June 2006 Vol. 11 Issue 2
Q&A with Steve Cain
Good grant writing is good storytelling

Grant writing is becoming more and more important to Purdue Extension these days. Having recently served on two grant review teams, I wasn’t surprised when I was asked this month’s question.

Question: What does it take to write a good grant?

Answer: Good storytelling.

In my recent experience, the grant writers who told their stories well to a group of people who had varying degrees of expertise about the topic were the winners.

Good practices for telling the story in your grant proposal include:

  • Reduce jargon and spell out acronyms. In one of my recent experiences, a reviewer picked up a jargon-heavy proposal and exclaimed, “Not another hard-to-read proposal.” Reviewers want to understand the needs you describe and your proposed solution. They shouldn’t have to do research just to understand your proposal. Don’t make them constantly go to the dictionary or Google jargon words and acronyms.
  • Make it fun to read. Give your readers reasons to move forward, not slog forward. Present with flare or enthusiasm, but don’t waste words with unneeded adjectives. My writing professor used to say, “Show me, don’t tell me.” Don’t just tell the reviewer how a program could make a difference; show them an example of how it can change life or processes.
  • Do your homework. Write and present facts in a way that show you are an expert in the field. At the National Academies of Science, they expect you to know the entire literature on a topic and prove it. They expect you to know more than the individual, expert reviewers, so you are almost teaching as you are presenting. Your solution should be based on taking knowledge to the next level. You can only do that if you’ve done the research and know the cutting edge.
  • Be visual. Several successful proposals placed convincing graphics that illustrated the solution, invention, flow of the process, and/or demographics of people affected. A picture can be worth a thousand words, and several thousand grant dollars. Before including a picture, be sure it is part of the proposal process.
  • Know your audience. Some successful grants, once they are accepted, are posted on the granting agency’s Web site or shared in other ways. Before writing a grant, know the guidelines and read previously funded grants.
  • Know the grantors. For some grants it doesn’t hurt to be on speaking terms with the granting agency. That doesn’t guarantee a successful grant, but it usually helps you know more about what they want.

Steve Cain, cain@purdue.edu

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