Mark your calendars for the Write Winning Grant Proposals seminar presented by Dr. John D. Robertson on December 9, 2025, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This presentation comprehensively addresses the practical, conceptual, and rhetorical aspects of writing competitive grant proposals. Dr. Robertson will cover:
Critical steps for organizing and planning your proposal (all of the things you need to do before you start writing a full proposal in order to have a competitive edge)
Understanding the role (and mindset) of your reviewers
Our 4-paragraph rhetorical strategy for writing a compelling Specific Aims page (NIH), Overview & Objectives (NSF) section, or the equivalent for other funding agencies
Specific strategies and tips for each major section of a grant proposal.
Please review the agenda for additional information.
Emphasis is placed on doing the “extra” things that can make the difference between being funded versus not. Regardless of the target agency, participants are taught to write with a linear progression of logic, which leads reviewers through an application without them knowing that they are being led. We also emphasize the fact that applicants are writing for two different audiences – the assigned reviewers, who read the application in its entirety, and non-assigned reviewers who may have read little or none of the proposal before the meeting of the review panel.
This seminar is appropriate for junior through senior faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and doctoral students who have had some exposure to writing grant applications, either through training, mentoring, or personal experience. All participants can use the seminar for new ideas on gaining a competitive edge in “proposalship,” how to write for a broad spectrum of reviewers, and/or for strategies in how to mentor others in proposal writing.
This seminar will focus on proposal writing for a broad range of funding agencies.
Note that the majority of this content will be relevant and usable for individuals applying to various funding entities (e.g., private foundations, professional organizations, and state/other federal agencies). This is because the core structure/format of most grant proposals, and the review criteria for most grant proposals, are very similar across funding entities, often merely called something different.
Please review the agenda for additional details about the seminar structure and topics.
All participants will receive an extensive handout, as well as a selected hard copy version of The Grant Application Writer's Workbook.
Workbook Descriptions
The January 2025 edition has been updated to comply with the recently updated FORMS-I general and program-specific instructions for NIH grant applications due on or after January 25, 2025. Some of the updates and information include: process for evaluating the scientific and technical merit of most research project grant applications has been revised to reflect the new simplified review framework; added samples of a Research Project Grant (RPG) critique template and a Summary Statement for the simplified review framework; emphasized that NIH prohibits inclusion of figures in the Specific Aims section; Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support content has been updated to reflect that NIH will require use of Common Forms starting May 25, 2025; revised guidance on preparing PHS Assignment Request Form; added new content on contacting a Scientific Review Officer of a relevant study section; updated how to format the Significance subsection of the Research Strategy based on simplified review framework; and emphasized that marking changes in the body text of an NIH resubmission (A1) is prohibited. All Notice of Funding Opportunity numbers, URLs, and screenshots have also been updated.
The May 2024 edition has been updated to comply with the revised version of the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 24-1), effective for all proposals due or submitted on or after May 20, 2024. Some changes for this revised version are updates to: NSF-approved Biographical Sketch format; Synergistic Activities; NSF-approved Current and Pending (Other) format; Mentoring Plan; and Index. All URLs, screenshots, and references to PAPPG sections have also been updated.
The October 2021 edition was extensively updated with additional content on strategic presentation of background literature and supporting preliminary data; creation of compelling arguments for project significance and novelty; and biographical sketches. Additional samples, sentence starters, and other practical tools/resources are now included throughout the workbook, along with complete examples of the Overview, Rationale and Significance, and Project Summary parts from a funded AFRI proposal. Other features include modifications for proposals that do not involve traditional hypothesis-testing work, and additional consideration of integrated proposals and those with stakeholder engagement. All URLs and screenshots have also been updated, and this edition is congruent with the new NIFA Grants Application Guide, released October 5, 2021.
Grant applications to most agencies contain basically the same sections – only the specific names for the sections and the order in which they appear in the application are different. In addition, the principles and fundamentals of good proposal writing are the same for all agencies. Given these two facts, we have written a “generic” workbook that can be used to write a proposal to any granting agency. It walks the applicant through the preparation of each section and is meant to be complemented by the specific instructions of the agency that is being targeted. September 2016 edition.