GRANT Services

Grant Writing & Reviews

  • grant writing
  • grant application reviews
  • Grant application polishing & proofreading
Contact Blake

Strategic Writing for WINNING Competitive Grant Funding

Having a great concept is a great start! But there is more to a successful grant application than a concept alone. One of the most challenging aspects of applying for a grant is being able to clearly and concisely communicate your idea in a way that is not only understandable, but also deeply resonates with the selection panel and funding body. Beyond the science, there is an increasing reliance on your ability to understand and convey the broader benefits and impacts of your expected outcomes.

I LOVE writing grant applications — from the nitty gritty detail of background research, to unpacking, contextualising and illustrating the benefits and impact of your expected outcomes. It’s like a complex puzzle – making sure all the pieces are there, and then gently guiding them into the perfect place for a stunning outcome.

I’m also quite effective at grant writing. In fact, I’ve helped clients to win over $100 million in competitive funding across a range of disciplines and funding schemes.

Grant Writing Services

What do my grant writing services entail?

Basically, whatever you need. I am able to provide as much or as little support as needed over the course of the grant development and writing process.

Capitalising on my breadth of experience, I know the right questions to ask to help you to fully ideate your concept and ensure it’s been rigorously developed. I can also conduct background research to outline how your proposal fits into the current research landscape. Most importantly, I will help you to convey the realistic benefits and impacts of your outcomes in a language that is clear and ‘hits the mark’ for your specific audience.

Working with you, your team and your partners, I can compile investigator/team capability statements and CVs. This is usually an extremely important and highly weighted component of funding applications. Yet, I find that this section is often under-prioritised and not given the amount of time or effort it deserves. I have established techniques to make you and your team shine: capitalising on your strengths, assessing team metrics and composition, and even pre-empting and formulating strategic responses to address things that may be seen as weaknesses.

If desired for larger grants, especially, I can even take on more of a project management role and organise networking and developmental team meetings and workshops. I can also conduct interviews with relevant stakeholders to ensure inclusivity and use of the most appropriate and relevant field and industry-specific terminology.

Flexible support throughout the grant process

Whatever your needs may be, I bring a creative, proactive and constructive approach to the grant writing process. However, no matter how much involvement I have in the writing, I will always work to ensure that your proposal will still be completely representative of you (and your team), and your vision.

Whether you just need someone to help you articulate your idea, or if you would like a greater degree of support throughout the proposal development process, I would love to assist! Contact me for a free consultation on how I can help with your grant writing needs.

What I do NOT do:

While I will make every effort to ensure you submit your best application possible, I cannot guarantee a successful outcome. Writing and the ability to clearly communicate a concept are of extreme importance in grant applications. However, many factors must come together to result in a successful grant application.

I also cannot confirm scientific validity or write (or advise on) your proposed methods.

Grant Application Reviews

What do my grant application review services entail?

You’ve finished drafting your grant application (pause for a happy dance, a glimpse of daylight and a shower). But despite your best efforts and many sleepless nights, you’re not sure that it’s as strong as it could be. Or, perhaps you just want a fresh set of eyes cast over it.

Not to worry! Grant reviews are one of my favourite services. And, arguably, the one that makes the biggest impact to the final product (assuming you have the time and capacity to draft the text in the first place). In this option, your deep knowledge and passion for the topic come together with my fresh eyes, advantageous outsider’s vantage, and thorough knowledge of grant schemes and requirements. I will constructively critique your work as an intelligent, non-specialist – likely the same perspective that your assessors will come from – looking for a robust plan, depth of context and, of course, impact (or, the WOW factor).

When reviewing and critiquing your application, I will strategically evaluate your text for clarity, compliance and readability. But I’ll also go further than that. I’ll assess your text for a sense of excitement and urgency, as well as appropriateness with respect to your target audience and the funding scheme objectives. I will also help you to navigate the balancing act between demonstrating your deep knowledge and expertise, while not being so technical that you risk alienating non-specialist readers. I can review any section of application text.

If the text is in final draft form, I will also proofread your work to make sure it is polished and primed for submission.

Letting me review your grant application can be a HUGE advantage! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

What I do NOT do:

I cannot comment on scientific accuracy. Also, while I will read all of the text that you ask me to, I cannot confirm the appropriateness or completeness of your methods. I will, however, highlight things that I don’t understand and may suggest that you double-check text if it doesn’t sound quite right to me. I strongly recommend you also engage someone in your field to check these aspects of your proposal.

Application Polishing and Proofreading

Making sure nothing is overlooked

You’ve finished your application, but you just need a pair of fresh eyes to do a final read-over.

Nothing hinders credibility more than simple and careless errors throughout a document. Yet, it can be very difficult to proofread your own work when you are so close to it. Your mind automatically skims over the text, missing small mistakes. Proofreading can also be a cumbersome, monotonous and time-consuming task.

I can proofread your final draft to make sure it is polished, reads well and is primed for submission, with no embarrassing spelling errors or typos.