Targeting your grant pitch

I've blogged before about how you make a clear and compelling case in your grant proposal, but this week I want to highlight the importance of targeting and speaking to a particular agency in your grant proposal. Oftentimes, PIs submit their same research project to several different funding agencies, which is fantastic and a savvy move in our competitive grants climate. However, where those same researchers go wrong is when they cut and paste one proposal into a template for another with very little customization.

Brian Buma, an Assistant Professor in Integrative Biology at CU Denver, highlighted at our Grant Writing Symposium last week the importance of this customization. Below are a few tips for targeting an agency with your proposal:

Do your homework: Read and re-read the program announcement, but also the agency mission, strategic plan, annual report, etc. Get to know the agency and the type of work in which they're investing.

Know your reviewers: Make sure you know who will be ultimately reviewing your proposal. How broad is the review panel? Does it include laypeople? This will give you a better sense of to whom you're writing.

Talk to a Program Officer: The PO is the liaison for the agency, and no one can give you a better glimpse into what the agency is looking to fund. So, reach out early and often to see if your project and pitch are a good fit.

Dr. Buma shared the hook he used for different agencies that were essentially pitching the same research project in customized ways to speak to the agency. Here were those examples:

National Geographic: "We will tell the story of the world's southernmost forests, a region never before explored and a compelling example of a wild landscape on the edge of human experience."

National Science Foundation: "We will test theories related to climate change in the southern hemisphere and provide a new reference point in a geographically under-sampled region, reducing the need to spatially extrapolate current ecosystem projections."

US Forest Service: "We will better understand, and be able to predict, the impact of climate change on forest growth and health by setting up long-term monitoring plots in this region, which has not been done prior."

Local Government: "We will build local knowledge and enable better access to the region by establishing long-term monitoring plots and sharing those results with the community directly via town hall meetings."

Even if you don't know much about the agencies above, it's clear to see that Dr. Buma is focusing his pitch on what he knows each agency is interested in. National Geographic is a popular magazine, so they want the story of the research. The NSF is interested in furthering scientific fields. The US Forest Service wants to fund work that preserves forests, and local government groups are interested in community relations.

So, before you start cutting and pasting your project verbiage into a new agency template, make sure you're pitching to that agency's needs and interests.

Resources:
Turning Your Research Idea Into a Proposal Worth Funding - Salmaan Kanji
Crafting a Sales Pitch for Your Grant Proposal - Robert Porter