Grant writing is less about the writing than the research

Posted April 27, 2023  By: Reda El Alami

On April 13th, Foresight Science & Technology attended an AUTM Live webinar called TTOs Can be PIs Too: Competitive Grant Application and Management. It was led by Dr. Eva Garland, Dr. Dana Upton, Jennifer Webster, and Ian McClure. This webinar focused on Federal Grant Opportunities, specifically how to prepare grant proposals to get the results you want. The speakers highlighted how to identify a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), how to collaborate with program officers and project administration offices, as well as how important it was to get supporting documentation to make sure you understand the specific concepts to the grant you are competing for. The speakers have extensive backgrounds in grant applications and funding, and provided great insight on how important it is to forge relationships with the people directly involved in these grants, the funders and people involved in the program. Grant writing is shifting, and it’s important to investigate in more detail, and utilize the resources that are available and listed when reviewing these grants. One can’t simply rely on a generic template to submit bids, in order to win these grants, more time and energy needs to be focused on collaboration to not only win bids, but to gain rapport to help with future bids.