybe using N/A is still not your best strategy. Grant proposals are so limiting in terms of sharing your ideas, so when considering your response to each prompt, see if there is an opportunity to further your case rather than saying N/A. If you're responding to a question about IRB approval, and your research doesn't use human subjects, perhaps use the space to reiterate your methods and show rigor, while assuring reviewers that your work does not use human subjects or that you've already been assessed and received approval from the IRB. Another area that I see rife with N/As is in response to data management prompts. Even if you think your project won't be data heavy or you think that this prompt is in reference to big data projects, think again! Agencies want to know how you'll collect, protect, and maintain your data, whatever that data looks like or how much there is.

Another "easy out" that is often used in grant proposals is boilerplates. Why should you re-create the wheel when responding to facilities questions or more general institutional questions? Well, there are a couple of reasons to not cut and paste. First, if you cut and paste boilerplate text into your proposal, it can sometimes flag your proposal for plagiarism with the agency when other proposals have used the same boilerplate. Second, remember, prompts are opportunities to further your case, so customize your responses to questions about your institution. Just use the boilerplate to inform you about the institution and facilities, but then re-write it to show how your institution is ideal for you and your work to be successful.

Resources:
Using Proposal Boilerplates: The Dos and Don'ts - proposalworks.com
Be Careful About Using Boilerplate in Grants - The Development Source