What Is A Grant Template

What this handout is nearly

This handout volition assist y'all write and revise grant proposals for research funding in all academic disciplines (sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the arts). It'due south targeted primarily to graduate students and kinesthesia, although it will likewise be helpful to undergraduate students who are seeking funding for research (east.1000. for a senior thesis).

The grant writing process

A grant proposal or awarding is a document or gear up of documents that is submitted to an organisation with the explicit intent of securing funding for a research project. Grant writing varies widely across the disciplines, and research intended for epistemological purposes (philosophy or the arts) rests on very different assumptions than enquiry intended for practical applications (medicine or social policy research). Nonetheless, this handout attempts to provide a general introduction to grant writing across the disciplines.

Earlier you begin writing your proposal, you need to know what kind of inquiry you will be doing and why. You may take a topic or experiment in listen, simply taking the time to define what your ultimate purpose is tin be essential to convincing others to fund that project. Although some scholars in the humanities and arts may non have thought near their projects in terms of research blueprint, hypotheses, enquiry questions, or results, reviewers and funding agencies expect you to frame your projection in these terms. You may also discover that thinking about your project in these terms reveals new aspects of it to you.

Writing successful grant applications is a long process that begins with an idea. Although many people think of grant writing as a linear process (from idea to proposal to honor), it is a circular process. Many people start by defining their research question or questions. What knowledge or information will exist gained as a direct result of your project? Why is undertaking your research important in a broader sense? You will need to explicitly communicate this purpose to the committee reviewing your awarding. This is easier when you know what you plan to achieve earlier you brainstorm the writing process.

Diagram one below provides an overview of the grant writing process and may help you lot programme your proposal development.

Applicants must write grant proposals, submit them, receive notice of acceptance or rejection, and then revise their proposals. Unsuccessful grant applicants must revise and resubmit their proposals during the next funding cycle. Successful grant applications and the resulting research lead to ideas for further inquiry and new grant proposals.

Cultivating an ongoing, positive relationship with funding agencies may lead to boosted grants downwardly the route. Thus, brand sure you file progress reports and final reports in a timely and professional person fashion. Although some successful grant applicants may fear that funding agencies will reject futurity proposals considering they've already received "enough" funding, the truth is that money follows coin. Individuals or projects awarded grants in the by are more competitive and thus more probable to receive funding in the future.

Some general tips

1. Begin early on.
2. Use early on and often.
3. Don't forget to include a cover letter with your awarding.
4. Reply all questions. (Pre-empt all unstated questions.)
5. If rejected, revise your proposal and apply again.
6. Give them what they want. Follow the application guidelines exactly.
7. Be explicit and specific.
8. Be realistic in designing the projection.
9. Brand explicit the connections between your inquiry questions and objectives, your objectives and methods, your methods and results, and your results and dissemination plan.
10. Follow the application guidelines exactly. (Nosotros have repeated this tip because it is very, very important.)

Before you beginning writing

Place your needs and focus

First, identify your needs. Answering the following questions may help yous:

• Are you undertaking preliminary or pilot research in lodge to develop a total-blown enquiry agenda?
• Are yous seeking funding for dissertation research? Pre-dissertation enquiry? Postdoctoral inquiry? Archival research? Experimental inquiry? Fieldwork?
• Are you seeking a stipend so that you can write a dissertation or book? Polish a manuscript?
• Practise you want a fellowship in residence at an establishment that will offer some programmatic support or other resources to enhance your projection?
• Do you want funding for a large research project that will terminal for several years and involve multiple staff members?

Next, think about the focus of your research/projection. Answering the post-obit questions may assistance y'all narrow it down:

• What is the topic? Why is this topic important?
• What are the enquiry questions that yous're trying to answer? What relevance do your research questions accept?
• What are your hypotheses?
• What are your inquiry methods?
• Why is your research/project important? What is its significance?
• Do you plan on using quantitative methods? Qualitative methods? Both?
• Volition you be undertaking experimental research? Clinical research?

One time yous have identified your needs and focus, you tin begin looking for prospective grants and funding agencies.

Finding prospective grants and funding agencies

Whether your proposal receives funding will rely in large part on whether your purpose and goals closely match the priorities of granting agencies. Locating possible grantors is a fourth dimension consuming task, but in the long run it will yield the greatest benefits. Fifty-fifty if you have the nigh appealing inquiry proposal in the world, if yous don't send information technology to the right institutions, then you're unlikely to receive funding.

There are many sources of information about granting agencies and grant programs. Well-nigh universities and many schools inside universities take Offices of Research, whose primary purpose is to support faculty and students in grant-seeking endeavors. These offices usually have libraries or resource centers to help people find prospective grants.

At UNC, the Research at Carolina part coordinates research support.

The GrantSource Library, located in Bynum Hall, provides grant-seeking assistance to UNC students and faculty. The GrantSource Library maintains a broad variety of resources (books, journals, and online databases) and offers workshops to assistance students and faculty notice funding.

The UNC Medical School and School of Public Health each have their own Office of Enquiry.

Writing your proposal

Audience

The majority of grant programs recruit academic reviewers with knowledge of the disciplines and/or program areas of the grant. Thus, when writing your grant proposals, assume that you are addressing a colleague who is knowledgeable in the full general area, but who does not necessarily know the details nigh your research questions.

Remember that well-nigh readers are lazy and will non respond well to a poorly organized, poorly written, or disruptive proposal. Exist certain to give readers what they want. Follow all the guidelines for the particular grant you are applying for. This may crave you to reframe your project in a different light or language. Reframing your project to fit a specific grant's requirements is a legitimate and necessary office of the process unless it will fundamentally change your project's goals or outcomes.

Final decisions about which proposals are funded oftentimes come downward to whether the proposal convinces the reviewer that the research projection is well planned and viable and whether the investigators are well qualified to execute it. Throughout the proposal, exist as explicit equally possible. Predict the questions that the reviewer may take and answer them. Przeworski and Salomon (1995) note that reviewers read with three questions in listen:

• What are nosotros going to learn as a result of the proposed project that nosotros do not know now? (goals, aims, and outcomes)
• Why is it worth knowing? (significance)
• How will we know that the conclusions are valid? (criteria for success) (2)

Be sure to answer these questions in your proposal. Keep in heed that reviewers may not read every discussion of your proposal. Your reviewer may only read the abstract, the sections on enquiry pattern and methodology, the vitae, and the budget. Brand these sections as clear and straightforward as possible.

Style

The manner you write your grant will tell the reviewers a lot about you (Reif-Lehrer 82). From reading your proposal, the reviewers will form an idea of who you are equally a scholar, a researcher, and a person. They will make up one's mind whether yous are creative, logical, analytical, up-to-date in the relevant literature of the field, and, most importantly, capable of executing the proposed project. Allow your subject and its conventions to determine the general manner of your writing, but let your own vocalization and personality to come through. Be sure to clarify your project's theoretical orientation.

Develop a general proposal and budget

Because most proposal writers seek funding from several different agencies or granting programs, it is a skilful idea to begin by developing a general grant proposal and budget. This general proposal is sometimes called a "white paper." Your general proposal should explicate your project to a general bookish audience. Earlier you submit proposals to unlike grant programs, you lot will tailor a specific proposal to their guidelines and priorities.

Organizing your proposal

Although each funding agency will have its own (commonly very specific) requirements, there are several elements of a proposal that are fairly standard, and they often come in the following order:

• Title folio
• Abstruse
• Introduction (statement of the problem, purpose of research or goals, and significance of enquiry)
• Literature review
• Projection narrative (methods, procedures, objectives, outcomes or deliverables, evaluation, and dissemination)
• Personnel
• Budget and budget justification

Format the proposal and then that information technology is easy to read. Utilise headings to break the proposal up into sections. If information technology is long, include a table of contents with page numbers.

Title folio

The championship page usually includes a brief still explicit title for the research project, the names of the principal investigator(south), the institutional affiliation of the applicants (the department and university), name and address of the granting agency, projection dates, amount of funding requested, and signatures of university personnel authorizing the proposal (when necessary). Nigh funding agencies have specific requirements for the championship page; make sure to follow them.

Abstract

The abstruse provides readers with their first impression of your project. To remind themselves of your proposal, readers may glance at your abstract when making their final recommendations, so it may also serve every bit their last impression of your project. The abstruse should explain the key elements of your research project in the future tense. About abstracts state: (1) the general purpose, (2) specific goals, (3) inquiry pattern, (four) methods, and (5) significance (contribution and rationale). Be as explicit as possible in your abstruse. Utilize statements such equally, "The objective of this written report is to …"

Introduction

The introduction should cover the fundamental elements of your proposal, including a statement of the trouble, the purpose of research, research goals or objectives, and significance of the research. The statement of trouble should provide a background and rationale for the projection and establish the need and relevance of the enquiry. How is your projection different from previous inquiry on the aforementioned topic? Will y'all be using new methodologies or covering new theoretical territory? The research goals or objectives should identify the anticipated outcomes of the research and should match upwardly to the needs identified in the statement of problem. List only the principle goal(s) or objective(southward) of your research and save sub-objectives for the projection narrative.

Literature review

Many proposals require a literature review. Reviewers want to know whether you lot've done the necessary preliminary research to undertake your project. Literature reviews should be selective and critical, not exhaustive. Reviewers want to run across your evaluation of pertinent works. For more than data, see our handout on literature reviews.

Project narrative

The project narrative provides the meat of your proposal and may require several subsections. The projection narrative should supply all the details of the projection, including a detailed statement of problem, research objectives or goals, hypotheses, methods, procedures, outcomes or deliverables, and evaluation and dissemination of the inquiry.

For the project narrative, pre-empt and/or answer all of the reviewers' questions. Don't leave them wondering about anything. For example, if you lot advise to conduct unstructured interviews with open up-ended questions, be sure you've explained why this methodology is best suited to the specific inquiry questions in your proposal. Or, if you're using item response theory rather than classical test theory to verify the validity of your survey musical instrument, explain the advantages of this innovative methodology. Or, if you lot demand to travel to Valdez, Alaska to access historical archives at the Valdez Museum, make information technology clear what documents yous hope to notice and why they are relevant to your historical novel on the '98ers in the Alaskan Gilded Blitz.

Clearly and explicitly state the connections betwixt your research objectives, research questions, hypotheses, methodologies, and outcomes. As the requirements for a strong projection narrative vary widely by discipline, consult a field of study-specific guide to grant writing for some additional advice.

Personnel

Explain staffing requirements in detail and make sure that staffing makes sense. Be very explicit about the skill sets of the personnel already in identify (you lot will probably include their Curriculum Vitae as part of the proposal). Explain the necessary skill sets and functions of personnel yous will recruit. To minimize expenses, phase out personnel who are non relevant to later phases of a projection.

Upkeep

The budget spells out project costs and usually consists of a spreadsheet or table with the budget detailed as line items and a upkeep narrative (besides known equally a upkeep justification) that explains the various expenses. Even when proposal guidelines do not specifically mention a narrative, exist sure to include a one or two page caption of the budget. To see a sample upkeep, turn to Example #1 at the end of this handout.

Consider including an exhaustive budget for your project, even if it exceeds the normal grant size of a detail funding organization. Only brand it clear that yous are seeking additional funding from other sources. This technique will go far easier for you to combine awards downwards the road should you lot have the expert fortune of receiving multiple grants.

Make sure that all budget items meet the funding bureau's requirements. For example, all U.Southward. government agencies have strict requirements for airline travel. Be sure the cost of the airline travel in your budget meets their requirements. If a line particular falls outside an agency'southward requirements (eastward.g. some organizations will not cover equipment purchases or other capital expenses), explain in the budget justification that other grant sources volition pay for the detail.

Many universities require that indirect costs (overhead) be added to grants that they administer. Check with the appropriate offices to find out what the standard (or required) rates are for overhead. Pass a draft budget by the university officeholder in accuse of grant administration for assistance with indirect costs and costs not straight associated with enquiry (eastward.one thousand. facilities utilise charges).

Furthermore, make certain you cistron in the estimated taxes applicable for your instance. Depending on the categories of expenses and your detail circumstances (whether you lot are a strange national, for instance), estimated tax rates may differ. Yous tin consult respective departmental staff or university services, besides as professional person tax assistants. For data on taxes on scholarships and fellowships, see https://cashier.unc.edu/student-tax-information/scholarships-fellowships/.

Timeframe

Explicate the timeframe for the enquiry project in some item. When will you begin and complete each step? It may be helpful to reviewers if you present a visual version of your timeline. For less complicated research, a table summarizing the timeline for the project will help reviewers understand and evaluate the planning and feasibility. See Example #2 at the finish of this handout.

For multi-yr research proposals with numerous procedures and a big staff, a time line diagram tin help clarify the feasibility and planning of the study. Run into Example #iii at the end of this handout.

Revising your proposal

Strong grant proposals have a long time to develop. Kickoff the process early and get out time to get feedback from several readers on different drafts. Seek out a multifariousness of readers, both specialists in your research area and non-specialist colleagues. You may also want to request help from knowledgeable readers on specific areas of your proposal. For instance, you may want to schedule a meeting with a statistician to help revise your methodology section. Don't hesitate to seek out specialized assistance from the relevant inquiry offices on your campus. At UNC, the Odum Plant provides a variety of services to graduate students and kinesthesia in the social sciences.

In your revision and editing, ask your readers to give careful consideration to whether yous've made explicit the connections between your research objectives and methodology. Hither are some example questions:

• Have you presented a compelling example?
• Have you made your hypotheses explicit?
• Does your projection seem viable? Is information technology overly ambitious? Does it have other weaknesses?
• Accept you lot stated the means that grantors can use to evaluate the success of your project subsequently you've executed it?

If a granting agency lists detail criteria used for rating and evaluating proposals, be certain to share these with your own reviewers.

Case #1. Sample Budget

Item	Quantity	Price	Subtotal	Total
Jet Travel
RDU-Kigali (roundtrip)	1		$half dozen,100	$vi,100
Maintenance Allowance
Rwanda	12 months	$i,899	$22,788	$22,788
Project Allowance
Research Assistant/Translator	12 months	$400	$4800
Transportation within country
–Phase 1	iv months	$300	$1,200
–Phase 2	viii months	$one,500	$12,000
Electronic mail	12 months	$lx	$720
Audio cassette tapes	200	$ii	$400
Photographic and slide moving picture	xx	$5	$100
Laptop Reckoner	1		$2,895
NUD*IST 4.0 Software			$373
Etc.
Full Project Allowance				$35,238
Administrative Fee				$100
Full				$65,690
Sought from other sources				($fifteen,000)
Total Grant Request				$50,690

Jet travel $6,100
This judge is based on the commercial loftier season rate for jet economy travel on Sabena Belgian Airlines. No U.S. carriers fly to Kigali, Rwanda. Sabena has educatee fare tickets available which will exist significantly less expensive (approximately $2,000).

Maintenance allowance $22,788
Based on the Fulbright-Hays Maintenance Allowances published in the grant application guide.

Research assistant/translator $four,800
The enquiry assistant/translator will be a native (and primary) speaker of Kinya-rwanda with at least a four-year university degree. He/she will accompany the primary investigator during life history interviews to provide aid in comprehension. In addition, he/she will provide commentary, explanations, and observations to facilitate the primary investigator's participant observation. During the starting time phase of the project in Kigali, the research assistant volition work twoscore hours a week and occasional overtime as needed. During phases two and three in rural Rwanda, the assistant volition stay with the investigator overnight in the field when necessary. The salary of $400 per month is based on the average pay rate for individuals with like qualifications working for international NGO'due south in Rwanda.

Transportation inside country, phase one $i,200
The main investigator and research assistant will need regular transportation within Kigali by bus and taxi. The boilerplate taxi fare in Kigali is $6-8 and coach fare is $.15. This effigy is based on an average of $10 per day in transportation costs during the first projection stage.

Transportation inside country, phases ii and iii $12,000
Project personnel will too crave regular transportation between rural field sites. If it is not possible to remain overnight, daily trips will exist necessary. The average rental rate for a 4×iv vehicle in Rwanda is $130 per day. This judge is based on an average of $50 per day in transportation costs for the second and tertiary project phases. These costs could be reduced if an arrangement could exist made with either a authorities ministry or international aid bureau for transportation assistance.

Email $720
The charge per unit for electronic mail service from RwandaTel (the only service provider in Rwanda) is $60 per month. Email access is vital for receiving news reports on Rwanda and the region besides as for staying in contact with dissertation commission members and advisors in the United States.

Audiocassette tapes $400
Audiocassette tapes will exist necessary for recording life history interviews, musical performances, community events, story telling, and other pertinent data.

Photographic & slide picture show $100
Photographic and slide film will be necessary to document visual data such as landscape, environment, marriages, funerals, community events, etc.

Laptop calculator $2,895
A laptop computer volition be necessary for recording observations, thoughts, and analysis during research project. Cost listed is a special offer to UNC students through the Carolina Computing Initiative.

NUD*IST 4.0 software $373.00
NUD*IST, "Nonnumerical, Unstructured Data, Indexing, Searching, and Theorizing," is necessary for cataloging, indexing, and managing field notes both during and post-obit the field research phase. The program will assist in cataloging themes that sally during the life history interviews.

Administrative fee $100
Fee set by Fulbright-Hays for the sponsoring establishment.

Example #two: Project Timeline in Table Format

Exploratory Research	Completed
Proposal Development	Completed
Ph.D. qualifying exams	Completed
Research Proposal Defense	Completed
Fieldwork in Rwanda	October. 1999-December. 2000
Data Analysis and Transcription	Jan. 2001-March 2001
Writing of Typhoon Capacity	March 2001 – Sept. 2001
Revision	Oct. 2001-Feb. 2002
Dissertation Defense force	April 2002
Final Approving and Completion	May 2002

Case #3: Project Timeline in Chart Format

Some closing advice

Some of u.s. may feel aback or embarrassed about request for money or promoting ourselves. Often, these feelings have more to do with our own insecurities than with problems in the tone or style of our writing. If you're having trouble because of these types of hang-ups, the most important thing to keep in listen is that it never hurts to ask. If you never ask for the coin, they'll never give you the money. Besides, the worst thing they can practise is say no.

UNC resources for proposal writing

Research at Carolina
http://research.unc.edu

The Odum Institute for Inquiry in the Social Sciences
http://www.irss.unc.edu/odum/jsp/dwelling.jsp

UNC Medical Schoolhouse Office of Enquiry
https://www.med.unc.edu/oor

UNC School of Public Health Office of Research
http://world wide web.sph.unc.edu/research/

Works consulted

Nosotros consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout's topic, and we encourage y'all to do your own inquiry to find additional publications. Please do non use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may non match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, delight see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial. Nosotros revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Holloway, Brian R. 2003. Proposal Writing Across the Disciplines. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Levine, Southward. Joseph. "Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal." http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/.

Locke, Lawrence F., Waneen Wyrick Spirduso, and Stephen J. Silverman. 2014. Proposals That Work. M Oaks, CA: Sage.

Przeworski, Adam, and Frank Salomon. 2012. "Some Aboveboard Suggestions on the Fine art of Writing Proposals." Social Scientific discipline Research Council. https://s3.amazonaws.com/ssrc-cdn2/art-of-writing-proposals-dsd-e-56b50ef814f12.pdf.

Reif-Lehrer, Liane. 1989. Writing a Successful Grant Application. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Wiggins, Beverly. 2002. "Funding and Proposal Writing for Social Scientific discipline Faculty and Graduate Student Enquiry." Chapel Colina: Howard W. Odum Institute for Research in Social Science. two Feb. 2004. http://www2.irss.unc.edu/irss/shortcourses/wigginshandouts/granthandout.pdf.

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Yous may reproduce information technology for non-commercial use if you apply the unabridged handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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What Is A Grant Template,

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