What I Learned From Writing Scientific Research Grants

Grant writing is hard, intellectual work. I learned that the hard way through writing grant proposals for scientific research as a college professor. There was no middle ground with letters of inquiry, letters of intent, or short proposals complete with budget. At best, there were some concept papers. Grant proposals for scientific work are long. The narrative of these proposals is a detailed scientific term paper covering the most current scientific information, complete with works cited, your supporting data, and multiple year budgets. These are only the highlights. Writing one of these requires a high level of intellectual rigor and an attention to detail. It is always about the details and they begin with an agency’s exacting grant program guidelines.