Effective writing for bids and grants Rochelle Sibley Rochelle.Sibley@warwick.ac.uk Academic Writing Programme 11th June 2013

Outline of the session 9:00-10:00 Common concerns and dealing with content 10:00-10:30 Jonathan Tritter – What makes a successful bid? 10:30-10:50 Coffee break 10:50-12:30 Writing style and reviewing examples Copyright 2013 Academic Writing Programme, University of Warwick

Session aims To discuss your individual experiences with and concerns about bid and grant writing. To investigate best practice tips for ‘pitching’ your project successfully. To develop checklists of questions to ask whilst editing your draft. To define and address important stylistic issues associated with writing for bids and grants. To provide an opportunity for peer review feedback on your latest bid or grant draft. Copyright 2013 Academic Writing Programme, University of Warwick

Initial questions What have been your experiences with bid and grant writing up to now? What particular concerns do you have about the process? What do you think is the most challenging aspect of writing bids and grants? Copyright 2013 Academic Writing Programme, University of Warwick

Issues with writing bids and grants What makes a bid or grant unsuccessful? It doesn’t outline the contribution to the field clearly enough. It doesn’t give clear enough outcomes. It doesn’t include measurable progress indicators. It doesn’t follow the funding body’s guidelines. It is too vague about the costs and how the budget will be used. It doesn’t create enough impact. The project does not engage with current ‘hot topics’ in the field. What other reasons have people heard for a bid or grant being rejected? Copyright 2013 Academic Writing Programme, University of Warwick

The funding body POV What are the funding body’s main concerns? Will this project be delivered on schedule? Will the projected outcomes be realised? Will the project make an important contribution to the field? Will the project be a credit to the stakeholders? Address these issues with: A clear and realistic timetable of progress A detailed outline of impact and associated activities The use of key words that link to current ‘hot topics’ A considered explanation of how your project extends and develops existing research in your field. Copyright 2013 Academic Writing Programme, University of Warwick

Copyright 2013 Academic Writing Programme, University of Warwick BREAK

Pitching your bid or grant What questions do you need to ask to pitch the content of your project effectively? Which funding body is best for your project? What are the funding body’s current themes – how does your research fit into one of these? What are your keywords – are they emphasised enough? What is your project adding to the field? How long will it take to achieve the outcomes of the project? Who is going to benefit from your project – is there enough impact? Who do you need on board to achieve the project’s aims? Why are these the best people for the project? What other questions might be relevant? Copyright 2013 Academic Writing Programme, University of Warwick

Generating impact How can a project create impact? Academic publications Professional/practitioner publications Conferences Digital resources Popular media Engaging with the public through events Open access events to share outcomes What additional impact could your project generate? Copyright 2013 Academic Writing Programme, University of Warwick

Style checklist for bids and grants What does a well written bid or grant look like? Concise and clear use of language at all times Follows the funding body’s guidelines Aware of the range of possible readers (specialist and non-specialist) Consistent use of grammar and capitalisation Key questions: Who is your audience – what specialist terminology can you include without defining or clarifying it further? How simply can you express your project’s aims without skipping key details? Who is writing this – one person or more than one? Copyright 2013 Academic Writing Programme, University of Warwick

Editing for clarity What makes a piece of writing clear? Have you been consistent in your phrasing and use of terminology? Does every single word actively contribute something to your bid or grant? Have you been aware of sentence structure (balancing variation with simplicity of expression)? Useful strategies: Reread your work out loud Ask a critical friend outside your field to read it If this bid or grant has been written collaboratively, make sure it has been edited to standardise phrasing and grammar throughout. Copyright 2013 Academic Writing Programme, University of Warwick

Group activity Read the relevant section of funding bid and then discuss in groups: What does the content of this section contribute to the success of the bid? What does the style of this section contribute to the success of the bid? You might also want to consider what you could adapt from this model for bids in your own discipline. Copyright 2013 Academic Writing Programme, University of Warwick

Feedback and questions Copyright 2013 Academic Writing Programme, University of Warwick Feedback and questions