The Grant Writing Guide: A Road Map for Scholars

Betty Lai

Published by Princeton University Press 2023

The Grant Writing Guide

A Road Map for Scholars

Betty Lai

In the series Skills for Scholars

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691231891

Overview
Contents

About this book

A practical guide to effective grant writing for researchers at all stages of their academic careers

Grant funding can be a major determinant of promotion and tenure at colleges and universities, yet many scholars receive no training in the crucial skill of grant writing. The Grant Writing Guide is an essential handbook for writing research grants, providing actionable strategies for professionals in every phase of their careers, from PhD students to seasoned researchers.

This easy-to-use guide features writing samples, examples of how researchers use skills, helpful tips, and exercises. Drawing on interviews with scores of grant writers, program officers, researchers, administrators, and writers, it lays out best practices, common questions, and pitfalls to avoid. Betty Lai focuses on skills that are universal to all grant writers, not just specific skills for one type of grant or funder. She explains how to craft phenomenal pitches and align them with your values, structure timelines and drafts, communicate clearly in prose and images, solicit feedback to strengthen your proposals, and much more.

Ideal for course use, The Grant Writing Guide is an indispensable road map to writing fundable grants. This incisive book walks you through every step along the way, from generating ideas to finding the right funder, determining which grants help you create the career you want, and writing in a way that excites reviewers and funders.

Author / Editor information

Betty S. Lai is an associate professor in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, among others. Her work has been recognized with awards from the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Foundation. Twitter @BettySLai

Reviews

“The Grant Writing Guide recognizes that fundraising is not a solitary process. It shows researchers how to build networks of administrators, mentors, and peers who are supportive yet critical in helping to generate persuasive grant proposals. This book’s detailed and elegantly presented advice is much needed and long overdue.”—Donald J. Waters, former senior program officer, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

“Betty Lai’s The Grant Writing Guide: A Road Map for Scholars translates the unspoken insider language that keeps access to resources in the hands of those who already have resources. Her book deftly supports an equity-driven narrative vision with an engineer’s analytic specificity.”—James L. Shulman, American Council of Learned Societies

“If you’ve ever wondered how to develop a winning grant, this book is for you. From concept to submission, this highly engaging work offers useful advice informed by Lai’s own distinguished research career and numerous interviews with other successful grant writers. It’s a must-read for scholars at every career stage.”—Lori Peek, University of Colorado Boulder

“Betty Lai shepherds readers through every logistical—and emotional—step of securing a major grant. This will undoubtedly become the go-to grant writing guidebook for scholars of every stage, from graduate student to full professor. It’s the book I wish I had twenty years ago when I started my career as an academic!”—Anthony Christian Ocampo, author of Brown and Gay in LA

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Task A. Develop an Idea
1. The Landscape Find Available Grants Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
2. Your Values Generate Ideas Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	20
3. External Values Further Your Career Goals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
4. The One Pager Create Phenomenal Pitches Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	43
Task B. Target a Funder
5. Talk to a Program Officer Fit with a Funder Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	59
6. Get Samples Signal That You Belong Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	69
7. A Grant’s Anatomy Outline and Timeline Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	79
8. Evaluation Criteria and the Mission Make It Easy to Advocate for You Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	91
Task C. Draft Your Grant
9. The Literature Review Clear and Simple Communication Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	103
10. Your Research Plan Living up to the Hype Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
11. Structure Your Draft Consistency Is Comforting Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	139
12. Go Figure Images That Deliver Value Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
Task D. Polish Your Grant
13. Style Strategies Increase Readability Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	163
14. The Pick Me Factor Sell Your Expertise and Team Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	170
15. Critical Critiques Identify Weaknesses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193
List of Tips and Frequently Asked Questions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
Submission Checklist Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
Glossary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	211
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	215
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223