The Grant Development Cycle

Many of us in research development, talk about "grant development," whereas those outside the field often talk about "grant writing." But grant developers use this phrase in recognition that grant writing is just one part of the grant development process. Below is an image of the grant development cycle. I call it a cycle intentionally, because as any successfully funded researcher will tell you, it never ends, whether you need to revise and resubmit or continue working toward your next grant after awarded to sustain your research, you must stay engaged in grant development.

To expand on this cycle, below are steps you should follow to develop a competitive grant proposal:

Search literature & funding landscape: Around the time you are combing the literature to identify gaps that your research can address, you should also be getting a lay of the funding landscape. Faculty at CU Denver and the Anschutz Medical Campus can contact ORDE to have us conduct a comprehensive fund search.

Develop project & research sponsor: As you begin to develop your research idea and have identified which sponsors might be a good fit to fund your research, you should do background research on the sponsors to which you're considering applying. It's important to understand the ideology, approach, as well as preferred topics funded by the sponsor.


Develop concept paper: A concept paper is a one-two page document that gives an overview of your project and why it's important. This can be used to shop your idea around to get feedback and generate interest around your research amongst funders, collaborators, and/or mentors.


Review program announcement: This may seem obvious, but in our experience, some PIs miss this vital step and can end up with their grant rejected when they have not followed the instructions in the program announcement.


Work with Program Officers: POs serve as the liaison between a sponsor and an applicant. POs often have influence over the review process and even some funding decisions. It's a good idea to reach out to a PO to get their thoughts on your research project before you apply.


Draft grant proposal: Based on the feedback you get on your concept paper, and considering what you've learned from your sponsor research and the program announcement, you can begin to draft your grant application.


Seek feedback: Once you have a working draft of your grant, you should vet it with colleagues, mentors, and even laypeople to make sure that your case is clear and compelling and accessible by different audiences.


Revise and Resubmit: We find ourselves in a competitive grant-funding climate where getting a grant rejected is a reality for most researchers. Remember, the biggest difference between those investigators who ultimately are funded and those who aren't is whether or not they keep submitting grants.

Resources:
Navigating the Grant Development Process - enago academy
Grant Lifecycle - University of Utah