A Sixty Second Proposal Writing Guide
It鈥檚 an essential skill, and the best way to develop it is by plunging in and writing proposals. The sooner you start, the better. Almost all proposals will have a few basic elements in common:
- Narrative or Project Description/Statement of Work: This is where you describe, in as much detail as possible in accordance with the guidelines, what your research will entail, how and where you plan to accomplish it, why it鈥檚 important, why you鈥檙e qualified to do it, and what contribution it will make to your field. For any narrative, write to the sponsor鈥檚 guidelines and review criteria. For example, if the NEH lists six areas they look for in a narrative, write yours with a section devoted to each.
- Budget: Often a neglected aspect of proposal writing, but utterly essential and possibly the most important. At this stage, you won鈥檛 have to worry about the myriad regulations when it comes to what鈥檚 allowable in a budget and what鈥檚 not. For your applications, you will likely be asking for travel money, stipends, or research funds. The best thing you can do is to be as specific and realistic as possible in estimating all costs: if you need travel money, research airfares online and come up with a reasonable average fare. For photocopies, estimate the actual number of copies. If you use real costs and are conscientious about being specific in your needs, your budgets will be fine.
- Curriculum Vitae: It鈥檚 essential to have an updated CV. Keep it current all the time 鈥� that way you won鈥檛 forget to include something (no publishing credit is too small!) or be rushed when it comes time to submit an application.
- Reference Letters: Most fellowship applications request them. Know who you would ask for them. Also know the deadlines, particularly if you鈥檙e applying for more than one fellowship. If the same references are writing more than one letter, let them know all the deadlines so they aren鈥檛 taken by surprise. Obviously, you should also give your reference plenty of time to compose the letter.
This is extremely rudimentary overview of preparing an application, but it will help get you started. For an excellent, more in-depth look at effective proposal writing, I recommend the Foundation Center鈥檚 鈥渟hort course鈥� on the subject. It鈥檚 available on their web site.