Planning and Writing Successful Fellowship Proposals

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Planning and WritingSuccessful Fellowship
Proposals

• Susan Gramling, MSLS
• GrantSource Library
• Office of Information Communications
• gs_at_unc.edu or 962-3463

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Source Dr. Glenn H. Crumb, Presentation Grants
Puzzled About Finding Them?, Western Kentucky
University
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Reasons for Seeking Funding

• Financial need
• Prestige
• Education and professional experience
• Glutton for punishment!
• Bottom line proposal writing is something you
  are probably going to have to do throughout your
  careerget practice and experience now while in
  grad school

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Fundamentals of Proposal Preparation

• Proposal writing is not the same as scholarly or
  scientific writingsell yourself
• Write, revise, revise, revise
• Get feedback from advisors, mentors and/or fellow
  students
• Find and review examples of successful
  applications
• Expect to apply multiple times
• Yes, fellowships are competitive, but Carolina
  students compete well

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Getting Organized

• Verify
• the due date (online vs mail)
• When application materials are available and how
• Specific eligibility or exclusionary criteria
• Application components
• Develop a timeline with dates (start and expected
  completion) of the various tasks that will
  comprise your research or project

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Plan Before You Write

• Identify and define your research question or
  project
• Assess project fit with overall personal goals
• Think the plan through to the end
• Assess your expertise, resources and strengths to
  approach the project

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Constructing the Research Question

• What is your contribution argument?
• Three possible paradigms
• researching topic that has never been studied
  before
• looking at well-known material, but in a new way
• uncovering new material, which in turn calls for
  reassessment
• Establish significance in broader terms

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Application Components

• Letters of reference
• Research statement
• Personal statement
• If required
• CV
• Detailed timeline of experimental work and exams
• Membership in particular professional
  organization
• Budget

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Letters of Reference

• Give your letter writers enough lead time
• Provide them with copies of your CV, sponsor
  application materials, and draft proposal
• Dont be surprised if they ask you to draft a
  letter on your own behalf

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Personal Statement

• Concentrate on opening paragraph
• Answer any questions that are asked
• Tell a story
• Be specific
• Find an angle
• Dont include some subjects
• Write well and correctly
• Avoid cliches

More http//www.wpi.edu/Academics/FS/essays.html

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Components of the Research Statement

• Introduction
• Literature review
• Project goals and objectives
• Research design/methodology
• Qualifications

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Introduction

• Helps place your contribution argument in context
• Describe overall purpose of your project
• Concise statement of major goals
• Brief description of methodology and any
  applicable specific time period, geographic
  location, or population

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Literature Review/Related Research

• Acknowledge work of others
• Be thorough, relevant and current
• Use complete citation and consistent format
• Demonstrate how up to date you are
• Limit to selected works central to proposal

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Project Goals and Objectives

• Helps establish feasibility importance
• Desired outcomes
• Brief, focused, to-the-point
• Specific objectives should grow logically from
  major goal
• No more than two to five objectives

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Research Design/Methodology

• Describe activities to be undertaken why
• Flow naturally from goals objectives
• Describe design why it was adopted
• Type of data how it will be collected
  analyzed
• Describe sequence of activities
• Reasonable scope
• Anticipate concerns and address briefly

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Qualifications

• Demonstrate that you are capable of doing what
  you propose
• Describe qualifications
• Address special skills or preparation
• How does project fit with long-term goals?
• Convey enthusiasm

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Writing Style

• Be clear, concise and direct
• Write in a positive manner
• Use the active voice, rather than passive
• Avoid jargon - someone outside your field should
  be able to understand
• Use headings, bullets, formatting and white space
  to increase readability
• Proofread for grammar, spelling and typographical
  errors

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Budget

• Itemize account for costs
• Budget should flow from your project plan
• Justify budget items
• Dont overestimate resource needs
• Dont underestimate resource needs either

Handouts Sample Budget Format
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Abstract or Summary

• Summarize all important information from proposal
  
• Crucial first impression
• Write it last
• Write in laymans terms

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This means you

• Read carefully and follow scrupulously the
  guidelines provided by the sponsor
• This includes points to be addressed
• Also includes spacing, margins, font size,
  number of copies, page limitations
• If no guidelines, double-space, use generous
  margins and 12-point type

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Key Points to Remember

• Place your project in context of the other work
  in the field
• Discuss your expected results

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The Review Process

• Process varies by sponsor
• Remember - reviewers may not have expertise in
  your field, may not share your interest and
  enthusiasm for the project, may be overworked and
  underpaid
• Be wary of using too much jargon
• Key point Make your proposal easy for the
  reviewer to read
• Address sponsors review criteria

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Reviewers look for

• A doable project (resources, approach)
• A project worth doing
• Systematic, logical development of ideas
• An easily-read, accessible proposal

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Common Reasons for Rejection

• Mechanical
• guidelines not followed exactly
• Incomplete or unclear descriptions of one or
  more elements
• Methodological
• unoriginal or unsuitable methodology
• Personnel
• unqualified to do work
• Cost-Benefit
• not agency priority for this year
• unrealistic budget

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Preparing for the next time

• If not funded, dont give up!
• Ask sponsor for reviewers written comments, if
  available
• Ask if it would be worth submitting another
  proposal in the future
• When revising, be responsive to reviewer comments