Proposal Writing and Development
Proposal Planning
Recommended Timelines
External Writing Advice Sites
- U of Michigan’s Proposal Writer’s Guide
A helpful overview of the various sections of proposals. Don’t miss the "why proposals are rejected" section.
- Social Science Research Council, Art of Writing Proposals
An essay offering sound advice for those writing social science proposals or proposals in the arts and humanities.
- Ten Ways to Write a Better Grant
MSU provides excerpts from Allison Snyder’s article published in The Scientist, Jan 2007. Advice on this link is tailored to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) more than to other funders, but most of its advice is helpful for most proposals.
But… when it advises you to find out who will review your grant, it is working within the NIH paradigm only. NIH lists the names of its study section reviewers. While you may not contact these people, you can read their publications and get a good idea of their specific expertise and interests. Other funders usually preserve their reviewers’ anonymity, but you can get a good idea of the funder’s interests straight from the program officer. In many government agencies, the program officer makes the final decision among the proposals recommended by review panels.
- Foundation Center’s Short Course
Although aimed primarily at proposals to foundations, this course offers a useful overview of strategically fitting your proposal to the funders’ guidelines and thinking through the logic of your work for an external funder.
- Grant Proposal Writing by Stephen Wilbers
Advice from a local writing expert.
- NIH Application Tips
Lots of good advice for everyone here, including non-scientists.
- NSF Guidelines
Full instructions for preparing NSF proposals.
CLA Grants Consultants’ Proposal Writing Tips and Strategies
