Demonstrating Grant Stewardship

 As we get close to Thanksgiving, I think about stewardship, particularly as it relates to both gratitude and giving. Stewardship plays a significant role in grant development in a couple of ways. It is important to be a good steward of any grants you receive, but it's also important to demonstrate to your reviewers that you will be a good steward, as I discuss below.

Stewarding Your Grant

When you receive a grant, you receive with it a load of responsibility. I've heard some PIs joke that when they receive a grant, they're temporarily elated, but then filled with dread when they realize they now need to do the project. But, it's true, once you get the grant, it's time to do what you said you would do. One of your commitments is to share project reports with your Program Officer (PO), and to stay in communication with them. POs express frustration over needing to track down reports from PIs, and that's understandable. Timely communications and reports for POs are a key responsibility and how PIs show they are good stewards of their grants. But, additionally, POs remember how good of a steward you were with your grant. If you've been lackluster, this may affect your success in attaining future grants from that same agency. 

Demonstrating Stewardship in Your Proposal

Certainly, there's no way of proving that you'll get reports to your PO in on time before you receive your grant, but it is important to show that you will be a good steward of a grant, should you be awarded. There are a couple of ways to do this. One is to include a lean and judicious budget in your proposal. Make sure that the funds you're asking for are truly necessary to execute your project. Also, make sure that you know what things will cost and that you're not padding your budget. Reviewers are researchers themselves, and they know how much things cost. So, if they catch you inflating your budget, it will likely call into question how good a steward you will be. Another place to demonstrate stewardship in your proposal is in your timeline. Show your reviewers when you will do things and how you will benchmark success as you move through the project. Layout your plan clearly so that your reviewers can have confidence that your project will get done well.

In closing, I adapt the old adage to remind you that with grant funding comes great responsibility. Be a good steward with your grants and prove to reviewers that you will continue to be. Have a restful fall break.

Resources:

Stewardship - An Important Grantsmanship Component - Lynn DeLearie
8 Great Ways to Thank a Funder - grants edge