Your grant narrative

This week, ORDE held a seminar that focused on developing career grant proposals. Mark Golkowski, an Associate Professor in Engineering at CU Denver, and NSF CAREER awardee, offered a fantastic perspective on using narrative in grant proposals.

Dr. Golkowki made the point that people learn and understand concepts best when they are told to them through a story. Story-telling is a powerful form of communication; it draws people in and guides them through when well done.

He drew on the classic construction of a story that many of us learn in school. The image below offers a simple depiction of how traditional fiction stories are structured. You get to know the characters and situation at the start of a story, then there is a hook or a problem that builds to the climax of the story. Once the climax passes, the characters begin the work of solving problems and establishing a new normal and the story ends with a conclusion.

Although Dr. Golkowski advocated for incorporating story-telling and narrative into grant proposals as well, he suggested that the structure employed should be unique. He offered the following revised narrative structure for grant proposals:

You begin your proposal by describing the problem or opportunity that your research addresses. It's important here to show how dire the problem is and why it's been so difficult to solve. You're trying to emote a sense of urgency and need amongst your reviewers. Instead of making the traditional climax your pivotal point, the proposal low point is where your reviewers are wondering if there is any hope. This is when you present your approach, your solution, your research. Here's where you start to bring your readers back up, although, it's not a straight shot. Dr. Golkowski points out that your story's incline should plateau a bit when you show again how challenging your research task is. There's risk and you're tackling a large feat, but you have a back-up plan and the great rewards are waiting on the other side of the project. Finally, you pull your reviewers way up by showing them the vision of what's really possible once this research project is accomplished.

I can tell you that in my work reviewing proposals for our PIs at CU Denver and the Anschutz Medical Campus, the vision is often missing from a proposal. For example, project overviews or specific aims often fizzle out with the PI leaving us with only logistical details. By employing narrative, and specifically Dr. Golkowski's structure, you leave your reviewers wanting more. But, they're going to have to fund you to hear the end of the story! ;)

Resources
How to Win Grants with Great Storytelling - Mathilda Harris (Grant Training Center)
The Top 3 Tips for Telling Your Story So Funders Will Listen - Grantsedge