After having discovered a potential funding opportunity, you might be reading the requirements for the application and find that you need to write a “research proposal” as a part of the application. This might be your first time writing a funding proposal. Here are a few tips to assist you in writing your funding proposal!
Meet with your research adviser.
After securing a research mentor, you will likely be assigned a Principal Investigator (PI) within the lab and project to look into. After doing some reading and investigation into the topic on your own, a great first step is to reach out and set up a meeting with your advisers to discuss the ideas you have for your proposal. You want to demonstrate initiative and leadership in your project, but at the same time, it’s incredibly useful to receive feedback from someone who has greater experience with this type of process. Your mentors likely have previous experience in applying for funding, and they can provide advice on the best way to draft a proposal, especially advice relevant to your field of interest. They can also be great people to run your ideas by to ensure that your project goals are both rational and viable for funding!
Make an outline for your funding proposal.
Start with the major points you want to include in your proposal. Often, the application will also include specific points the committee wishes you include. Be sure to address those points as well!
Here are some key sections:
- Introduction:
- Start with the context of the problem you’re trying to address: What is the problem? How does it affect society today?
- Review the literature: Introduce the committee to your topic through relevant research and journal articles. What are some major steps taken by previous researchers towards solving this problem? Highlight the gap in literature that you’ve identified and that you want to address through your project.
- Present your initiative: What is your project idea? Is it attainable? Why is this significant and how could your mission be applied to society in relation to the problem?
- Proposed Methodology:
- Include an expected timeline: What are some important time points in your vision? How long would this project take?
- List your methodology: How will you accomplish your project goal? Are these methods viable in the timeframe you’ve listed?
- You want to be reasonable about your ambitions within the amount of time set aside for the project!
- Expected Results
- What are your hypotheses and predictions regarding the results you will produce in your project? What significance will these results hold and how does this connect back to your original project goal?
- Project Budget
- List your anticipated expenses: Demonstrate that you’ve thought of a plan that you can execute at a reasonable cost. How would you use the funds you’re given to implement your project?
- You also want to find out if some of the expenses for your project can be covered by the laboratory. Discuss the funding in a meeting with your PI. How much of the expenditures are you expected to cover on your own?
- Citations
- Give credit to any of the references you’ve used to help write your proposal.
Write and edit!
With your outline, you have a good idea of what you want to include in your proposal and the key points you want to address. Now, it’s time to write! Do some rounds of writing and editing to make sure you adhere to the allowable length listed in the application.
It’s incredibly important to create a thoughtful and organized proposal. Remember: You want to convince the application committee that you have an interesting project waiting to be done! At the same time, you don’t want to ramble on about the objectives of your proposal. Arguably, this might be one of the hardest parts – discerning what are the “unnecessary” vs. “necessary” details. You want to be both succinct and clear on your project goals and the significance behind your motivations. Be professional in your writing style, and get your point across!
This proposal will help you find a way to pursue the research you truly want to do. Let your excitement and passion for your ideas shine through with these tips. Best of luck with proposal writing!
— Rebecca Cho, Natural Sciences Correspondent
