Writing a Grant Application: From Idea to Proposal

The workshop will take place on November 27 in our institute, there is the option of an online follow-up on December 3.

Why join this course?

Science is expensive. Successful applications for external funding are essential to give you the freedom to do what you want and to be competitive on the job market. One of the biggest challenges in writing successful grants is that everything seems to happen behind closed doors: the rules are not always clear, and there are few available examples of successful proposals to learn from. In this workshop you will learn what those hidden rules are, and how to improve your chances of winning at the game.

Strategic and logistic challenges

What kind of funding suits my project? How do I analyse funding initiatives to understand what is required? What are reviewers looking for? How do I strike the right balance between novelty and feasibility? How do I write the proposal to best sell myself, my idea and my work? How do I reach both the generalist and the specialist reviewer? How do I prepare for a grant interview?

Improve your potential to win the game!

This course will help participants to understand the strategic challenges and potential pitfalls in writing a grant proposal. During the course you will analyse examples, swap perspectives between applicant and reviewer, and write and receive feedback on parts of your own proposal. You will also be able to identify and critically analyse the central hypothesis of your own and others’ proposals, and to use this knowledge to structure and deliver your message. You are welcome to bring yourown proposals or ideas, but it is not a prerequisite.

Schedule

9:00 – 10:30 Session 1: Strategy

• Finding the right programme: What funding fits my idea?
• Common requirements for all grant proposals
• Why me? Why this topic? Why now?
• Requirements of specific funding programmes
• Behind the scenes: How are grant proposals reviewed and evaluated?

10:45 – 12:30 Session 2: Selling yourself and your past work

• Selling yourself and your past work
• Writing a convincing CV
• Personal statements: Why they help and how to write them
• Writing paper summaries for the generalist reviewer

13:30 – 15:30 Session 3: Selling your proposal

• How to sell your proposal: Novelty and excellence
• Defining the central hypothesis
• How not to oversell your proposal: Feasibility, time and budget plans
• Risk analysis and contingency plans
• Selling your proposal equally well to the generalist and the specialist reviewer

15:30 – 16:00

• Final discussion

About the trainer

Leonie Ringrose is a British professor in quantitative molecular biology at the Humboldt University, Berlin. She has previously been a junior group leader at the IMBA (Institute of Molecular Biotechnology) in Vienna, Austria, and a visiting scientist at the John Innes Centre,  Norwich, UK. From 2013 to 2019 she participated in evaluation panels for ERC starting grants.