Why I Start Grant Writing Six Months Early

And how that timing prints money for my research group

You want to win those grant proposals.

Some researchers consistently win major grants. Others struggle to get even small awards funded. I’ve been part of team 1 for 15 years now and it feels like the right moment to share a bit of the knowledge of what makes successful grant applications. It’s a specific set of principles that most applicants completely ignore. You have to understand that grant writing doesn’t only mean you do good science. I mean sure, bad science usually doesn’t get funded, but there are lots of great scientists out there that struggle to get funding. The trick is to present your science in a way that makes funders excited to invest in it. Successful grant writers know how to structure their proposals, when to start the process, and exactly what reviewers are looking for in every single section.

So, today, I’m going to share the 6 universal principles that separate winning grant writers from everyone else — and how you can use them to dramatically increase your funding success rate.